Welcome to the 27th edition of the CL Web3 Grants newsletter!
It’s been a little while as we skipped a month because things have been busy. The ecosystem is moving fast, and so are we.
In CL Web3 Grants, you’ll find new funding opportunities, tips for successful applications, pitch competitions, and events to support your Web3 journey.
The CL Web3 Grants Hub continues to grow organically:
📈 4,600 visits from 44 countries so far, with no paid campaigns. Most traffic comes directly from the community on social media and face-to-face events and ChatGPT is now our #2 source.
We’re also working intensively on impact and data analytics features, and interest is growing. Our paper “Data-driven AI for Grant Allocation in Web3” was presented at the International Conference on Blockchain & AI (University of Malta), and we were recently invited to contribute a book chapter on what we are working on!
Thank you for your support! That momentum is the reason why the last newsletter of 2025 is unusually big. LFG 🚀
Here’s a fresh batch of funding opportunities for builders, researchers, and innovators in Web3:
Kalshi Builders Program
💵 $2M in grants for teams building on Kalshi’s prediction markets, co-sponsored by Solana and Base.
GREED Academy Grant Program
Funding + co-marketing to help onboard users into crypto through education and support services.
Focus: Education, Public Goods, Social & Community
Forge Grant Program
Designed to help new builders on Abstract launch and scale. Up to $20,000 per team.
Focus: DeFi, Infra, Gaming, Social, Payments
Miden Pioneer Program
Grants + incubation for teams building innovative products on Miden (Ethereum).
Focus: DeFi, RWAs, Identity, ZK
Endless Education Fund
$200,000 for creators contributing to the Endless ecosystem with educational content, tools, or training.
Focus: Education, Public Goods, Social & Community
Lit Grants
Microgrants up to $2.5K for projects improving Web3 developer experience and community learning.
Focus: AI, Agents, DAOs, Tooling, Education
Wire Network Incubator
Early-stage incubation program + demo day for founders building on Wire Network.
Focus: Builders, Apps, Identity, Gaming, DeFi
Virtual Worlds Test Beds (EU)
EU funding for testing immersive virtual worlds and interoperability in real-world environments.
Focus: Virtual Worlds, Metaverse
ELEVATE — Digital Skills Europe (EU)
Supports advanced digital skills, capacity building, and collective empowerment across Europe.
Focus: AI, Gaming, Education, Public Goods
EPIC-X: Women-Led Deep-Tech Startups
€60,000 lump sum to empower women-led startups across Europe in deep-tech and innovation.
Focus: Deep Tech, AI, Sustainability, Cross-Border Collaboration
Innovative Tools & Business Models (EU)
Funding for new business models enhanced by AI, blockchain, virtual worlds, or digital content.
Focus: Digital Content, Gaming, NFTs, Metaverse
TEN Ecosystem Grant Program
Up to $10,000 in TEN tokens to build and expand products on the TEN network.
Focus: Infra, Tooling, DeFi, Public Goods
👉 Explore all active grants in the CL Web3 Grants Hub
🚀 Have a grant to share? Submit it here. Let’s keep building Web3 together!
This edition’s Insights is unusually rich as a lot has happened across grant programs, and ecosystem-wide funding thinking. What stands out this month is not just more funding being deployed, but a deeper shift in how and why it’s being deployed. Below are a few of the trends we’re watching closely.
A recent retrospective on Gitcoin shows an insight: many of the projects Gitcoin supported with small matching-grants between 2019–2022, projects that went on to become foundational (think core L2s, DeFi protocols, tooling), would today be valued at ~$20 M+ if treated like typical early-stage investments. Read more here
This underscores a key point: community-led grants can surface high-potential builders long before institutional capital arrives. It also makes the case for hybrid models where non-dilutive support (grants) and investment-style thinking (valuation, token-equity analogies) co-exist.
For builders, the lesson is clear: even small grants can act as signal beacons. For ecosystems, it suggests that grants are not just social support but foundational bets on long-term infrastructure and founders.
Programs like Arbitrum DAO’s November 2025 Grant Monthly Report reveal that milestone-based disbursement is now the norm(?). As of mid-November, nearly 817 proposals had been submitted, with 112 approved, and ~ $2.9M allocated out of a planned ~$6.75M. Read more here
What’s more: for the third month in a row, they saw a high rate of milestone completion and fund disbursement meaning the model isn’t just on paper. It delivers.
We’re seeing funders going beyond protocol grants and tooling with a growing focus on global inclusion, financial resilience, and public-interest infrastructure.
Cases in point:
Circle Foundation recently announced a mission to build “financial resilience for all,” signaling a grant/foundation role beyond pure crypto-native infrastructure. Read more here
Lido DAO’s new 2026 Ecosystem Grant Proposal (GOOSE-3) reflects this shift, inviting thinking around broader ecosystem health and community sustainability, not just staking or protocol-level work. Read more here
This reflects a broader maturation: Web3 funders are beginning to embrace public goods, financial inclusion, ecosystem health, and long-term sustainability not just feature-chasing or hype cycles.
The 14th Funding the Commons event took place in Buenos Aires on November 19 to explore RealFi, public infrastructure for the real world.
Recorded at Fundación Beethoven during DevConnect, these sessions brought together builders, researchers, policymakers, and funders to advance practical tools for coordination, access, identity, AI, and climate stewardship.
👉 Watch the full playlist here
An important point this month was Fusaka, or Fulu-Osaka, Ethereum’s latest network upgrade activated on mainnet December 3, 2025, focusing on scalability through PeerDAS for enhanced blob throughput, a raised gas limit to 60 million, and reduced validator bandwidth needs. This improves Layer-2 efficiency, cuts fees by 40-60%, and boosts base layer performance for rollups without sacrificing decentralization. Building on prior updates like Pectra, it supports faster, more reliable dApp development and prepares Ethereum for future growth. Here’s Fusaka in 35 seconds.
Plenty of excellent gatherings to meet other builders, show what you’re working on, and stay close to ecosystem trends.
📅 December 10, 2025
🕒 16:00 UTC
💬 A recurring monthly gathering for funders, builders, researchers, and anyone working on public goods in Web3. Expect ecosystem updates, deep dives, and coordination discussions Register here
ETHGlobal dropped its full in-person hackathon calendar for 2026 five cities, five major hubs of energy.
🌟 Happy Holidays! 🌟
As we close out 2025, we just want to say thank you for being part of this journey. It’s been a year of building, learning, meeting great people, and watching the ecosystem grow in so many directions.
Enjoy time with family and friends and keep an eye on our social channels even during the holidays. A lot is happening, and we’ll keep sharing updates. 🎉
Stay connected
Follow us on social media (Linkedin & X) for real-time updates on funding opportunities and more!
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