Ethereum Foundation Overhauls Grant Strategy as Fusayka Upgrade Approaches

Ethereum's development ecosystem gets a funding facelift just as its most ambitious upgrade yet looms on the horizon.

The Grant Program Revolution

Streamlined application processes and expanded funding categories aim to attract fresh talent to Ethereum's development pipeline. No more bureaucratic hurdles slowing down innovation.

Fusayka's Make-or-Break Moment

With scalability and transaction efficiency hanging in the balance, this upgrade represents Ethereum's biggest technological gamble since The Merge. The foundation's timing isn't accidental—they're betting big on developer momentum carrying through the network's most critical infrastructure shift in years.

Because nothing says 'we're serious about decentralization' like a centralized foundation deciding who gets to build the future. Typical crypto governance theater at its finest.

Our new grants program is structured through two pathways:

Wishlist
Requests for Proposals (RFPs)

Explore the new opportunities and apply below!https://t.co/qg4gBL62ED

— EF Ecosystem Support Program (@EF_ESP) November 3, 2025

The new framework replaces the open application system with, aoutlining the Foundation’s priority areas, andaddressing specific ecosystem needs.

The change marks a strategic shift in how ethereum directs financial support for community and technical development.

Resource Constraints Drive Funding Reform

According to the Foundation, the previous open grant model had becomedue to the sheer volume of submissions.

“The open grants program was increasingly resource-intensive, making strategic prioritization difficult,” the Foundation explained.

Launched in, the program fundedalone, distributing aroundin support. While the Foundation acknowledged that it had “successfully funded hundreds of projects,” it noted that the surge in applications made it harder to.

Under the new model, funding will bein collaboration with internal teams , including.

Aligning With the Upcoming “Fusayka” Upgrade

The timing of the grant program overhaul aligns with the upcoming, scheduled for. Fusayka is expected to be a, aimed at improving scalability, data availability, and validator efficiency.

It will include several key:

• EIP-7594 introduces a partial data retrieval mechanism, allowing validators to access only subsets of Layer-2 data, significantly reducing node load.
• EIP-7825 and EIP-7935 aim to ease gas constraints and boost processing performance, paving the way for parallel execution in future upgrades.

The overhaul also follows the, which improved staking operations and wallet interactions. As Ethereum’s technical roadmap advances, the Foundation sayshas become essential.

Final Testing Underway Before Mainnet Launch

The Fusayka upgrade has already been, with further validations ongoing acrossandtest networks.

This marks one of the final stages before the mainnet deployment, which is expected to further optimize Layer-2 scalability and enhance Ethereum’s long-term sustainability.

The Foundation’s new funding structure is designed totoward these upcoming network priorities , ensuring that Ethereum’s ecosystem growth remains synchronized with its technical evolution. Ethereum ICOs and Presales could benefit from this positive news as well.

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