ResearchHub Foundation

Since we launched Endowments in April, the total value locked (TVL) in ResearchHub has steadily climbed to 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 $𝟯𝗠 in ResearchCoin.

More science funders are depositing their $RSC into @ResearchHub Endowments to earn high-yield Funding Credits, allowing them to fund research without spending their principal.

No lockups. Withdraw anytime and retain the Funding Credits you've earned.

How much does the world actually spend on science?

1. US government research funding: ~$99 billion
In FY2024, federal agencies obligated about $47.5B for basic research and $51B for applied research. That's the pool most scientists mean when they say "grants": NIH, NSF, DOE, NASA and others.

2. Add philanthropy: ~$126 billion
Foundations and donors add about $27B on top of federal grants, supporting research at US universities and nonprofit institutes in 2024. That's roughly a fifth of all support for that work.

3. All US R&D: ~$1 trillion
Total US R&D hit $937B in 2023 and an estimated $993B in 2024. Most of it is industry funding product development. Government research and philanthropy together make up only about one-eighth of the total.

4. Global R&D: ~$3.8 trillion
The world spent an estimated $3.8T on R&D in 2024. The US and China each crossed $1T

What this means
The money that funds open, curiosity-driven science is a fraction of total R&D, and it flows through slow, centralized channels. Even modest improvements in how that ~$126B is allocated would compound across every field.

That $126B is the segment ResearchHub is currently starting with. Moving just 1% of it, about $1.3B a year, through preregistered proposals with incentivized peer review would change how a meaningful share of American science gets funded, reviewed, and shared.

Platform fees collected by ResearchHub Foundation are burned weekly. 🔥

More platform activity = More RSC burned

Every burn is permanent and verifiable on @base.

Track $RSC burns ↓
researchhub.foundation/burns

Science organizations are either embracing AI or keeping it out of their workflows.

@ResearchHub is leaning into AI for writing and reviewing funding proposals, as a complement to human experts, not a replacement.

RSC Transparency Update

Over the coming days, the ResearchHub Foundation will carry out planned RSC token transfers between internal wallets. None of the tokens are being moved for sale.

The community does not need to take any action.