# Grants Related Articles

HTX News Center provides the latest articles and in-depth analysis on "Grants", covering market trends, project updates, tech developments, and regulatory policies in the crypto industry.

Maelstrom’s Bitcoin Grants Hit 20 Months — 5 Developers, 4 Active, Here’s What They’ve Accomplished

Maelstrom, the family office of BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, has published the first annual report for its Bitcoin Grant Program. Over a 20-month period beginning in October 2024, the program has supported five developers, with four currently active. They are paid monthly in Bitcoin, with grants capped at $400,000 per developer annually. Two developers focus on Bitcoin Core: **Rkrux** is a prolific code reviewer, working on MuSig2 and wallet descriptor modernization. **Stratospher** focuses on critical consensus and peer-to-peer network code, fixing bugs that could cause network splits. Two others advance Bitcoin privacy: **Benalleng** develops Payjoin, a protocol that breaks common surveillance heuristics, with integrations in several wallets. **Macgyver** works on Silent Payments, enabling reusable static addresses without on-chain reuse, driving wallet adoption and standardization. The program funds only open-source Bitcoin protocol work with no commercial ties. The report highlights this model as a direct, transparent way for successful industry participants to fund the essential, unglamorous development underpinning Bitcoin's security and privacy.

bitcoinist06/10 13:32

Maelstrom’s Bitcoin Grants Hit 20 Months — 5 Developers, 4 Active, Here’s What They’ve Accomplished

bitcoinist06/10 13:32

What Happens to Ethereum Developer Tools After the Grants Run Out?

On February 27th, the Ethereum Foundation (EF) announced Project Odin, a structured sustainability support program designed for a select group of strategic, previously grant-funded teams. Unlike a standard grant, Odin offers a long-term advisory mechanism focused on helping these teams establish credible, sustainable paths within a two-year framework, thereby reducing long-term dependence on single funding sources. The program addresses a critical post-grant challenge: how essential public goods, especially major developer tools, can achieve financial sustainability beyond initial funding. While grants from EF and programs like Gitcoin or RetroPGF remain vital for startups and research, they often fall short for mature, widely-used infrastructure. Tools like compilers, languages, and network stacks are deeply embedded but struggle with monetization, trapped between being too foundational to lose and too public to generate natural revenue. Project Odin provides teams with a dedicated Strategic Advisor to guide them through a three-phase process: 1) analyzing current funding and realistic options, 2) validating potential paths with stakeholders, and 3) executing plans, which may include crafting support contracts, service agreements, or other recurring revenue models. The first pilot participant is Vyper, a critical smart contract language for the EVM, highlighting the need for sustainable models for core infrastructure. The initiative reframes the public goods conversation from "who should be funded" to "how do already-proven teams avoid perpetual funding crises?" It encourages ecosystem participants—protocols and projects that depend on these tools—to view sustainable support not just as charity, but as essential risk management for their own operational supply chains.

marsbit05/12 08:35

What Happens to Ethereum Developer Tools After the Grants Run Out?

marsbit05/12 08:35

The End of the Public Chain 'Money-Splashing' Era

The article argues that the traditional L1 blockchain grant model for ecosystem funding is fundamentally broken, not just in need of minor adjustments. It claims that over the past four years, billions of dollars have been poured into grants from major L1s like NEAR, Avalanche, and Aptos, yet this has failed to produce lasting, breakthrough projects or sustainable ecosystems. Instead, it has created a cycle where teams optimize for grant applications and short-term KPIs rather than building viable products for real users. The model is criticized for fostering a "hostage" situation: foundations are trapped by their own metrics and feel compelled to disburse funds to show growth, while teams become dependent on grant cycles, shaping their roadmaps around fundable proposals rather than market needs. This leads to a proliferation of "zombie" projects that survive on grants but lack organic growth. The author contrasts this with direct equity and token investments, like those made by Solana Ventures, which create long-term, aligned partnerships. The piece concludes that the era of grants for cold-starting ecosystems is over. The future winners will be L1s that compete by attracting truly great companies through strategic investments and by being the best place to build, not the most generous grant committee.

marsbit04/13 14:14

The End of the Public Chain 'Money-Splashing' Era

marsbit04/13 14:14

Rain Launches an OpenClaw and AI Agent-Ready SDK for Building Independent Prediction Market Platforms and a $5M Grant Program

Rain, a decentralized prediction market protocol, has launched an AI agent-ready SDK and a $5 million grant program to enable developers and creators to build and monetize their own independent prediction market platforms. The protocol is fully compatible with OpenClaw, allowing AI agents to generate live markets from a single prompt without manual coding. Unlike other platforms that restrict market creation, Rain provides the infrastructure for anyone to launch fully functional markets on any topic. Builders retain full control over their product and branding, and they earn a 0.5% share of the trading volume they generate. The grant program allocates $3 million for development and $2 million for a daily rewards system to incentivize ecosystem activity.

