Ethereum Security Subsidy Program

Who can apply

• on Ethereum
• smart contracts for Ethereum mainnet with a defined audit scope (lines of code and contract count)

What the form asks

• Name of your Project (the "Applicant"): a project name
• Name of Contact Person: the contact person's name
• Email of Contact Person: the contact person's email
• Telegram of Contact Person: the contact person's Telegram
• Please describe your project.: a project description
• What problem or opportunity are you addressing, and why does it matter to users or the Ethereum ecosystem?: the problem and why it matters
• Describe your unique insight or approach. What differentiates you from other teams or trends?: what sets you apart
• Does your project have an X/Twitter account?: whether you have an X account
• Please share a link: optional
• Share any other public links (website, docs, code repo, demo) if available.: optional
• How does your project add value to the Ethereum ecosystem (e.g., users, infra, new use-cases, community)? Describe any prior or ongoing contributions you've made to the Ethereum ecosystem.: your value to Ethereum
• What is your project's deployment history on Ethereum (mainnet and/or L2s)? Share expected timelines, if relevant.: your Ethereum deployment history
• Are you considering other chains? If yes, outline how Ethereum fits in your multi-chain plan.: your multi-chain plan
• Censorship Resistance: How does the project ensure permissionless access and prevent any entity from censoring or modifying user interactions?: your censorship resistance answer
• Openness (Open Source): Is the code publicly available with permissive licenses and verifiable?: your open source answer
• Privacy: Does the project default to protecting user anonymity and agency without revealing info unnecessarily?: your privacy answer
• Security: How robust is the infrastructure, and does it minimize dependency on central external actors?: your security answer
• Describe any grants, accelerator programs, hackathon wins, or notable supporters (if any).: grants, programs or wins so far
• How have you funded the project to date (self-funded, friends/family, early backers)?: how you funded it so far
• If you've raised funding from investors, how much to date?: optional
• What is your current security budget (budgeted and spent to date) relative to your total funding (already raised and planned)?: your security budget
• What security measures have you implemented to date, and what do you have planned? (e.g. internal reviews, test coverage, fuzzing, prior audits, bug bounties): security work done and planned
• Why would an audit or subsidy meaningfully accelerate your roadmap or user trust?: why the audit speeds you up
• Audit Scope - What is the total number of lines of code to be audited?: lines of code to audit
• Audit Scope - What is the total number of contracts to be audited?: number of contracts to audit
• Audit Scope - When is your next audit planned for?: when your next audit is planned
• Audit Scope - Date of Latest Audit (what is the deadline for having the audit completed): your audit completion deadline
• Introduce key team members: name/role, brief background, and any relevant experience (crypto or otherwise).: key team members and backgrounds
• (Optional) Share examples of past work, side projects, or achievements that show execution ability.: optional
• When did you start working on this project and what progress have you made so far?: start date and progress so far
• Share any traction indicators if available (users, partnerships, transactions).: users, partners or transactions
• Briefly outline any development or community milestone targets within next 6 months.: 6-month milestone targets
• What is your current TVL or funds at risk, and what do you project this to be at launch or within the next 6-12 months?: TVL now and projected
• Which country is your project or core team based in?: your team's country
• Are you part of any of these organizations?: programs you are part of
• I agree to be contacted by Areta Market with regards to my Ethereum Subsidy Program application: optional

Rules

• Monthly cohorts: applications close on the 14th of each month at 23:59 UTC, with feedback on the 21st. A late application automatically enters next month's cohort; the form stays open year-round.
• Only projects building on Ethereum mainnet are eligible.
• Accepted projects co-fund part of their audit. Confirm your security budget before applying.
• The subsidy is a fixed dollar amount set by the strength of the application and the estimated audit cost, applied automatically to quotes on the marketplace, at most 30% of any single offer.
• Subsidies come from discounts given by participating audit providers (a virtual subsidy model), not a capital pool; $1M in subsidies is available in total.
• Applications are judged on Ethereum commitment, alignment with the Ethereum Foundation CROPS principles (censorship resistance, open source, privacy, security), technical merit, team strength, audit impact and ecosystem value.
• After acceptance, providers contact you on Telegram about scope and timeline and post formal quotes on the platform.

What they want now

Ethereum wants Censorship resistance and open source, Privacy-preserving applications, Security of Ethereum mainnet projects