The Ethereum foundation is using their funds to finance open research in a lot of different domains, you can check https://esp.ethereum.foundation/en/grants/.
Anyone can submit a proposal, present their research topic.
It’s an actual community based way to finance some open research projects. That’s a fantastic development IMHO.
Well, one of the criteria appears to be "the potential to positively impact Ethereum", so it's hardly unrelated.
> The Ethereum foundation is using their funds to finance open research in a lot of different domains, you can check https://esp.ethereum.foundation/en/grants/.
So why should I believe they're more able to choose worthwhile projects to finance than any other foundation?
As your link says, the "ESP team will work with you to refine and rescope your proposal as needed, then evaluate the final proposal with input from technical advisors before a funding decision is made".
There are lots of foundations that finance research projects in whatever areas they're interested in, based on the funding decisions made by a panel/committee/team/whatever-you-like-to-call-it. What makes this one different/better?
Sure, "the academics politics game" may often be an issue. But I don't see how "blockchain!" suddenly solves the problem of deciding where research funds should go in a better way.