Stacks Ecosystem Grants Program - LIVE

Community
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:money_bag: Grants are live and ready for applications

Hi Stackers!

Grants are live and ready for applications. In the 2026 operating budget, the Treasury Committee allocated funding for a new Grants Program.

Today, Endowment has opened up
(1) Builder Grants (generally up to $50,000)*
(2) Getting Started Grants (up to $10,000)*

I haven’t forgotten about Degrants. The Cohort ended last week. Once they’re all sorted, I’ll look to do a new Cohort with more funding.

Grants Portal is now here. It’s still a very much WIP, but I’d rather get something up now and distribute funding while concurrently improving the experience.

Things I am still building - Public Grants tracker (with the Deployer wallet publicly available). My goal is to have it up by the time all Q1 distributions are made. If you have questions, reach out to Andrea and me! I’ll host weekly office hours for Grants on X spaces.

Apply now at https://stacksendowment.co/grants .

-Rena

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Well done to the Stacks ecosystem on the launch :rocket:
Now let’s build some killer apps!

Rena hosted Office Hours today - I’ve captured the key takeaways in a recap for everyone.
Keep an eye on the Stacks Calendar and add upcoming sessions to yours.

First recap is live. If it’s useful, I’ll keep them coming.

Onwards.

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It’s been about 2 months since the last update from Publius and Whoabuddy regarding Miamicoin Treasury Liquidation. Are you able to ping them again? Thanks again so much.

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Just re pinged! Thanks

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Thank you.

Is the Alex Foundation still participating at the weekly defi strategy sessions? Many have reached out directly to ALEX across various communication channels requesting updates and clarity on their progress (V2/DAMM) with virtually zero response.

Especially in regards to Tessera. Seems the ALEX team: Chan, Chiente, Hadan are all actively working on Tessera (RWA on Solana). Not sure if ALEX will be absorbed into that even though the official Singaporean Business Entity has changed from ALEXGO to TESSERA LAB.

Would you also be able to ping them and request them to update their community? Understand they may be working on somethings behind the scenes but from the outside in looks as if the entire ALEX team has the left the project to wither away, thank you again.

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hi @Hadan-ALEX – could you provide clarity?

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Thank you chistx2005 for raising these points, all are fair questions and the community deserves a proper update.

On ALEX DeFi Activity and TVL
Year-to-date, DeFi activity on Stacks has been subdued, reflecting a broader slowdown across the Bitcoin ecosystem. This has naturally weighed on TVL at ALEX. While we understand this is frustrating to see, these conditions are largely driven by macro factors affecting the entire Bitcoin DeFi space. We remain hopeful that as the ecosystem recovers, activity will follow.

On AMM V2 / DAMM
DAMM, ALEX’s third-generation concentrated liquidity AMM, is technically complete. However, launching a product of this complexity requires more than functional code. It requires sufficient liquidity depth, active liquidity management, strong security posture, and the right market conditions to ensure a positive experience for LPs and traders.

Launching into a thin or low-activity environment would not serve the community well. Our view is that timing matters. A well-supported launch in favorable conditions is far more beneficial than rushing to market.

We are also observing comparable concentrated liquidity implementations on Stacks, including Bitflow’s HODLMM currently in early access, as useful reference points. Network-level considerations such as compute budget constraints are likewise part of our evaluation.

So the product is ready, but the market isn’t. The goal is to launch at the right time, not simply the earliest opportunity.

On Tessera
We want to be clear on this, as there seems to be some understandable confusion.

Tessera Lab (formerly ALEXGO Pte. Ltd.) is a blockchain technology company whose business is developing and licensing blockchain infrastructure. It has incubated both ALEX and Tessera as separate, independent projects, much like a startup studio.

ALEX is operated independently by ALEX Lab Foundation with its own dedicated team. Tessera is equally its own independent venture. Team members working on Tessera are doing so in that capacity, and this is entirely separate from ALEX’s operations.

On Communication
This is a fair point and one we take on board.

We acknowledge that communication has not been as consistent as it should have been during this period. While much of our focus has been on capital preservation, product readiness, and long-term positioning, that does not excuse reduced visibility. We will improve the frequency and clarity of updates going forward.

Thank you again for your continued engagement and patience. Your feedback is heard and appreciated.

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Thank for updating, it is much appreciated. Would you please address a few more issues/questions:

  1. Token list prices on the Alex swap page are not current and have not been for a long time. Appears as if no one is working on Alex.

  2. When Alex rewards were set to increase for the ALEX/STX pool, there were no updates before cycle 346. Again appears as if no one has a handle on ALEX communications.

