ESP Allocation Update Q1 2026
The Ethereum Foundation's Ecosystem Support Program distributed $9.8M to 57 projects spanning ZK, security, privacy, and developer tooling.
The Ethereum Foundation's Ecosystem Support Program (ESP) published its Q1 2026 funding allocation, distributing $9.8 million across 57 projects spanning protocol research, cryptography, zero-knowledge proofs, security, privacy, and developer tooling. The quarter reflected a continued emphasis on strengthening Ethereum's core infrastructure.
A significant portion of funding went toward zero-knowledge proof research and development, including formal verification of zkVM systems and optimizations to ZK trace construction. Security and cryptography also received sustained investment, with multiple grants targeting cryptanalysis of the Poseidon hash function used widely across ZK applications.
The Q1 allocation continues a pattern of EF infrastructure investment that includes the $1M Ethereum audit subsidy, the $1M Ethereum Security QF round, the ETH Rangers security program, and the Road To Devcon 8 Academic Program, all aligned with the EF's stated mandate to protect self-sovereign computation and enable coordination at scale.
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Ethereum Security QF Round Goes Live
A $1M quadratic funding round backs ~100 Ethereum and L2 security projects on Giveth, with a 500 ETH match from TheDAO Security Fund.
The $1 million Ethereum Security quadratic funding round is now live on Giveth, featuring about 100 projects improving Ethereum and L2 security. TheDAO Security Fund, which launched earlier this year to support Ethereum security, is allocating a 500 ETH matching pool. Quadratic funding amplifies donations made by Human Passport-verified users. The round is hosted on Giveth, marking the largest QF round on the platform to date.
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Base Introduces Multiproofs With Azul Upgrade
Base's first standalone upgrade since leaving the Superchain introduces multiproofs combining TEE and ZK, plus a new client stack built on OP Kona.
Base announced the Azul upgrade, its first standalone network upgrade since departing Optimism's Superchain. The upgrade introduces multiproofs, enhancing security, decentralization, performance, and the overall developer experience. By combining Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) with zero-knowledge (ZK) proving, multiproofs move Base closer to Stage 2 decentralization.
Azul also streamlines the network architecture by consolidating operations onto a single execution client, base-reth-node, alongside a new consensus client, base-consensus, built on OP Kona. The upgrade is already running on testnet, with mainnet activation set for May 13, 2026. Node operators will need to transition to the new client stack ahead of that date.
Base is currently hosting a $250,000 audit competition on Immunefi running through May 4. Looking ahead, the team plans to introduce an enshrined token standard and Flashblock access lists by the end of June, followed by native account abstraction by the end of August.
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