The Ethereum Foundation is doubling down on one of the ecosystem’s most critical needs: security.
On Tuesday, the organization unveiled a new initiative aimed at addressing a persistent challenge in cryptocurrency development: the high cost of smart contract security audits.
Through its “Audit Grant Program,” the foundation is partnering with leading audit providers and ecosystem firms to make professional safety reviews more accessible to builders.
Supported by a $1 million grant fund, the program is designed to reduce financial barriers that have historically prevented many teams from undergoing comprehensive audits, despite their importance as an industry best practice.
The initiative is part of the foundation’s broader Trillion Dollar Security Initiative, which focuses on strengthening Ethereum as it scales to support increasingly complex applications and larger amounts of on-chain value.
The program includes partners such as Nethermind, Chainlink Labs, and Areta, and connects builders with more than 20 top-tier audit firms, helping to optimize access to trusted security expertise across the ecosystem.
In addition to the launch, the foundation also introduced a new framework it calls the “CROPS principles,” short for censorship resistance, open source, privacy and security. The framework is intended to guide how applications are built and evaluated across the Ethereum ecosystem.
Builders can submit their projects for consideration, after which a committee of experts reviews the applications. Selected teams receive grants that can be applied directly to audit services through the Areta platform. The program is open to all Ethereum mainnet creators, regardless of size or stage.
“The grant program makes audits accessible and strengthens the Ethereum ecosystem,” the foundation wrote in X.
Read more: The Ethereum Foundation publishes a new mandate that defines its role and basic principles
