Solana Foundation Grants — Wave One

Since the mainnet beta launch in 2020, Solana's ecosystem has experienced rapid expansion. To facilitate accelerated growth and ecosystem development, the Solana Foundation established a comprehensive Grants Program designed to support promising teams creating projects across multiple verticals, from protocol infrastructure to end-user applications. The Foundation announced the first wave of grant recipients, representing 12 innovative projects each bringing exceptional talent and visionary roadmaps to strengthen the Solana ecosystem.

Oracles — Chainlink Integration by C.Dot

C.Dot received grant funding to integrate Chainlink oracles into the Solana network, enabling the development of a high-performance oracle infrastructure. This integration leverages Solana's distinctive sub-second block times and low transaction fees to create an economically stable oracle solution. The oracle infrastructure provides on-chain price updates with superior performance characteristics, addressing a critical infrastructure need within the Solana ecosystem.

Bridges — Terra/Ethereum/Solana PoA Bridge by Everstake

Everstake, an established infrastructure provider specializing in core Proof-of-Stake (PoS) staking services, received support to construct a Tendermint/Solana/Ethereum bridge. This project focuses on enabling interoperability between multiple blockchain networks, facilitating cross-chain communication and asset transfers. The bridge infrastructure represents a crucial component for multi-chain ecosystem connectivity.

Bridges — Arweave and Solana Ledger Storage Bridge by Bering Waters

Bering Waters, a leading over-the-counter (OTC) desk operator, partnered with Ubik Group to develop a ledger data storage bridge connecting Arweave and Solana networks. This bridge implementation enables integration between Arweave's distributed file storage protocol, where files are stored permanently across a distributed network of hardware devices, and Solana's high-performance blockchain. The solution creates new possibilities for decentralized data storage and accessibility.

Bridges — Ethereum and Solana Bi-Directional Bridge by Certus One

Certus One was awarded a grant to develop the Wormhole bridge, a Proof-of-Authority (PoA) bridge establishing bi-directional connectivity between Ethereum and Solana networks. The Wormhole bridge underwent security audits and achieved mainnet deployment, providing seamless asset and information transfer between these two major blockchain ecosystems. This infrastructure enhancement significantly improves interoperability capabilities.

Maskbook

Maskbook is a browser extension and application providing users with sophisticated encryption capabilities for social media content. The platform enables users to encrypt content on social networks and selectively share that content exclusively with designated friends or approved recipients possessing decryption capabilities. This privacy-focused application addresses growing concerns about data security and user privacy in social media environments.

Wallets — SOL and SPL support by Math Wallet

Math Wallet received grant support to develop a cross-platform wallet application enabling users to securely send, receive, and store Solana (SOL) tokens and Solana Program Library (SPL) tokens. The wallet implementation provides an accessible interface for token management, supporting both SOL native tokens and SPL-based assets. This wallet infrastructure enhances user accessibility to Solana ecosystem assets.

Bridges — Light Client Bridge Support on Solana by Obsidian Systems

Obsidian Systems was tasked with creating light-client bridge infrastructure enabling Solana connectivity with other leading layer-1 blockchain networks. Light-client bridges provide efficient cross-chain communication by maintaining lightweight verification mechanisms rather than full chain synchronization. This infrastructure advancement enables scalable multi-chain interoperability.

Bridges — Cross-Chain Liquidity Bridge by REN

REN, an open protocol enabling permissionless value transfer between blockchains, received grant funding to integrate Solana as a supported chain. The REN protocol supports cross-chain transfers of various assets including Bitcoin (BTC), Zcash (ZEC), and other digital assets. The bridge implementation was progressing toward mainnet deployment, enabling users to transfer diverse crypto assets to and from the Solana network.

Wallets — Infrastructure by WalletConnect

WalletConnect, an open-source protocol connecting applications to mobile wallets through QR codes or deep linking, received support for Solana integration. WalletConnect v2 represents a multi-chain expansion effort, bringing the protocol's critical infrastructure capabilities to Solana and enabling users to securely access applications across multiple blockchain networks.

Monitoring — Validator Monitoring Tool by Validators.App

Validators.App developed a comprehensive dashboard for monitoring Solana validators and measuring network performance metrics. The monitoring tool provides public accessibility to validator information, enabling community members to conduct validator discovery, analyze specific validator performance across various metrics, and assess network decentralization. This transparency tool strengthens network governance and validator selection processes.

AMM — An AMM implementation and GUI by Orca

Orca received grant funding to develop an Automated Market Maker (AMM) implementation and graphical user interface (GUI) on Solana. The AMM implementation includes comprehensive support for major Solana-based web wallets, facilitating token trading and liquidity provision. This infrastructure represents a fundamental component for Solana DeFi ecosystem development.

Infrastructure — Cybercore

Cybercore was awarded a grant to implement Metamask proxy integration into Solana and port the Sputnik VM to Solana. These infrastructure contributions enhance developer experience and ecosystem compatibility, enabling Metamask users to interact with Solana applications and bringing Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility features to Solana through Sputnik VM implementation.

Conclusion

The inaugural wave of Solana Foundation Grants demonstrates comprehensive ecosystem development across critical infrastructure verticals including oracle services, cross-chain bridges, wallet infrastructure, monitoring tools, and automated market maker protocols. These twelve projects collectively address essential infrastructure gaps while expanding Solana's interoperability with other blockchain networks and improving user accessibility. The diverse grant recipients represent substantial investment in ecosystem growth, positioning Solana for continued adoption and functionality expansion. Teams interested in building within the Solana ecosystem and seeking funding support are encouraged to apply through the Solana Grants Program, presenting detailed project proposals, team backgrounds, technical specifications, and execution plans.

FAQ

Who is the Solana Foundation?

The Solana Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Zug, Switzerland, dedicated to promoting decentralization, adoption, and security of the Solana blockchain ecosystem.

Did polygon raised $450 m in funding round?

Yes, Polygon raised $450 million in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital India and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, along with Galaxy Digital, Tiger Global, and other prominent investors. The funds support Polygon's Web3 development and zero knowledge technology advancement.