The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has restructured its long-running grants initiative, replacing the open application system with a more focused model under the Ecosystem Support Program. Announced in a blog post Monday, the new structure will channel funding through two avenues: a “wishlist” of focus areas identified by EF teams, and formal requests for proposals (RFPs) addressing specific ecosystem needs. A Shift Toward Strategic Coordination The previous open grants process, paused earlier this year, had stretched the Foundation’s administrative capacity due to high demand. According to EF, the revamped program will better align funding decisions with Ethereum’s long-term priorities by coordinating directly with internal technical and research teams. “The previous open grants program successfully supported hundreds of projects that contributed key building blocks across Ethereum,” the Foundation said. “But the growing volume of applications limited our ability to pursue strategic opportunities.” The first batch of wishlist items and RFPs is now available, covering areas such as cryptography, privacy, scalability, and community growth. In 2024, the Foundation awarded around $3 million to 105 projects and initiatives, continuing its mission to foster open-source innovation since the program’s 2018 launch. Ethereum’s Technical Upgrades Continue The update comes just after Ethereum’s Fusaka upgrade went live on its final testnet, Hoodi, ahead of a mainnet launch expected December 3. Fusaka introduces EIP-7594 (PeerDAS), allowing validators to access smaller data chunks from layer-2 networks, improving efficiency and scalability. Additional proposals, EIPs 7825 and 7935, aim to increase gas limits and boost performance in preparation for Ethereum’s shift to parallel execution — a critical milestone that will allow multiple transactions to process simultaneously. Ethereum’s last major upgrade, Pectra, launched on May 7, introduced staking optimizations and wallet enhancements, underscoring the network’s ongoing technical evolution.