The Ecosystem Funding Initiative team is thrilled to announce the recipients of the 2024 Academic Grants Round! This round, we are proud to support 41 projects from researchers and institutions worldwide. These projects address fundamental challenges and opportunities in areas critical to Ethereum’s growth, including cryptography, consensus mechanisms, security, execution, and more.
| Project Name | Researcher Name | Institution | Description |
|---|
| Exploring Automatic Model-Checking of the Ethereum specification | Dr. Igor Konnov, Jure Kukovec, Dr. Andrey Kuprianov, Dr. Thomas Pani & Than Hai Tran (Consensys) | Independent | This exploratory research project seeks to develop methods for automated verification of Ethereum Consensus Layer Specifications. The project establishes translation rules from executable Python specifications to the TLA+ specification language, thus making the specifications amenable to model checking. The current 3SF Ethereum protocol specification serves as the case study. |
| A Penetration Testing Framework for Identifying Ethereum Incentive Vulnerabilities | Rujia Li, Dr. Sisi Duan, Mingfei Zhang & Xueqian Lu | Tsinghua University | This project represents a pioneering effort to address the challenge of detecting flaws in Ethereum’s incentive mechanisms. By proposing an automated penetration testing framework, the research ensures the integrity and reliability of the Ethereum network by analyzing and mitigating vulnerabilities in its incentive systems. |
| Censorship Resistance for Ethereum | Dr. Kartik Nayak & Sarisht Wadhwa | Duke University | Censorship resistance is a critical property of decentralized infrastructure. This project explores the use of multiplicity gadgets to increase the cost of censorship significantly while considering application-specific factors that may lead to resilience under diverse scenarios. |
| Blockchain Foundations - Proof-of-Stake | Dionysis Zindros & Aggelos Kiayias | Common Prefix | This project is part of the upcoming textbook "Blockchain Foundations," which explores permissionless consensus and blockchains. Developed from years of teaching graduate courses, it offers foundational insights into Proof-of-Stake systems for students. |
| An Institutional Economic Analysis of Slashing Penalties on Proof of Stake Cryptocurrency Networks | Eric Alston & Dr. William Lehr | CU Boulder & MIT | This project investigates slashing policies across blockchain networks, focusing on governance implications and the diversity of automated procedures. The research emphasizes balancing punitive measures with due process mechanisms to ensure equitable governance structures. |
| Project Name | Researcher Name | Institution | Description |
|---|
| More Efficient and Scalable Post-Quantum Multi-Signatures | Dr. Muhammed Esgin, Assoc. Prof. Ron Steinfeld, Assoc. Prof. John Tsz Hon Yuen, Prof. Joseph Liu | Monash University | This project develops two post-quantum multi-signature schemes, providing diverse security assumptions and tradeoffs. It contributes to enhancing Ethereum's scalability and security through advanced cryptographic methods. |
| Balancing Anonymity and Compliance in Financial and Other Transactions | Prof. Anna Lysyanskaya & Scott Griffy | Brown University | The research focuses on privacy-preserving blueprints, enhancing security and compliance in financial transactions. It aims to enable anonymous credentials while allowing traceability under specific legal circumstances. |
| Theory and practice of Fiat-Shamir | Michele Orrù, Trevor Perrin, Dmitry Khovratovich, Bart Mennink & Mario Marhuenda | CNRS | This project bridges theoretical and practical aspects of the Fiat-Shamir transform, focusing on integrating the SAFE API into zk-proof frameworks to enhance their adoption. |
| Formal verification of ZK compilers | Qinxiang Cao, Yu Yu, Yucong Hu, Zihan Xu, Youwei Zhong & Xiwei Wu | Shanghai Jiao Tong University | Zero-knowledge proof has become more widely used in blockchain applications. This project plans to formally verify the security guarantees of ZK compilers to enhance their robustness in blockchain environments. |
