Optimism RetroPGF is a retroactive public goods funding program operated by the Optimism Collective. It allocates OP tokens from the Optimism treasury to contributors who have already delivered measurable ecosystem impact. Funding decisions are made by badgeholders — governance-selected evaluators — using scoped evaluation processes that prioritize outcomes over proposals.
Since launch, RetroPGF has distributed over 60M OP tokens to hundreds of projects and contributors, supporting open-source infrastructure, governance research, developer education, and long-term ecosystem maintenance. The program continues to evolve its evaluation methods, including increased use of metrics-informed analysis. A total of 850M OP (20% of total supply) is reserved for public goods funding.
What This Program Does
Optimism RetroPGF allocates capital to individuals and teams that have already delivered measurable value to the Optimism ecosystem, Ethereum, and the broader web3 commons.
In practice, it enables:
- Contributors to be rewarded for past impact rather than future promises
- Evaluators to assess work based on demonstrated outcomes rather than proposed plans
- Builders to receive funding without requiring prospective grant applications
- Public goods maintainers to receive compensation for work that would not be sustained by traditional markets
This structure shifts execution risk toward contributors while incentivizing durable, ecosystem-wide value creation.
Features
RetroPGF uses retroactive public goods funding as its primary allocation model: contributors apply after work is completed, badgeholders evaluate demonstrated impact, and funds are distributed as one-time OP token grants with no vesting or milestone obligations. Supporting components handle evaluation, signal aggregation, and scope definition.
Core Components
- Badgeholder-based evaluation: Governance-selected evaluators using contextual judgment rather than token-weighted voting. Guest voters have been introduced experimentally to study alternative evaluator selection models.
- Metrics-informed evaluation: Structured onchain metrics, developed with Open Source Observer, complement human judgment. This approach has expanded over time while retaining evaluator discretion.
- Lists mechanism (experimental): Domain experts curate lists of high-impact projects; other badgeholders may delegate evaluation weight to these lists.
- Category-based allocation: Rounds scoped into domains (e.g., OP Stack, governance, onchain builders) for comparable evaluation.
Program Characteristics
- Treasury-backed funding: Capital sourced from the Optimism Collective treasury, including the 850M OP (20% of total supply) reserved for public goods.
- Iterative mechanism design: Scope, voting mechanisms, and evaluation criteria evolve across rounds via governance discussion and published retrospectives.
- No vesting or milestones: Funds distributed as one-time OP grants with no formal obligations.
- Governance oversight: Operated by the Optimism Foundation, with defined roles for the Citizens' House and Token House in badgeholder selection, scope definition, and program evolution.
Use Cases
Infrastructure Teams Seeking Sustainability
Core protocol contributors, L2 researchers, and developer tooling teams use RetroPGF to receive compensation for work that benefits the broader ecosystem but lacks direct revenue models. Teams like Protocol Guild have used RetroPGF allocations to establish sustainable, ongoing funding models adopted across multiple chains.
Open-Source Builders Demonstrating Impact
Developers and small teams building open-source tools and public goods apply retroactively using evidence of completed work and adoption. RetroPGF enables builders to focus on delivery first and seek funding based on demonstrated adoption and usage rather than proposal writing.
Governance and Community Contributors
Governance researchers, analysts, moderators, and community coordinators apply for recognition of contributions that are typically undervalued in traditional funding models. RetroPGF is well-suited to this work because its impact often becomes visible only over time.
Ecosystem Transparency and Accountability Projects
Analytics platforms, block explorers, and security research teams use RetroPGF to fund work that improves ecosystem transparency and informed decision-making. Projects like L2BEAT and Etherscan have received significant allocations for providing critical public infrastructure.