Filecoin RetroPGF Round 3: Powering Proven Impact with 585k FIL
From the experimental first round that distributed 200,000 FIL to 99 projects, to the refined second round that allocated 300,000 FIL across 97 projects, the Filecoin community has consistently demonstrated that public goods funding drives real innovation.
RetroPGF is an upgrade to Filecoin’s core economic mechanisms that addresses a gap in funding for public goods. It sets out to fund contributions that have generated recognized impact for Filecoin using Optimism-style retroactive public goods funding. In essence, funding in recognition rather than anticipation.
Today, the RetroPGF team is thrilled to announce the launch of FIL RetroPGF Round 3 – our most ambitious retroactive funding initiative yet. Applications will open in late September with voting and allocation, via the Drips platform, following in October and November.
Record-Breaking Funding Pool: 585,000 FIL
Round 3 represents a massive leap forward with 585,000 FIL allocated to the round – nearly double the funding of previous rounds. This substantial increase reflects the growing maturity and impact of the Filecoin public goods ecosystem, made possible through the generous support of this round’s donors: Protocol Labs, Filecoin Foundation, and Lotus Pond.
Evolution Toward Onchain Impact
Round 3 marks a strategic evolution in our approach. We will recommend that voters prioritize impactful projects that measurably increased network utilization, enhanced retrievability, improved data availability solutions, and boosted onchain economic activity metrics, while contributing to the Filecoin ecosytems’s emerging onchain cloud capabilities. This round considers projects driving demonstrable impact from November 2024 onward.
Evaluators will increasingly weigh concrete onchain metrics where available, while continuing to recognize other valuable contributions that may not yet be captured by these metrics but remain important to the ecosystem.
Strengthened Focus Areas
Building on the success of earlier rounds, we’re maintaining emphasis on critical areas while enhancing our criteria:
Data On-Ramps & Client Onboarding now prioritizes enterprise onboarding pathways, automated tools that reduce friction, and documented success stories from real paid deals. The bar has been raised – we want to see actual client acquisition and revenue generation, not just technical capability.
FVM Onchain Payments has evolved to focus on direct data onboarding, payment contracts integrated with new payments services, and innovative F05 stablecoin wrappers that provide price privacy.
Infrastructure Excellence continues to be vital, with enhanced requirements for F3-aware endpoints and monitoring, contract verification tooling across explorers, and real-time network health metrics that keep the ecosystem running smoothly.
New Priority Areas Driving the Future
Round 3 introduces several cutting-edge focus areas that align with Filecoin’s expanding vision:
Onchain Tools represents our biggest new priority. We’re seeking tools and SDKs that support a verifiable, programmable, and sovereign cloud vision, service builders creating tangible value on Filecoin infrastructure, and seamless integrations with established cloud platforms.
AI & Compute Integration recognizes the convergence of storage and compute. Projects demonstrating AI lab partnerships, compute-over-data applications, and storage solutions optimized for AI/ML workflows will find strong support.
Cross-Chain Interoperability addresses the multi-chain future with L2 alignment mechanisms, ecosystem integrations spanning from Ethereum to Solana to NEAR, and innovative proposer-builder separation use cases.
Governance & Compliance Tools ensure the ecosystem can scale responsibly through automated compliance checking systems, Direct Data Onboarding (DDO) verification tools, and smart contract-based governance mechanisms.
This isn’t just about building tools – it’s about building tools that demonstrably drive adoption, increase network utilization, and create sustainable value for the entire Filecoin ecosystem. Whether you’ve developed groundbreaking infrastructure, facilitated major client onboarding, or created innovative applications that showcase Filecoin’s unique capabilities, Round 3 is designed to recognize and reward your proven impact.
Applications will open in late September, with detailed guidelines, submission requirements, and timeline information to follow. Whether you’re an established project that’s been building since the early days or a newer initiative that’s made significant impact recently, Round 3 offers an unprecedented opportunity to gain recognition and resources for your contributions.
The future of decentralized storage is being built today. FIL RetroPGF Round 3 will get recognition and support to the builders who deserve it. Stay tuned at @FILRetroPGF on X and join our Telegram group for application details, and prepare to showcase how your project has measurably advanced the Filecoin ecosystem.
Round 3 Infrastructure Update
Update 1: A new Filecoin PGF entity — The Blueshift Foundation — has been formed to support the round’s administration while also advancing public goods funding through ProPGF and other initiatives across the ecosystem.
Update 2: We’re excited to announce we’re strengthening our partnership with Drips, who will now handle both the FIL-RetroPGF application intake platform and the fund distribution, creating a seamless end-to-end system for Round 3.
Interested in getting involved? We’re still actively seeking additional donors interested in contributing amounts greater than 5,000 FIL to further amplify this round’s impact. Get a say in the round’s goals and impactful funding efforts. Contact us at ops@fil-retropgf.io today!
Ready to apply? Follow @FILRetroPGF on X and join our Telegram group for the latest updates. The countdown to our biggest funding round yet has begun.
