We’re excited to share that Drips Wave will launch soon, with the first full program running for the Stellar ecosystem starting in January 2026. The Wave is built to help ecosystems attract developers, keep maintenance moving and grow their communities.
What is a Wave?
At its core a Wave is a recurring bounty cycle. This idea was originally popularised by OnlyDust, who unfortunately sunset the program earlier this year. The core concept is simple: Every month, for one week developers compete for one pool of money. Now Drips is bringing the Wave within its unified open-source funding platform. Maintainers nominate issues from their repositories. Contributors apply to work on them. Progress is tracked with points, leaderboards, and on-chain distribution of funds. Each cycle runs like a sprint: focused, measurable, and easy to repeat. Drips provides end-to-end tooling for structured, time-bound funding rounds that support the development work that matters most.
The launch of Wave aligns with Drips’ core aim: rewarding open-source contributions fairly and transparently. Recurring cycles create a steady rhythm of contribution, keeping existing developers engaged, welcoming new ones, and making sure essential maintenance doesn’t fall through the cracks. 🙏
“The Drips Wave is our first bounty-focused experience that fits naturally alongside RetroPGF, Direct Grants, and Dependency Funding. This creates more entry points for developers at every stage of their journey to contribute to the commons and earn by doing so.”
— Eleftherios Diakomichalis, Founder, Drips
If you want to run recurring, transparent funding cycles, or explore whether Wave is right for your community, get in touch with us or read more about Wave here.