Public goods are good

Following the termination of biosecurity research, cybersecurity funding, climate programs, and clean energy projects, Gitcoin is proposing a new approach to funding critical infrastructure. **The Problem:** - Centralized authorities control what gets studied, funded, and built - Traditional venture capital isn't designed to fund public goods - Critical defense and research programs face elimination **The Solution:** Gitcoin is building decentralized, democratic institutions to fund what matters. Their framework maps 20 domains across two axes: - **Atoms ↔ Bits** (physical to digital defense) - **Survive ↔ Thrive** (threat mitigation to coordination) This includes biosecurity, open source hardware, decentralized identity, and ZK systems - sectors requiring non-extractive funding to scale. **The Call:** The defense of critical infrastructure won't fund itself. Gitcoin is inviting communities to collectively fund the next generation of internet infrastructure through their evolved 3.0 model. Learn more about [Gitcoin's funding framework](https://gitcoin.co)

**BioFi** (Bioregional Finance) is reshaping onchain funding to serve ecological communities through Bioregional Financing Facilities (BFFs). **What BFFs offer:** - Grant pools, venture studios, low-interest loans, and local currencies - Modular capital networks organized around watersheds and ecosystems - Flexible structures: some operate as DAOs, others through land trusts **Real-world impact:** - Regen Network tokenizes ecological changes across bioregions - BioFi Project supported 22 teams from the Amazon to Appalachia The approach emerged from lessons learned during Gitcoin Grants 22's BioFi Pathfinders Round, which funded 14 bioregional teams with $55K in matching funds. The round revealed a gap: most participants lacked crypto wallets, reliable internet, or networks able to donate in crypto. PayPal integration became necessary. The insight: onchain funding infrastructure must adapt to communities coordinating through place-based trust, not just crypto-native networks. BioFi represents a shift toward capital that aligns with ecology—local, relational, and rooted in specific places rather than extractive.

Gitcoin has published research on **BioFi (Bioregional Finance)**, exploring how web3 can support sustainable, place-based economic systems. **Key concepts:** - BioFi connects digital finance tools with local ecological and community needs - Aims to fund projects that solve real problems and achieve self-sustainability through actual usage - Part of broader thinking on regenerative web3 at a crossroads The research follows Gitcoin co-founder owocki's perspective on moving beyond speculative funding toward practical, impact-driven solutions. [Read the full research](https://gitcoin.co/research/biofi-bioregional-finance-web3)

Gitcoin founder Kevin Owocki argues that **nation-states are inadequate frameworks** for addressing ecological and economic challenges that transcend political borders. The core thesis centers on **bioregions** as more natural units of coordination—areas defined by: - Watersheds and water systems - Climate patterns - Soil composition - Flora and fauna - Co-evolved cultural practices Examples include the Colorado River Basin, Pacific Northwest, and Great Lakes—geographies currently fragmented by political boundaries despite their interconnected ecosystems. The piece suggests that **upstream actions inevitably affect downstream communities**, creating natural incentives for shared stewardship and collective investment. This bioregional approach could enable capital, coordination, and institutional memory to develop around actual ecological systems rather than arbitrary political lines. The research explores how web3 coordination tools might support these place-based governance models. [Read the full research](https://gitcoin.co/research/bioregional-swarms)

Gitcoin has released the **deep funding update** for GG24's Web3 Tooling and Infrastructure round. **Key Details:** - Projects can now check their qualification status for deep funding - Part of GG24's six-domain structure allocating **$1.8M total** - First round fully designed through structured sensemaking - Focuses on developer tooling and infrastructure projects This represents Gitcoin's approach to directing capital toward critical Web3 development needs. [Check qualification status](https://gov.gitcoin.co/t/deep-funding-gg24-web3-tooling-and-infra-round/25040)