V3.2 — Now Enforced!
RootstockCollective funds builders who generate measurable, verifiable on-chain activity on Bitcoin’s OG sidechain.
This is the official summary of our V3.2 Grants Guidelines — covering what we fund, how we measure impact, and how to apply.
Status: Enforced — Effective Immediately
Current Version: V3.2 — supersedes all prior versions
01 · What We Fund
We allocate capital to projects that drive on-chain activity, user growth, a
nd ecosystem expansion. Not promises — verifiable impact.
Core Priority Sectors
- DeFi (with demonstrated security awareness)
- Infrastructure & Protocol Integrations
- Developer Tooling & SDKs
- Wallets & UX layers
- Payments & stablecoin usage (rBTC, USDRIF, DoC)
- Analytics, dashboards & data infrastructure
- Interoperability & cross-protocol integrations
Conditional Sectors (measurable ROI must be clearly defined)
- Consumer applications
- Growth tooling
- Community platforms
Hard Exclusions — We Do Not Fund
- Events (conferences, hackathons, residencies, sponsorships)
- Pure marketing campaigns
- Educational initiatives without direct measurable conversion
- Brand awareness / visibility proposals
- Content-only initiatives without user or on-chain impact
02 · How We Measure Impact — The FES
We don’t measure ROI in the traditional sense. We measure ecosystem value.
Every funded builder is tracked against the Funding Efficiency Score:
03 · Funding Structure & Tiers
All disbursements are milestone-gated. Initial tranche is capped at 20–30% of total grant value.
| Tier | Grant Range | Initial Tranche | Milestones | Security Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | < $3K | 30% | 2 checkpoints | Standard |
| Scaling | $3K – $10K | 25% | 3 checkpoints | Enhanced |
| Strategic | $10K – $35K | 20% | 4 checkpoints | Full audit req. |
Funding may be paused or stopped upon: no measurable progress · lack of communication · milestone failure · misalignment with approved proposal.
04 · 2026 Strategic Themes
These themes represent the Collective’s active priorities for FY 2026/27. Proposals aligned to these themes receive elevated attention from delegates.
RIF Economy Enablers
Projects that expand the utility, circulation, or velocity of RIF. Examples: services built on RIF protocols (RNS, RifOnChain), RIF-powered access or subscription models, new RIF liquidity pairs, tooling that creates genuine RIF demand.
USDRIF Adoption & Real-World Circulation
Direct integrations of USDRIF as a payment, savings, or settlement layer. Examples: checkout integrations accepting USDRIF, USDRIF-denominated contracts or payroll streaming, DeFi products where USDRIF is native collateral.
Collective dApp Usability Improvements
Tools that reduce friction in the governance dApp. Examples: proposal readability enhancements, mobile-optimised voting UX, delegation flows, governance activity dashboards.
Rootstock Onboarding UX
Anything that meaningfully reduces Time-to-First-Transaction. Examples: wallet abstraction, onramp integrations, EIP-7702 / chain abstraction experiments, simplified swap or bridge UI.
Contribution Score Infrastructure (Exploratory)
On-chain reputation layers tracking contributions from builders, delegates, and community members. Open, auditable designs strongly preferred.
TVL Movers — Meaningful Capital Attractors
DeFi protocols, liquidity layers, lending markets, or yield products with a credible path to attracting on-chain capital. Must include TVL targets. Minimum expected FES: 1.5× within 12 months.
05 · How to Apply
Each step is a hard gate — skipping any step disqualifies the application.
Step 01 — Pre-Screening & KYC / KYB
Submit your project information and complete identity verification via our onboarding form. Contact: compliance@rootstockcollective.xyz
Step 02 — Off-Chain Proposal on Discourse
After pre-screening approval, publish your proposal in the Grants section for community discussion (1–3 weeks).
Step 03 — Initial AMA
Present your project publicly. Open Q&A with delegates. Mandatory before on-chain submission.
Step 04 — On-Chain Proposal
Submit via app.rootstockcollective.xyz/proposals. Requires 1,000 stRIF minimum + ~$2-5 USD in rBTC for gas.
Step 05 — 7-Day Community Vote
stRIF holders vote For / Against / Abstain. Quorum must be reached.
Step 06 — Initial Disbursement
Builder receives first tranche (M1) in the wallet used for in dApp/pre-screening. Same wallet required for all subsequent disbursements.
Step 07 — Milestone Reviews, Monthly Reports & AMAs
Subsequent tranches unlocked upon verified delivery. Monthly Activity Reports submitted on Discourse between each milestone.
Step 08 — Final AMA & Close
Full retrospective AMA. Post-grant obligations commence immediately — builders remain ecosystem ambassadors for 12 months minimum.
06 · Evaluation Criteria
| Criterion | Weight | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Clarity & credibility of ROI | High | Primary filter — weak ROI = instant reject |
| Measurability of outcomes | High | Unmeasurable = unfundable |
| Security awareness | High | Critical for DeFi / infrastructure |
| Alignment to 2026 Strategic Themes | High | Priority themes receive elevated weighting |
| Team capability | Medium | Track record strongly preferred |
| Ecosystem contribution | Medium | Beyond own product scope |
| Communication commitment | Medium | 12-month obligation + AMA compliance |
07 · Post-Grant Obligations
Grant completion does not end your obligations. For a minimum of 12 months following grant closure:
- Tag @RootstockCollective in all relevant posts related to your product or integrations built during the grant
- Maintain at least 1 attributed post per month across X (Twitter), Discourse, or agreed channels
Non-compliance results in ineligibility for future grants and may be flagged publicly within DAO governance.
 Pre-Screening Form |
docs.google.com/forms/d/187Cr1… |
 Grants Forum |
gov.rootstockcollective.xyz/c/grants/5 |
 On-Chain Proposals |
app.rootstockcollective.xyz/proposals |
 KYC / KYB Questions |
compliance@rootstockcollective.xyz |
 Twitter / X |
@RootstockColl |
RootstockCollective · Grants Guidelines V3.2 · Latest update: 6th of May 2026
Built on Bitcoin. Governed by the Community.