# Safe Ecosystem Foundation > The Safe Ecosystem Foundation is a non-profit Swiss foundation based in Zug that develops and makes accessible open-source technology for secure digital asset management. The Foundation publishes this site and the content below. It does not itself operate Safe wallet software. This file is the full-text companion to /llms.txt: the same canonical pages, with their prose inlined, so language models can read the substance of the site in a single fetch. ## At a glance Safe Smart Accounts are the most widely used smart account infrastructure on Ethereum, securing over $60B in digital assets across hundreds of EVM networks. Approximate scale: 50M+ Safe accounts deployed, 200+ ecosystem applications, and 250+ teams funded by the Foundation. Live figures appear on the site and on public Dune dashboards. Key distinction: the Safe Ecosystem Foundation is a Swiss non-profit that stewards open-source technology and the Safe ecosystem. It does not operate Safe wallet software. Safe Smart Accounts are an open-source protocol deployed on Ethereum and other networks. Safe{Wallet} is software operated by separate entities, not by the Foundation. ## About the Foundation Source: https://safefoundation.org/about Advancing open-source technology for secure digital asset management. The Safe Ecosystem Foundation is a non-profit Swiss foundation based in Zug, dedicated to developing and making accessible open-source technology for secure digital asset management. Safe Smart Accounts are the most widely used infrastructure of their kind on Ethereum, securing over $60B in digital assets across hundreds of networks. Mission: to establish smart accounts as the default means for managing digital assets, through open-source technology, ecosystem support, and community governance. This mission was adopted by the SafeDAO community through SEP-4 (the SafeDAO Constitution, 2023). Strategic pillars: - Foster a vibrant ecosystem: supporting projects and teams building on Safe infrastructure to grow a thriving, diverse ecosystem. - Resilience through decentralization: advancing the technical, economic, and organizational decentralization of critical infrastructure. - Align value creation: establishing mechanisms that connect ecosystem growth to the utility of the SAFE token. Foundation purpose (Stiftungszweck): - Technology development: developing and maintaining Safe technology for security, reliability, and ongoing innovation. - Ecosystem applications: promoting technologies and applications built on Safe infrastructure. - Ecosystem growth: developing and fostering the broader Safe ecosystem and its community. - Education and training: providing training and education in Safe technology and secure digital asset management. - Public awareness: promoting public understanding of secure digital asset management and open-source infrastructure. - Asset stewardship: responsibly holding and managing assets in service of these purposes. What are Safe Smart Accounts? They are programmable digital accounts that let individuals, businesses, and organizations manage digital assets securely, and they are the most widely deployed infrastructure of their kind on Ethereum. A core feature is multi-signature security: multiple parties must approve a transaction before it executes, similar to a bank account that requires co-signatures, so that no single person can unilaterally move assets. The technology is fully open source, with publicly available code that has been independently audited multiple times. Safe Smart Accounts are not operated by the Foundation. They are a protocol deployed on Ethereum and other networks. Ecosystem impact (approximate): 50M+ smart accounts deployed, $60B+ total value secured, hundreds of supported networks, 200+ ecosystem applications, and 250+ teams funded. Foundation Council: the Foundation Council (Stiftungsrat) is the supreme governing body of the Safe Ecosystem Foundation, responsible for strategic oversight and adherence to the foundation purpose. - Lukas Schor, President of the Foundation Council. Co-founder of Safe and President since its inception. Lukas led the development of the Safe ecosystem from its Gnosis spin-off to an independent foundation. Expertise: ecosystem growth, operations. - Stefan George, Vice President of the Foundation Council. Co-founder of Gnosis (2015) and author of the original multi-signature wallet code (2017) that evolved into Safe. Expertise: business strategy, technical. - Richard Meissner, Member of the Foundation Council. Co-founder of Safe and author of the Safe smart contracts in use today. The most experienced maintainer of the core codebase and lead of the Safe Research initiative. Expertise: technical, protocol. Community governance: the SafeDAO gives SAFE token holders participation rights in the governance of the Safe ecosystem. - Community-adopted