Web3 Foundation Grants — Wave 21 Recipients
As we continue to navigate through 2024, the Web3 Foundation is delighted to support a diverse and innovative array of projects through both the classic W3F Grants Program and the recently launched Decentralized Futures (DF) Program. During the first three months of 2024, we’ve committed millions of USD to drive forward the Web 3.0 ecosystem, focusing on both nurturing the open-source web3 tech stack and enhancing the sustainability of the broader ecosystem by funding projects concerned with research, implementations, marketing, BD and more.
In Wave 21, we’ve signed a total of 30 contracts through the combined efforts of the W3F Grants and DF Programs. The Grants Program continues to focus on projects that offer broad, open-source benefits, promoting tools and technologies that provide wide reusability across the community. Contrarily, the DF Program embraces a broader spectrum of initiatives, supporting projects that aspire to be financially self-sustaining in the long run, including those beyond open-source implementations.
Recipients 🚀
In the latest wave, we are witnessing significant advancements with tools poised to extend Polkadot’s innovative features, such as Cross-Consensus Messaging (XCM) and Agile Coretime. These enhancements are expected to boost Polkadot’s interoperability and flexibility substantially. Lastic, which recently launched its NFT-based Coretime Marketplace on Kusama, continues to push the envelope with its commitment to developing a coretime indexer. Meanwhile, gmajor-encrypt is enhancing the functionality of XCM tools, ensuring smoother cross-chain communication and integration.
In tandem with this, the Polkadot ecosystem continues to evolve in other areas. Various projects are making significant strides in streamlining user and developer experience. DOT Login, for example, simplifies the bridge between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 by integrating the web2-native OAuth2 protocol into Polkadot, enhancing user accessibility and platform integration. Similarly, the developer community is receiving a substantial boost from projects like those spearheaded by Igor Stojanov and the Philoniare Team, who are dedicated to providing developers with extensive options to bootstrap the UI side of their dApp, simplifying the creation and deployment of decentralized applications on the Polkadot network.
In the wallet space, MLabs is making waves with its wallet for the UTXO-based Tuxedo project.
On the security front, Zondax AG’s User Account Access Security Analysis is playing a critical role in ensuring the security and reliability of cryptocurrency operations, particularly focusing on wallet security. Complementing this, the Threshold Signature Implementation grant is pivotal in advancing cryptographic security. This project is particularly critical as it introduces a more efficient method of managing and protecting digital signatures, which are essential for transaction validation and security across blockchain networks. Together, these initiatives are instrumental in fortifying the security framework necessary for safe and reliable cryptocurrency transactions.
We maintain a list of all accepted applications on our dedicated GitHub grants repository. For an enhanced reading experience, we invite you to visit our web-based UI.
Below are all the 12 grant recipients signed through the W3F Grants program during Wave 21. For an overview of grants signed through Decentralized Futures, see our Medium and Twitter pages. Note that, due to their sensitive nature, some of the projects signed in that program are not publicized.
🔗 Chains and Pallets
Relai Network: Futur & Fusion Protocols
David Semakula: Pallet Verifier
🔧 Tools, APIs and Languages
Lastic: Coretime Indexer + Visualizations
gmajor-encrypt: XCM Tools follow-up
📝 Network Protocols
📱 User Interface
Igor Stojanov: Material Design Makeover for Substrate Front-End Template
Philoniare Team: create-substrate-app
💰 Wallets
🔐 Cryptography
Rui Morais: Threshold Signature Implementation
🧪 Research
Zondax AG: User Account Access Security Analysis
Apply Now!
As the Web 3.0 ecosystem expands and evolves, we continue to welcome new proposals. Applying for a W3F grant is as simple as submitting a pull request to our grants program repository. For inspiration, an overview of projects in the ecosystem, and broad project ideas we’re interested in funding, you can take a look at our open-source tech stack.
If your project doesn’t meet the criteria of the W3F Grants Program and instead aims to become a financially sustainable venture within the Polkadot ecosystem, apply to our Decentralised Futures Program instead.
If you’re confused about which program to choose, watch our talk on Funding Avenues in the Polkadot Ecosystem.
Work with us!
The grants program aims to be as open and accessible as possible. If you’re interested in contributing or getting involved, there are several ways you can do that:
- We are open to milestone evaluations from third parties. If you’re particularly interested in a certain project, or particularly knowledgeable on a relevant subject, submit your own evaluation.
- We encourage anyone to submit a request for proposals (RFPs). If you find that there is something missing in our ecosystem (a tool, a project, infrastructure, etc.), that we could help fund, please submit an RFP.
We strive to continue improving our grants program and are always open to feedback. If you would like to share any suggestions or criticism, please reach out to us on GitHub or Element!
