Eth Infra is going back to its roots in GG19, shifting from an open application process to a curated format. The round will include teams and individuals supporting integral components of the Ethereum network, projects that first and foremost are enabling the success and longevity of Ethereum. While we recognize some may be disappointed it is not open to all applicants, we’ve found over time the Eth Infra round has broadened in scope and strayed from its core mission. We believe taking a more active role in curation, narrowing the focus on true infrastructure and core development work, will help to reinvigorate the excitement and momentum of this round.

Only projects that are invited to apply can participate, and these will be selected using a collaborative approach, with input from a variety of highly informed teams and individuals. Historical data will also help inform the selection process, specifically from prior QF round results and applications, as well as other grant programs. The round will be composed of true public good projects and initiatives that directly contribute to making Ethereum operate and advancing the network in the future.

• Projects that are in support of, or directly advancing the Ethereum Network’s infrastructure. Primarily focusing on areas such as: 

• Core client teams (e.g. geth, nethermind, prysm, lighthouse)

• Staking infrastructure and tooling

• Client diversity

• Core developers (can apply as a team, a specific project, or simply as an individual)

• Tooling providers (e.g., hardhat / ethers.js)

• Security researchers, EIPs, censorship resistance

• Sharding, rollups. scaling, etc

• Account abstraction, zero knowledge technology, statelessness, future proofing, and more

• The project must be open source and in active development

• The project must be more than 3 months old