constitution: the SafeDAO Constitution (SEP-4) was adopted by the community in 2023 and defines the mission, goals, and principles that guide the DAO and inform the Foundation. - OBRA: the Onchain Budget and Resource Allocation framework lets the DAO allocate budgets and resources to initiatives through transparent onchain processes. - DAO commissions: commissions can be entrusted with specific tasks and budgets, enabling community-driven initiatives within a governed framework. - Onchain governance: decisions made via Snapshot can be executed onchain without active Foundation support, as demonstrated by the SAFE token transferability proposal (SEP-22). Statutory auditor (Revisionsstelle): Wadsack Zug AG, Zug; ordinary audit (ordentliche Revision). Supervisory authority (Aufsichtsbehörde): Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations (ESA), Bern; Art. 84 ZGB, annual reporting. Foundation history: - 2018, Gnosis Safe launches: Safe launches as an open-source project within Gnosis, laying the groundwork for programmable, secure digital asset management. - 2022, independent foundation established: the Safe Ecosystem Foundation is incorporated in Zug, Switzerland, gaining independence from Gnosis as a sovereign entity. - 2023, governance framework: Organizational Regulations adopted, the SafeDAO Constitution (SEP-4) ratified by the community, and the Grants Program launched. - 2024, SAFE token transferability: approved via onchain governance, opening the door to broader ecosystem participation and decentralized coordination. - 2024, Hecate Ventures AG established: a subsidiary to manage the Foundation's treasury and investment activities. - 2025, Safe Labs established: a for-profit subsidiary to commercialize Safe technology and drive enterprise adoption. ## Safe Smart Account (build on Safe) Source: https://safefoundation.org/smart-contracts Integrate the Safe Smart Account: the most trusted and battle-tested smart account contracts, built for scale, flexibility, and security. Safe Smart Account at scale: Safe smart accounts are deployed widely, making them one of the most used stacks on the EVM. Approximate figures: $60B+ assets secured, 750M+ transactions, 400+ networks, and 58M+ accounts deployed. Why build on Safe: - Native multisig capability: Safe contracts include built-in multisig, making it easy to secure assets with multiple signers out of the box. - 400+ EVM networks: Safe is one of the most widely deployed smart contracts across the EVM ecosystem, trusted across hundreds of chains. - Modular architecture: optional modules and guard contracts enable features such as spending limits and recovery. - Live since 2019: battle-tested over years and audited before every release, having secured billions over more than six years. - Formally verified and audited: all core contracts and key components are audited and formally verified, built for secure deployment across rollups and L1 stacks. - EVM smart account: full support for modern smart account features such as sponsored gas, ERC-4337, and passkey logins. Pre-deployments: use Safe out of the box on chain stacks including the OP Stack, the Avalanche L1 stack, and the zkSync Elastic Chain, with Arbitrum and Surge Rollups coming soon, plus deployment on custom networks. Safe smart contracts: latest release v1.5.0; latest version compatible with Safe{Wallet} is v1.4.1; over 10 audits. New contracts are only used in Safe{Wallet} after a rigorous developer review period. Build with (tooling and SDKs to integrate the Safe smart account): Brahma (payments, automation, accounts); Candide (passkeys, recovery, spend permissions); Cometh (a DeFi-native banking-as-a-service stack for Europe); Openfort (open-source wallet infrastructure with authentication and payments); Pimlico (bundler, paymaster, authentication); Rhinestone (cross-chain intents, gas sponsorship, session keys); and the Safe Labs API and SDK (self-custody, passkeys, multichain). Build like (teams building on the Safe smart account): BitPanda, DeFi Saver, Fileverse, Fluidkey, Gnosis Pay, Picnic, Safe{Wallet}, and World, spanning wallets, payments, privacy, lending, and identity. ## Safe Token (SAFE) Source: https://safefoundation.org/token The SAFE token powers the Safenet protocol. SAFE token staking to secure the Safenet protocol is now live. What is the SAFE token? SAFE distributes ownership to govern Safe. It is the native token of the Safenet protocol and is used to secure the network. Tokenomics: - Ticker: SAFE - Contract address: 0x5aFE3855358E112B5647B952709E6165e1c1eEEe (Ethereum mainnet only) - Fixed total supply: 1,000,000,000 (1 billion) - Token format: native ERC-20 - Sector: smart accounts infrastructure, account abstraction Token utility: decentralized governance in Safe empowers SAFE holders. Governance: be part of Safe{DAO} and shape the next evolution