Algorand’s xGov program crossed a major milestone when the platform went live in August. Now, we are excited to begin accepting proposals. The program aims to encourage open-source developers to contribute to the ecosystem by building SDKs, libraries, and tools to help builders save time when creating and maintaining their applications.
We are now accepting retroactive grant proposals. A retroactive grant proposal is a funding request submitted after work has been completed, seeking reimbursement or recognition for delivered outcomes.
The process to submit a proposal is simple, as laid out in this brief overview:
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Connect your wallet and click "Get Started."
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Create your proposer profile by agreeing to the terms and conditions.
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Pay the one-time, non-refundable 100 Algo account creation fee.
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Complete the KYC (Know Your Customer) process via the provided link.
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Once approved, click "Create Proposal" and pay the one-time non-refundable proposal creation fee.
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Fill out the proposal form with title, description, team info, open-source license, focus area, funding type, adoption metrics, and requested funding amount.
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Submit the proposal and copy its number to create a discussion link on the Algorand forum.
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Proposals are discussed for at least three weeks before voting or further action.
Please refer to the official Algorand xGov forum for a detailed step-by-step guide.
Web3 governance background
Web3 core values—economic sustainability, governance, and decentralization—are foundational pillars of Algorand’s 2025+ tech roadmap. In most blockchain organizations, decentralization is not just a technical goal but also defines the approach to governance.
The governance function gives the community a voice and feedback to leadership on issues like grant programs and protocol upgrades.
But what does on-chain governance actually look like in practice? This is where staking and initiatives like xGov come in, giving token holders, builders, and users a direct voice in how the protocol evolves.
Algorand’s governance journey
Algorand’s current governance journey began in December 2021 with a renewed commitment to broad community participation by launching an on-chain governance rewards program in which anyone holding Algo could become a “Governor” and vote on key measures for the ecosystem.
Over successive Governance Periods, thousands of community members committed tokens and voted on proposals to help decide protocol directions and funding for ecosystem projects.
To further decentralize and refine decision-making, Algorand introduced the xGov program pilot in 2023. Unlike general governance, which was open to all ALGO holders, xGov prompted governors to lock their governance rewards for a 12-month term to acquire voting power in the xGov pools.
During the xGov pilot, community discussions led to a different xGov qualification criterion, identifying blocks produced by node validators as a better metric to assign voting power due to their essential function in the health of our ecosystem, decoupling the xGov program from governance rewards.
At present, xGovs are tasked with reviewing and voting on ecosystem grant proposals, assigning on-chain funding to open-source builders and contributors. The program will continue to evolve to meet the needs of our ecosystem.
Staking and governance
As of 2025, Algorand’s governance has evolved to run in parallel with native staking. Staking now directly incentivizes consensus participation, rewarding node operators for securing the network, while xGov gives the most engaged community members an active role in directing ecosystem development.
This dual model ensures ongoing decentralization—distributing decision-making across protocol security and open grantmaking—and positions Algorand as a leader in on-chain, community-driven governance.
Next steps
The Foundation is excited to be steadily moving ahead on the xGov strategy. For those ready to contribute to Algorand’s thriving ecosystem, becoming an xGov proposer is now more accessible than ever.
Learn more and get started with detailed steps through the official Algorand forum.
Curious how we got this far? For more background on our xGov journey, check out our previous blog posts:
June 2023 - A letter from our CEO, Staci Warden, and the team:
Algorand Community Governance: Continuing our path to decentralization
August 2023 - Governance dynamics: How on-chain and off-chain governance work
March 2025 - Governance Rewards: It's a wrap! Reflecting, and what comes next
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