Unveiling the RetroPGF 2 Results

Rewarding Positive Impact While Fueling Ecosystem Growth

Retroactive Public Goods Funding (RetroPGF) serves as the catalyst driving growth within the Optimism ecosystem.

With the benefit of hindsight, RetroPGF aims to efficiently allocate capital to builders who have contributed to public goods within the Collective.

By investing in projects and individuals that have made a positive impact, the Collective enhances tooling, education, infrastructure, utilities, and open-source software, solidifying Optimism as the premier crypto ecosystem for development.

In the Optimism Collective, positive impact translates directly into financial rewards.

Recipients of RetroPGF 2

RetroPGF Round 2 marks the Collective’s second experiment in allocating public goods funding. Out of 71 selected badgeholders, 69 participated in allocating 10M OP to projects and individuals supporting the usage and development of the OP Stack.

For details on badgeholder selection criteria, refer to the Optimism documentation.

• 195 projects and individuals were nominated for funding in Round 2.
• All 195 nominees received funding, with badgeholders distributing votes among an average of 40 projects.
• The median OP received was 22,825, with the top 10% receiving over 140k OP.

Projects funded in Round 2 have contributed significantly to Ethereum and Optimism, including core infrastructure (e.g., Protocol Guild, Solidity, Geth, Goerli), developer support (e.g., Remix, BuidlGuidl, CryptoZombies, ETHGlobal), and educational content (e.g., Optimism Support NERDs, Michael Vander Meiden, Optimism en Español).

View the full list of RetroPGF 2 recipients for more details.

Funding was distributed evenly across three categories:

• Education: Supported 70 projects and individuals, with top recipients including L2Beat, ETHGlobal, and BuidlGuidl.
• Infrastructure: 43 projects funded, with Protocol Guild, Geth, and Solidity leading in this category.
• Tooling & Utilities: 82 projects funded, with OpenZeppelin, DefiLlama, and wagmi receiving the most support.

To Sustainability and Beyond

Optimism is committed to regular RetroPGF rounds, refining scope, structure, and processes to establish a dependable funding source for public goods builders.

This economic model aims to equitably reward public goods based on their impact, addressing shortcomings of modern economies.

These efforts are critical to the future of Optimism.

The completion of RetroPGF 2 marks a significant milestone in Optimism’s journey toward decentralization. Congratulations to all recipients and gratitude to badgeholders who made it possible!

Next Steps

Interested in contributing? Start by creating something for the Collective! Stay informed about RetroPGF 3 by subscribing to our newsletter.

For more information:

• Read our announcement post on RetroPGF.
• Explore the documentation for details on each round’s workings.

Stay tuned for insights and reflections from RetroPGF 2. In the meantime, commemorate this milestone with a Mirror Subscriber NFT—proceeds support funding for RetroPGF 3.