Organizations
like
Gitcoin,
which
began
running
grants
rounds
in
2019,
have
distributed
over
$60
million
using
a
novel
community-driven
capital
allocation
method
called
quadratic
funding.
This
system
has
enabled
many
projects
to
flourish,
with
several
recipients
of
these
grants
going
on
to
become
some
of
the
most
successful
companies
in
the
Ethereum
ecosystem.
Companies
such
as
Uniswap,
Optimism,
Yearn,
Gnosis,
and
1Inch
are
examples
of
early
Gitcoin
grantees.
The
collective
market
caps
of
those
that
launched
tokens,
alongside
the
private
valuations
of
others
that
raised
capital
without
live
tokens,
far
exceed
the
amount
of
funding
initially
provided.
While
many
of
these
companies
have
given
back
to
the
ecosystem
by
donating
to
public
goods,
raising
new
funds
for
future
rounds
remains
a
challenge.
This
is
especially
true
during
bear
markets,
when
capital
is
scarce,
and
venture
funding
is
harder
to
secure.
