In a show of continued commitment to ecosystem growth, the Ethereum Foundation has rolled out $32.65 million in grants during the first quarter of 2025, backing over 90 diverse projects spanning education, development tools, cryptography, and more.
The latest allocation report, published today by the Foundation’s Ecosystem Support Program (EFESP), offers a glimpse into where Ethereum’s stewards are directing their attention—and their capital.
Education and Community Take Center Stage
Although the report doesn’t break down how much each project received, the most supported category is crystal clear: Community & Education. A total of 32 initiatives fall under this banner, reflecting Ethereum’s ongoing push to nurture a well-informed, globally distributed user base.
From Account Abstraction explainer videos to summer schools in Argentina and privacy residencies in Taipei, the range of funded projects is impressively international. The Foundation also supported hackathons in the U.S. and Ethiopia, along with educational ventures in India, Italy, Greece, and Japan—highlighting Ethereum’s continued focus on decentralized knowledge sharing.
ZK Proofs, Consensus Layer, and Dev Tools Also See Action
Beyond education, Ethereum’s grant money also found its way into other technical corners of the ecosystem:
- Seven projects focusing on the consensus layer—such as GotEth, Fabric, Lighthouse, and Lodestar—received support.
- Fourteen cryptography and ZK (Zero-Knowledge) proof projects were also awarded grants, signaling Ethereum’s strategic interest in scaling and privacy.
- Grants were issued to teams improving developer experience and tooling, as well as efforts focused on the execution layer—the engine room of Ethereum’s smart contract operations.
Interestingly, just one Layer-2 initiative made the list: L2 Beats. This trusted platform, known for its detailed insights into Ethereum’s Layer-2 ecosystem, received support to keep publishing accurate and updated data.
Recipients React, Praise Transparency Push
This is the fourth time the Ethereum Foundation has published an allocation report, a transparency initiative launched in Q2 of 2024. The move was widely welcomed, especially after Vitalik Buterin himself applauded the Foundation’s decision to publicly document its spending.
Early recipients are already expressing gratitude. Amber Group revealed that its Web3 Security Team received two grants, supporting their work on EVM security and Geth performance.
“From enhancing EVM security through Mothra’s reverse engineering toolkit to boosting Geth performance with PebbleDB, we’re proud to keep pushing the boundaries,” Amber Group shared.
Pseudonymous security expert SunSec also acknowledged their involvement via the ETH Rangers Program, which backs individuals working on public goods security in the Ethereum ecosystem.
While many are applauding the openness, some community voices are calling for the next step: a breakdown of how much each project received to further increase transparency.
ETH Price Surges Past $2,000—Strongest Performer in Top 10
On the market side, Ether (ETH) is showing serious strength. The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency is trading above $2,000 for the first time since late March, after a 13% rally in the past 24 hours. Notably, ETH is outperforming all other top 10 assets in the same period.
What’s fueling the momentum? Analysts are pointing to the successful rollout of Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade, touted as the most substantial improvement since the Merge. While the crypto market as a whole is in rally mode, ETH’s price jump appears to have some unique tailwinds.
That said, caution remains. ETH is still down 39% year-to-date, and CryptoQuant analysts warn that significant macro and technical resistance levels—especially around $2,380—still loom. Ali Martinez, a respected crypto chartist, believes breaking through this zone could pave the way for a more sustained bull run.