  3. Discord updates are murky at best, no clear answers to questions. Ignoring or answering with vague replies is not helping maintain confidence in the Alex project. Please address as needed with your moderators.

  4. Understand wanting your V2/Damm release to be timed when market conditions would be more suited and that you are wanting to see how Bitflow’s rollout happens. Would again be more appreciated if there’s a dedicated point of contact from the ALEX team for communications, updates and rollouts. Is that you or someone else?

  5. Bc no one from the ALEX teams clarified Tessera Lab/etc, makes it seems that the orig team abandoned the project. So there is no more confusion can you clarify who is working on Tessera PE and who is working on Alex? Do you, Chan, Chiente or Rachel work directly on Alex or have you all moved to Tessera PE?

  6. Has been asked if any plans for any SBTC or USDCx pools on Alex since those have become a new focus for the STX ecosystem. Are you able to comment on any future plans for ALEX to help maintain interest/trust in your project?

Understand you’re all working hard behind the scenes and looking forward to many good things. Thank you again.

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  1. This has been fixed, thanks for the heads up.

  2. We held a week long Governance Vote and posted a Medium article about the shift in emissions allocation at cycle #346, although you are right more recent updates could have been posted. Can’t post links so ALEX app → top menu “Vote” → ALEX Governance Proposal: LiaBTC Emissions Vote. All over our X timeline, around early Oct of last year.

  3. Will improve on this, thank you for the feedback.

  4. Yes, that would be me.

  5. I’m with the ALEX Lab Foundation. Chan, Chiente or Rachel are a part of Tessera Lab, that licenses and develops blockchain infrastructure for ALEX and other separate, independent projects. From this perspective, all are actively supporting ALEX (and other incubated projects like Tessera) in their respective capacities.

  6. Any community member or organization is welcome to provide liquidity to open sBTC or USDCx pools on ALEX. As for future plans AMM v2 and DAMM are completed, but as mentioned previously our goal is to launch at the right time, not simply the earliest opportunity.

    Currently, all ALEX farming pools offer double-digit yields even without fee rebates. We will soon open a Governance Vote to determine whether Q1 revenues should be allocated toward operational costs, subject to quarterly renewal. We provide regular updates, and on Tenero, four of the top ten Stacks tokens by market capitalization are ALEX ecosystem tokens ($ALEX, $LiALEX, $aBTC, $aUSD).

    It would significantly benefit both ALEX and the broader Stacks ecosystem, particularly $LEO holders, if ALEX pools were included in the largest DEX aggregator on Stacks so that we are treated consistently alongside Arkadiko and Velar. That is not currently the case, though we hope it will change. If you would like to support ALEX, we encourage you to advocate for equal treatment across protocols. Thank you!

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Thank you Hadan

@CryptoRena are you able to facilitate any coordination b/w Bitflow and Alex so that Alex pools can be integrated once again?

@Hadan-ALEX
Community sentiment appeared to be that ALEX attempted to escape accountability post 2nd hack by assigning the cause to a STX clarity limitation vs having potentially better security measures. Now that Clarity 4 has passed to allow for most robust language/safety nets, it might help Alex’s case/reputation to have the Chan, Chiente, Rachel take the initiative to communicate to their users and the STX community once again.

Almost complete silence from them since June 2025 does not seem to encourage users or other projects to open relations.

Thanks Hadan and Rena.

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heyo @diegomey.btc ^^ politely connecting you to @Hadan-ALEX for the above. Thanks!

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Hi Cryptorena,

I hope you’re doing well! I’m reaching out to get some quick guidance on my recent submissions for the Stacks Endowment Getting Started grant.

I submitted two separate applications, and I wanted to proactively reach out to make sure the way I structured them won’t cause any administrative issues or confusion for the review team.

I applied for the Payrail project using Quadlabs as the entity. I then submitted a second application for the Sling project using my personal email, though I made sure to explicitly note in the proposal that Sling also falls under the Quadlabs umbrella.

The reason for this setup is that my overarching goal is to build Quadlabs into a dedicated development studio focused entirely on Stacks products. Because we are just starting out, Quadlabs isn’t formally incorporated yet. Our plan is to use the initial grant funding to officially incorporate the entity and kick off our operations properly.

Could you let me know if submitting these two applications under different emails is an issue or a red flag for the committee? I want to ensure we are following best practices, and I’d appreciate any guidance on how to best position ourselves.

Thanks for your time and for all the support you provide to builders in the ecosystem!