| Scalable Decentralized Sealed-bid Auctions | Philipp Jovanovic, Kobi Gurkan, Alireza Kavousi & Andrija Novakovic | UCL & Geometry Research | Digital auction mechanisms require security, privacy, and scalability. This project aims to develop auctions that satisfy these requirements, enabling secure and efficient asset price discovery in online marketplaces. |
| Post-Quantum Signatures with SNARK Aggregation | Matthieu Rivain & Thibauld Feneuil | CryptoExperts | This project designs and implements SNARK-friendly post-quantum signatures to enable efficient and generic aggregation schemes, enhancing Ethereum’s ecosystem with advanced cryptographic tools. |
| Design of Symmetric Cryptographic Primitives | Lorenzo Grassi | Ponos Technology | This project focuses on designing cryptographic primitives for ZK applications, enabling privacy-preserving computation verification and enhancing the security of Ethereum rollup solutions. |
| Cryptanalysis of Symmetric Cryptographic Primitives | Lorenzo Grassi | Ponos Technology | This project analyzes the efficiency and security of symmetric cryptographic primitives used in ZKPs, contributing to the reliability and scalability of Ethereum-based solutions. |
| ZK-ARCKIT | Prof. Albert Rubio, Asst. Prof. Miguel Isabel & Clara Rodriguez | Universidad Complutense de Madrid | This project develops tools to analyze, verify, and optimize polynomial constraint systems used in ZK protocols, aiming to enhance their usability and performance. |
| Formal Verification of the c-kzg Library | Dr. Eddy Westbrook, Dr. Than-Hai Tran & Roberto Saltini | Galois & Consensys | This project supports EIP-4844 (Proto Danksharding) by formally verifying the c-kzg library, a crucial component for Ethereum's scaling advancements. |
| Building Practical and Secure Blockchain-Based AI | Zhipeng Wang, Jiahao Sun & Sylvie Zhang | Imperial College London & FLock.io | This project integrates economic modeling and ZKPs to enhance blockchain-based AI frameworks, ensuring privacy and security in machine learning applications. |
| Project Name | Researcher Name | Institution | Description |
|---|
| Encoding Accountability: The governance of blockchain security | Dr. Kelsie Nabben & Dr. Primavera De Filippi | BlockchainGov | This project focuses on industry-academic collaboration to advance blockchain security practices. It leverages foundational academic analysis to produce impactful results, linking Ethereum’s community and blockchain security practices. |
| Data-Driven Time-Series Fuzzing | Dr. Fudong Wu, Xiaoyu Liu, Dr. Jialing Fan & Dr. Jiaqi Gao | Beihang University | This project develops fuzzing methods for improving Ethereum network security by addressing vulnerabilities in its peer-to-peer network. |
| Unraveling Blind Message Attacks | Dr. Wenrui Diao & Prof. Xiaokuan Zhang | Shandong University & George Mason University | This project addresses security gaps in Web3 authentication methods by investigating and mitigating vulnerabilities in Blind Message Attacks, enhancing Ethereum’s ecosystem. |
| CANARY: Change Analysis System | Dr. Anindya Maiti, Scott Seidenberger, Alec Sokol, Khoi Trihn, Tristan Bony & Koy Wilson | University of Oklahoma | The CANARY project creates a real-time monitoring system for Ethereum’s P2P network to identify anomalies and ensure network security. |
| Optimal Counter-Attack Synthesis | Asst. Prof. Yu Feng, Hanzhi Liu & Hongbo Wen | UC Santa Barbara | This project strengthens defenses against on-chain exploits by synthesizing optimal counter-attacks and mitigating vulnerabilities in Ethereum smart contracts. |
| Training an EVM-native GPT | Dr. Kaihua Qin, Liyi Zhou, Javier García Arredondo, Weilin Li & Dr. Arthur Gervais | Zoro AG | This project develops GPT-based models for Ethereum transaction analysis, enabling real-time intrusion detection and dynamic security strategies. |
| SEADRAGON | Dr. Anindya Maiti, Scott Seidenberger, Alec Sokol, Khoi Trihn, Tristan Bony & Koy Wilson | University of Oklahoma | SEADRAGON enhances Ethereum’s node security through advanced overlay networks, ensuring privacy and operational resilience. |
