Since its founding in 2020, the Better Internet Foundation’s purpose has been to support projects and people developing resilient, non-extractive peer-to-peer technologies that promote Internet freedom. As such, the Foundation has always operated as Radworks’ trusted real-world steward. The Foundation has carried out this purpose in multiple phases since its inception:
- First, by enabling the development of Radicle and Drips.
- Later, by supporting the further decentralization of the ecosystem, so that Radicle and Drips could be funded directly by the Radworks Treasury.
- In 2024, the Foundation positioned its work to play the roles of protector, nurturer, and advocate of the Radworks Ecosystem, a community-governed network building Radicle and Drips.
A defining feature of Swiss foundations is their enduring and preserving character. They are legally structured to provide stable support for their purposes over generations. With that in mind, the Foundation is well-positioned, confirmed by its 2025 mandate, its purpose, and its role as protector of the Radworks Ecosystem, to
- oversee the longer-term maintenance and strengthening of the Radicle Protocol, and
- incubate the initial development of new technologies that build on top of the Radicle protocol, such as the Radworks App.
Radicle Protocol
The Radicle Protocol has been developed by the Radicle Org since 2023 as part of a Radworks-given grant approved by the Radworks community of token holders. Work is still being done to grow and strengthen the Protocol’s feature set; however, for the long-term health and brand of the open-source protocol, it would benefit from the oversight of a non-profit entity whose purpose ensures the Protocol’s continued development is aligned with its free and open-source mission.
In that light, the Foundation intends to oversee the funds originally allocated to the Radicle Org to drive the work outlined by the Radicle Org’s proposal (last approved by the Radworks community in December 2024). It is estimated that, as of 1 July 2025, 447,000 USDC will be transferred to the Foundation by the Radicle Org on behalf of the Radworks Treasury, to continue to fund and oversee further contributions to the development of the Radicle Protocol.
Radworks App
In light of its 2025 grant-giving mandate and its purpose, the Foundation can also seed-fund the initial development of technologies that contribute to Radworks Ecosystem, ensuring that their development and any commercial applications are aligned with the interests of the Ecosystem and its peer-to-peer ethos.
Consequently, the Foundation will incubate Radworks App, a secure launcher for decentralized frontends that enables users to access dApps, securely and verifiably. The Radworks App builds on top of the Radicle technologies, further growing adoption of the Radicle Protocol and deepening the use case for the Protocol.
To achieve this, the Foundation will bootstrap the first approximately three months by providing grants to the early team to develop the open-source software that will power parts of the Radworks App, totaling approximately 300,000 USDC. Any further development and commercial activities required to cater to the needs of different customers, including enterprise clients, will be shifted to another entity.