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Hey there Uliboy,

Andrea here from the Endowment Team. Appreciate the transparency and taking the time to check in on this. First of all I wanted to confirm we’ve received both your applications.

After reviewing them, my suggestion would be to move forward with the Payrail application as your main application for this cycle being mindful that the grants are designed to help builders get off the ground with their projects, it’s monetary support towards getting started. As it currently stands, it sounds like Sling is a continuation/necessary to the work you’ll already be doing with Payrail, so they would technically fall under the same project even if you decide to use Sling for other uses beyond serving Payrail or have it be a separate product later on.

Given the timeline you’re proposing, seems like you’ll be finishing Payrail right around the time we should be having another batch of applications open up for the second cycle of grants. You can then re-apply for Sling as a separate project under the Quadlabs entity if it still feels aligned.

Hope this helps clarify. Happy to respond to any further questions.

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Does our project need to be older than 6 months to apply for stacks ecosystem grants program?

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Hi Andrea,

​Thank you so much for the quick and thoughtful response. I really appreciate the guidance.

Your logic makes perfect sense. Building out the core infrastructure with Payrail first is definitely the right priority, and I agree that Sling will naturally follow as a continuation of that work.

​I’d like to move forward with Payrail as our main application for this cycle. My teammate and I will put all our focus into hitting those milestones, and we will plan to revisit Sling under the Quadlabs entity for the second cycle once Payrail is off the ground.

​Thanks again for the clarity and for pointing us in the right direction.

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it would be great for the community to support DeFi protocols and unite the LP pools so the users have the best options safe and stable swapping.

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Hi 0xanand,

Thanks for your question. The “at least 6 months live on Stacks” is true for the Builder track, however for the Getting Started track you can apply with a brand new project.

More information on the Grant tracks in the Grants Portal mentioned in the original post.

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Hi @CryptoRena and community,

Following your suggestion from the Stacks Endowment Feb 24 X space, I’m posting my need for a Stacks-expert Technical Advisor as I transition from DeGrants Cohort 3 to the Getting Started grants.

I’m Victor (@paper2screen on X), sole technical founder and Clarity dev for CineX, supported by a lean team focused on product, UI/UX, finance, and especially local content/partnership activation (Tech PM planned soon).

CineX is pivoting from a basic crowdfunding app to a “media bank” for creatives, with liquidity injection via Bitcoin-secured smart contracts—driven by beta feedback. The proposal positions CineX as Stacks’ flagship Creative Media RWA Financing solution.

My 10-week sprint includes:

  • Refining sBTC/staking smart contract architecture

  • Advancing BD, partnerships, and user validation

  • Prototyping with traction metrics

A Technical Advisor would help with specs, contract troubleshooting, and BD alignment to hit milestones and strengthen the proposal.

Key docs:

  • Beta Report

  • Partnership Proposal

  • 10-Week Sprint

  • Product Pivot

    Any guidance or connections appreciated. Open to discuss fit with Endowment priorities.

@CryptoRena – thanks for the direction!

Best,
Victor (@paper2screen on X)

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Hi Rena and the Stacks community,

I’m currently in the review queue for the current Builder Grants cycle with a project I believe could meaningfully lower the barrier to entry for DeFi on Stacks. While awaiting feedback on the application, I wanted to share what I’m building and tap into the collective intelligence of this community to refine the roadmap.

The Project:
A Bitcoin Yield Copilot – an intelligent agent that enables users to interact with Stacks protocols through natural language, abstracting away technical complexity. The core experience: a user types “put my sBTC to work” and the agent handles everything from querying real-time yields across protocols to presenting risk-assessed options and executing transactions upon approval.

Technical Architecture:

  • Interface Layer: Telegram – conversational UX in plain language

  • Reasoning Engine: Claude Sonnet 4 – intent detection and decision logic

  • Blockchain Abstraction: MCP Server with 120+ Stacks-specific tools

  • Onchain Layer: Custom Clarity contracts for secure wallet management

Why I’m Posting Here:
Application submitted or not, I’m committed to building something the community actually needs. Your feedback is invaluable – not just for the grant committee, but for shaping the development priorities moving forward.

I’d Love Your Thoughts On:

  1. Which Stacks protocols should be prioritized for integration? (thinking beyond the obvious ones)

  2. What yield strategies would you personally want automated?

  3. What would give you confidence (or hesitation) in using an agent to manage sBTC?

  4. Any interest in early access for testing when the MVP is ready?

Grateful for any insights, critiques, or wild ideas. And sincere thanks to Rena and the team for getting the Grants Program live – it’s already sparking momentum across the ecosystem.

Let’s build.