of ownership on Ethereum and the EVM through smart accounts. Future stakes: take a stake in future utility initiatives driven by the community. Governance: Safe is governed by SafeDAO, a decentralized collective of token holders, core contributors, backers, GnosisDAO, users, and ecosystem contributors including Safe Guardians. Participation happens through the community forum, active proposals, and the governance hub. Disclaimer: the token page states that its content is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase any SAFE, and is not legal, investment, financial, tax, or other professional advice. A SAFE Token MiCA white paper is published for EU regulatory purposes. ## Safenet Source: https://safefoundation.org/safenet Safenet is the defence protocol for self-custody: a resilient network secured by the SAFE token that enforces wallet transaction security onchain, even if you sign by mistake. The problem: since 2017, more than $20B has been stolen through wallet compromises, malicious applications, and supply-chain exploits. The solution: onchain-enforced threat elimination that goes beyond UI warnings. A decentralized validator network checks transactions onchain before they execute, and transactions only execute if validator consensus confirms they are safe from hacks, threats, or exploits. How it works: - Happy case: the user submits a transaction, validators run checks, the guard confirms a "no risk" attestation from the validators, and the transaction executes. - Protection case: the user submits a transaction, validators run checks and detect a threat so no attestation is issued, the guard sees no attestation, and the transaction is protected (blocked). Who it is for: - Users: crypto users wanting protection from blind-signing, phishing, and UI exploits. - Integrators: wallet operators looking to offer enforced onchain security rather than offchain warnings. - Transaction checkers: security providers looking to be rewarded for their transaction-checking expertise. - Validators: operators who want to run nodes, attest transactions, and earn fees for providing security. SAFE as the native token of Safenet: stake SAFE to secure validator participation (secure), and delegators earn rewards based on stake and validator participation (earn; rewards are subject to DAO approval). Staking: the Safe Foundation does not run a staking frontend. For Safenet beta staking, users may select from independent frontend operators, including Core Contributors. Learn more topics: tokenomics (SAFE distribution and utility), consensus design (how validator consensus works), governance (participating in network decisions), and roadmap (what is coming next for Safenet). Genesis validators (the first set supporting the Safenet protocol): GreenField, RockawayX, Gnosis, Safe Labs, Core Contributors, and BCAP. Disclaimer: Safenet is a beta release. See the Safenet legal disclaimer for scope and limits. ## Grants Source: https://safefoundation.org/grants Funding the future of smart accounts. The Safe Ecosystem Foundation supports builders, researchers, and communities advancing the adoption and security of smart account infrastructure. What we fund: work that strengthens the Safe smart account ecosystem and expands the utility, security, and adoption of Safe accounts, whether through core protocol improvements, new tooling, applied research, or community growth. - Protocol and infrastructure: core smart account improvements, module development, standards work such as ERC-4337, and interoperability. - Security: audits, formal verification, vulnerability research, and defensive tooling that hardens the Safe stack. - Developer tooling and SDKs: libraries, SDKs, APIs, and integrations that make it easier to build on Safe. - Research: academic and applied research on account abstraction, governance, key management, and related topics. - Ecosystem growth: educational content, documentation, community events, and adoption campaigns. - Applications: products and services built on Safe that demonstrate novel use cases for smart accounts. Active programs: - Spontaneous grants: the Foundation accepts unsolicited proposals on a rolling basis. It looks for a clear contribution to the Safe ecosystem, a well-defined scope, deliverables, and timeline, and a team or individual with relevant experience; open-source outputs are preferred but not strictly required. To apply, email grants@safefoundation.org with a project description, scope and milestones, budget breakdown, team background, and expected impact. The Foundation reviews proposals internally, with an initial reply typically within four weeks, and approved grants are paid in milestones tied to deliverables. - Bug bounty: the Safe smart account bug bounty program rewards security researchers who identify vulnerabilities in Safe's core smart contracts, with rewards