The varied client ecosystem of Ethereum serves as the bedrock for all our collaborative initiatives. This encompasses both execution-layer and consensus-layer clients, both of which are vital components of Ethereum’s future after the merge.
Continuing support for execution-layer (previously “Eth1”) clients is among the Ethereum Foundation’s utmost priorities. These client groups have bolstered Ethereum’s expansion over the last several years and will persist in providing essential infrastructure for the network post-merge as Ethereum shifts to a Proof of Stake consensus model. Since January 2020, the EF has invested over $10M in execution-layer client research and development. Our unwavering support will carry on as these teams evolve and grow alongside the broader community.
Concurrently, we believe it benefits Ethereum for its clients to receive funding and support from a wider array of community participants, reflecting the ecosystem’s expansion and diversification.
Joint efforts, specifically those aimed at assisting teams and developers that sustain a diverse set of Ethereum clients, are a lasting and meaningful approach to fostering Ethereum’s long-term prosperity.
Collaborating Together
Today, we are thrilled to announce that Compound Grants, Kraken, Lido, Synthetix, The Graph and Uniswap Grants are each contributing $250K to assist Ethereum execution-layer client teams. This initiative is the outcome of several months of effort and will complement the substantial funding offered by the Ethereum Foundation this year. This fundraising endeavor will not affect the EF’s continued financial backing for these teams.
The backing of capable and leading organizations from various industries will fortify and enhance the innovations occurring on Ethereum.
This initiative symbolizes an endeavor to secure Ethereum’s long-term development, vitality, and decentralization. Each of these aspects can be exemplified by the diversity of clients, the robustness of the teams themselves, and our assurance that Ethereum will thrive as they flourish.
Why initiate with this strategy?
Part of our objective with this initial round is to mitigate risks stemming from dependence on any single team or organization as we collectively strive to uphold high-quality open-source products in a varied, decentralized, and sustainable manner.
We are committed to advancing more decentralized funding mechanisms for Ethereum’s public goods, and this represents another step that allows larger groups of stakeholders to directly contribute to client development and upkeep.
Beneficiaries
With the aim of client diversity and the network’s prosperity in mind, we are honored to announce the beneficiaries of this round: Besu, Erigon, Geth, Nethermind, and Nimbus.
As a public good, Ethereum thrives on shared responsibility. This holds true regarding client diversity and the breadth and depth of the ecosystem’s capacity to sustain itself.
Ethereum is a venture with the capacity to transform and enhance the very essence of human, social, and market interactions globally. With pioneering applications and innovation on the network and continually increasing adoption, the Ethereum community is expanding the boundaries of what is technically and technologically viable with each passing day. We’re eager to take this next stride to continue that growth and invite you to join us in our initiative to fortify Ethereum by ensuring that it remains a diverse and sustainable project, maintained by many for the foreseeable future. 🚀