TheNewsCrypto03/20 13:12

Rain Launches an OpenClaw and AI Agent-Ready SDK for Building Independent Prediction Market Platforms and a $5M Grant Program

TheNewsCrypto03/20 13:12

XRP Builder Funding Shifts In 2026 As Ripple Backs New Model

Ripple is shifting its funding model for the XRP Ledger (XRPL) ecosystem in 2026, moving from a centralized structure to a more distributed network involving DAOs, independent hubs, universities, and venture partners. Over $550 million has been deployed since 2017 to support nearly 200 projects. The new approach includes the FinTech Builder Program for institutional-grade financial applications, expanded accelerator partnerships, and community-led initiatives like XAO DAO. Regional expansion includes a dedicated APAC hub and university collaborations. The goal is to provide builders with diverse funding channels and reduce reliance on Ripple as the sole gatekeeper.

bitcoinist02/28 05:02

XRP Builder Funding Shifts In 2026 As Ripple Backs New Model

bitcoinist02/28 05:02

What The XRP Ledger Achieved In 2025 And What Must Improve In 2026

The XRP Ledger (XRPL) made significant progress in 2025, particularly in the development of smart contracts, which reached an alpha test net stage, allowing developers to actively deploy and experiment. Interoperability advanced with the integration of Wormhole and Axelar, enabling bridged yield-bearing assets. Tokenization also saw strength with the launch of RLUSD and other stablecoins. However, DeFi activity declined after a strong start with meme coins, though baseline DEX activity remained higher than previous levels. The app layer improved but lacked a breakout application. For 2026, key improvements are needed. Builders emphasize the urgency of implementing batch transactions and sponsored fees to reduce user friction and enable mass onboarding. Enhancing DEX and AMM liquidity is critical, as is attracting more quality assets, especially real-world assets (RWAs) like yield-bearing stablecoins and tokenized stocks. There is a strong call for a serious incentive and grant program from the XRPL Foundation to fund developers, improve tools, and support consumer apps that can scale beyond the core community and attract millions of users.

bitcoinist12/31 00:07

What The XRP Ledger Achieved In 2025 And What Must Improve In 2026

bitcoinist12/31 00:07

When Token Issuance Becomes an Assembly Line, Some Are Paying Bitcoin Developers

The article highlights the often-overlooked efforts of organizations and individuals who support Bitcoin's core infrastructure, focusing on a report by 1A1z about Bitcoin Core developers and sponsors. Bitcoin Core, described as Bitcoin's "operating system," relies on volunteer work and external funding for critical tasks like security, network optimization, and code maintenance. The report identifies 13 key long-term sponsors, including OKX as the only exchange consistently funding developers since 2019, with nearly $2 million in contributions to individuals and nonprofits. Beyond core protocol support, the piece emphasizes the importance of user-facing infrastructure, such as OKX Wallet's features that simplify Web3 access by eliminating seed phrases and streamlining cross-chain transactions. It also notes OKX's investments in developer ecosystems, test networks, and security audits—efforts that don't generate immediate returns but are vital for sustainable growth. The article contrasts these long-term, low-profile investments with the industry's trend of rapid token launches and marketing-heavy projects. It argues that such foundational work, though less visible, builds competitive advantages through technical efficiency, user experience, and future capacity—ultimately shaping the industry's trajectory toward real-world adoption.

marsbit12/13 01:56

When Token Issuance Becomes an Assembly Line, Some Are Paying Bitcoin Developers

marsbit12/13 01:56

Behind Bitcoin's Trillion-Dollar Market Cap: A 41-Person Development Team and a Fragile Funding Ecosystem

Bitcoin, with a peak market cap of $2.5 trillion, is maintained by only 41 core developers, supported by a fragile funding ecosystem of approximately $8.4 million annually. This decentralized development model relies on a small group of sponsors and donors, including organizations like Blockstream, Chaincode Labs, MIT DCI, Spiral, and OKX, among others. Despite Bitcoin’s massive valuation, its core development is highly centralized in Western countries, with 71% of code contributions coming from just 15 developers. Key challenges include over-reliance on a few donors—such as Jack Dorsey—funding instability during market downturns, and a significant lack of representation from Asian developers. The report calls for greater support from profitable crypto businesses to ensure sustainable development and broader geographical participation in maintaining the Bitcoin network.

比推12/08 17:16

Behind Bitcoin's Trillion-Dollar Market Cap: A 41-Person Development Team and a Fragile Funding Ecosystem

比推12/08 17:16

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