up to $1,000,000 depending on severity. High severity, such as direct fund theft or permanent lockups: up to $1,000,000. Medium severity, such as unexpected behavior causing fund loss: up to $50,000. Low severity, such as fee avoidance or UX degradation: up to $10,000. Vulnerabilities must not have been previously reported or already known, and public disclosure before resolution disqualifies a report. Past and ongoing initiatives: - SafeDAO Grants Program, Wave 1 (concluded, August 2023 to January 2024): funded 21 teams across Build, Growth, Research, and Govern, selected from 120 applications, deploying roughly $500K. - SafeDAO OBRA (temporarily paused): an outcomes-based funding model that allocated roughly $1.3M in stablecoins to teams based on measurable outcomes aligned with SafeDAO's strategic priorities. - Bug bounty payouts (ongoing): six bounties worth $41,500 paid out to date, with up to $1M available. - Hackathons (ongoing): sponsorship and mentorship at major Ethereum hackathons including ETHGlobal events, plus the Foundation's own online hackathons, with more than 100 winning teams and $250K in prizes distributed. - Safe{Core} Gas Station (concluded): provided up to $250K in free gas credits across Polygon and Gnosis Chain through ERC-4337 paymasters to sponsor user transaction fees. - Other ecosystem funding (ongoing): ad-hoc funding for developer tooling, audit grants, documentation efforts, and community initiatives. Contact: builders and researchers can reach the Foundation at grants@safefoundation.org. ## Ventures Source: https://safefoundation.org/ventures Safe Ventures backs teams pushing self-custody forward, helping them win through capital, alignment, and infrastructure support. Mandate: - Smart account maximalism: a fundamental belief in smart accounts as the default for self-custody, supporting teams building on this thesis across DeFi, infrastructure, and consumer layers. - Strategic capital: going beyond capital by aligning through tokens and incentives that strengthen Safe's ecosystem, with more than 20 teams partnered under this model. - Economic alignment: creating economic exposure between Safe and the most impactful crypto projects, backing primitives rather than only applications. - Operational support: bringing distribution channels, smart account infrastructure expertise, and foundational research to every founder backed, as a long-term partner. Portfolio includes Aarc, Alloc8, Brahma, Clave, CoinShift, Epoch Protocol, Fileverse, Hats Finance, HOPR, Interface, Karpatkey, Metal, Mezzanine, Onit, Openfort, Palmera, Picnic, Pimlico, PWN, Rhinestone, Sablier, Safe Labs, Superfluid, Wildcat Finance, and Zodiac. Contact: teams can get in touch through the Ventures page. ## Reports Source: https://safefoundation.org/reports Quarterly performance reports from the Safe Ecosystem Foundation. Latest report: the Q1 2026 Quarterly Report (January to March 2026), published April 23, 2026. Headline results include more than $10M ARR, 60M+ Safe accounts, and ETH-denominated throughput up 25% quarter on quarter. The full report at https://safefoundation.org/reports/q1-2026 covers a letter to backers, milestones, protocol metrics, Safe in context (Safe as infrastructure beneath much of DeFi rather than a protocol within it), revenue, foundation treasury and capital stewardship (deployed capital, active positions, portfolio APY, and benchmark context), updates across the teams, PR and ecosystem highlights, a forward-looking outlook, and a disclaimer. ## Blog Source: https://safefoundation.org/blog The Foundation blog publishes the latest from Safe, including new releases, use cases, and community updates. Posts are organized into categories: Announcements, Ecosystem, Community, Insights, and Safe Research. Individual posts are published through the Foundation's content system and are available at https://safefoundation.org/blog. ## Open-source code - safe-global on GitHub: all Safe-ecosystem repositories stewarded by the Foundation and contributors. https://github.com/safe-global - Safe Smart Account contracts: the canonical Solidity implementation of the standard. https://github.com/safe-global/safe-smart-account ## Legal and context - Imprint: legal entity, contact, and registry information. https://safefoundation.org/imprint - Beta disclaimer: scope and limits of Foundation-published software. https://safefoundation.org/beta-disclaimer - Trademark policy: use of Safe and Safe-related marks. https://safefoundation.org/trademark Entity note for accurate representation: the Safe Ecosystem Foundation (Zug, Switzerland) is a non-profit that stewards open-source technology and the Safe ecosystem. It does not operate Safe wallet software. Safe Smart Accounts are an open-source protocol deployed on Ethereum and other networks, and Safe{Wallet} is software operated by separate entities.