The Uniswap Foundation had an exciting summer, packed with updates from August to October, including the launch of Unichain, the Unichain grants program, and more. On the research side, we’ve supported the Crafting the Cryptoeconomy (CtCe) Initiative to drive rigorous research in cryptoeconomics. In Governance, we’ve been experimenting with frameworks like the Grantee Delegation Program, and reinvigorating futarchy through a grant to Butter.

Open Grant Opportunities

• Research Grants: The CBER CtCe Research Grants are offering up to $50,000 for cryptoeconomics research. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) Maximal Extractable Value, Restaking, Layer 2s, Order Flow Auction Design, Uniswap v4 and DeFi Regulation. Apply here. 

• Unichain Grants:

  • Builder Open Call: Opportunities to receive funding, technical support, and go-to-market resources for your project.

  • Unichain Infinite Hackathon: Enter any project developed on Unichain into our Infinite Hackathon, with bi-weekly rewards.

  • Retro Grants: Nominate a builder or team that’s creating impact with their Unichain project for retroactive funding. Self-nominations welcome.

Protocol & Innovation

• Unichain Testnet Launch: We announced the launch of the Unichain testnet, a new Ethereum L2 designed for DeFi, and powered by the Superchain. [October 2024]

  • To drive innovation across Unichain, we also introduced new grants programs to accelerate the work of DeFi developers. [October 2024]

• Unichain Dinner: A week after the testnet launch of Unichain, we invited builders on the ground at the ETH Global San Francisco Hackathon to join the Uniswap Foundation, Uniswap Labs and Optimism teams in an intimate dinner. [October 2024]

Developer Events

• We distributed $20,000 in prizes to hook developers at the ETH Global Singapore Hackathon. [September 2024]

• Hookathon + Demo Day: Atrium Academy’s second Hookathon accompanied by a Demo Day showcased the creativity of developers with 83 participants creating 55 hooks. [September 2024]

• The Uniswap Foundation, Uniswap Labs and Cantina engineers hosted a  Hackerhouse in NYC for researchers participating in the Uniswap v4 bug bounty competition. [September 24]

• ETH Global San Francisco Hackathon: Our team was on the ground at the Hackathon with a $20,000 prize pool for qualified projects. [October 2024]

• Uniswap Hook Incubator: The third cohort for Atrium Academy’s Uniswap Hook Incubator kicked off on October 10.

  • Applications for cohort #3 are now open, with the kickoff scheduled for January 23, 2025. Apply here by January 11th.

New Grant Allocations

• Developers:

  • Uniswap Foundation Security Fund: Led by Areta with a $1.2M grant, the Uniswap Foundation Security Fund is designed to enhance the safety and integrity of the Uniswap v4 hook developer community by improving access to security audits. [Oct 2024]

  • Hooks Contract Library: We provided an $850,000 USD grant to OpenZeppelin for the development of a Hooks Contracts Library, aiming to standardize and secure developers' efforts. [Oct 2024]

  Governance:

  • Conditional Funding Markets: A $200,000 USD grant was allocated to Butter to pioneer 'Conditional Funding Markets,' a novel approach in decentralized governance. [Oct 2024]

Research

• Crafting the Cryptoeconomy (CtCe) Conference: The Uniswap Foundation has sponsored this new initiative that aims to generate and promote practical yet rigorous research in cryptoeconomics through two core components:

  • Conference to Educate Researchers & Academics [October 25, 26]

  • Research Funding (up to $50,000 annually): Chosen proposals will offer rigorous methodologies to study economic questions of contemporary relevance to blockchain and cryptoeconomics. Submissions close on November 24.

• Uniswap Community Research Program: We want to extend a huge thank you to UnitZero Labs for successfully running multiple community challenges that contributed to our research efforts. Looking forward, we are redirecting our focus towards grant opportunities available through the new Unichain grant programs.

Governance

• Uniswap Foundation Grantee Delegation Program: Piloting with Atrium Academy and Scopelift to give voting rights to two Uniswap Foundation grant recipients, empowering them to actively engage in the Uniswap Protocol Governance process. [October 2024]

General Updates

• New Hire: We welcomed David Schwartz to our team as Developer Experience Engineer. [October 2024]

• Community Call: Following the testnet launch of Unichain, we held a community call  featuring Devin Walsh (UF), Ken Ng (UF) and Karl Floersch (Optimism Labs). [October 2024]

  • RSVP for November’s Community Call here.

• Ecosystem Impact Report: We published an Ecosystem Impact Report, outlining the reach and effectiveness of our initiatives relative to the KPIs we set earlier in the year. [August 2024]

• Q2 2024 Financials: Our second quarter financials were released, reflecting our sustained commitment to financial transparency and accountability. [August 2024]

Upcoming Events

• ETH Global Bangkok Hackathon: We’re giving away up to $20,000 USD in prizes to builders who experiment with hooks. Learn more here.

• Uniday at Devcon: Scheduled for November 11, 2024 in Bangkok, Uniday brings together community builders to explore the future of onchain markets, and uncover new pathways to scale Ethereum. Learn more and apply to attend here.