[ANNOUNCEMENT] Introducing Allo.Capital

🧙 🧙‍♀️ Ideas and Open Discussion
1

TL;DR

  • Launching Out Allo.Capital: We propose Allo launching into a new business, Allo.Capital, focused on building tools for onchain capital allocation in a tokenized internet.
  • Big Upside: There’s a generational opportunity here as the EVM continues to disrupt traditional finance and we tokenize assets en masse. In ten years, there could be tens of trillions of tokenized assets, and we aim to claim a significant share of how that capital is allocated. If this upside is realized, Allo.capital will be a huge +EV for Gitcoin.
  • Temp check was positive: A month ago, we posted TEMP CHECK: Allo + Gitcoin - do they make more sense together or seperate? and got a warm response to separating Allo from Gitcoin.
  • Vision and Goals: Allo.Capital is creating the category of on-chain capital allocation. Starting with developers, we aim to empower them to address inefficiencies in traditional systems through on-chain strategies and support broader Web3 ecosystems with innovative tools.
  • Gitcoin Alignment: I will steward Allo.Capital while continuing a prominent role at Gitcoin as a steward, tokenholder, citizen, user. Gitcoin will be a key partner and customer. If Allo ever tokenizes, Gitcoin + its constituents are likely to be involved. Allo and Gitcoin are designed to complement each other (dev-first vs. enterprise-first).

Allo.Capital

I’m thrilled to share a new proposal about the future of Allo Protocol and my evolving role within the Gitcoin ecosystem.

As many of you know, Gitcoin has always been about pushing the limits of Funding What Matters. When we launched Gitcoin in 2017, our mission was to support open-source development with hackathons and bounties. Fast forward, and Gitcoin has grown into a platform that’s disbursed over $60M in funding, empowered ecosystems like Optimism and Arbitrum, and helped build a movement. Last year was the first year Gitcoin made significant revenue of over $1m. I couldn’t have imagined what Gitcoin would evolve into today. But why stop here?

Today, I’m thrilled to propose that we are launch Allo into a standalone business called Allo.Capital. This move reflects a bold vision: to make Allo the capital allocation layer of the tokenized internet.

The Vision Behind Allo.Capital

The leap we’re making today is about building something bigger.

Capital allocation—the act of spending money to achieve an outcome—is everywhere, from paying bills to funding innovation. But the traditional systems we rely on are inefficient, opaque, and painfully exclusionary.

Here’s the thing: Crypto and programmable smart contracts can fix this. They can make capital allocation efficient, transparent, and accessible. And that’s where Allo.Capital comes in. We’re forming a standalone business with one mission: to build the capital allocation layer of the tokenized internet.

Why now? Because we’re witnessing a once-in-a-generation shift. The EVM is eating traditional finance, and the world is tokenizing. In ten years, we’ll see trillions of dollars in tokenized assets. Allo aims to build the infrastructure that allocates those assets in ways that are transparent, decentralized, and impactful.

BTW, Allo.Capital is already innovating in the space. In just the past couple of weeks, we’ve shipped (or helped to ship):

  • Deep Funding: A bold experiment with Vitalik and other industry leaders exploring new ways to fund dependencies.
  • Cookie Jar: A simple tool for funding small groups of contributors.
  • InfiniteRegen.AI: An AI Agent Capital Allocation experiment that could evolve into an ecosystem of AI-powered capital allocation tools.
  • AlloKit - a new way for developers to build onchain capital allocation tools better, faster, and cheaper.

And this is just the start.

Why Allo.Capital?

To realize this ambitious vision, Allo needs a dedicated focus and investment. As someone who’s been nerding out on capital allocation systems for years and even written two books on the subject, I’ve got a pretty solid handle on the problems we’re tackling and the tech that’s going to make it happen. By spinning out Allo.Capital, we’ll create a specialized team to tackle the technical and strategic challenges of capital allocation. Creating a distinct, specialized entity will allow us to raise capital so we can make this vision a reality.

We’ve learned from past Gitcoin spinouts like Buildbox, Kernel, and Passport that independence breeds innovation. Allo.Capital will follow this path, raising its own capital and scaling its solutions across Web3. I’m super proud that Gitcoin has been a launchpad to help innovative projects take off, and I’m sure Allo.Capital is gonna carry that torch and keep the magic alive.

Allo.Capital and Gitcoin: A Binary Star System

Like binary stars orbiting a shared center of economic gravity, Allo.Capital and Gitcoin are intrinsically linked, each enhancing the other’s trajectory while maintaining their own identities. The work of Allo.Capital and Gitcoin will remain closely aligned:

  • Gitcoin as a Partner: Gitcoin is Allo’s biggest customer and will continue to leverage Allo’s tools to power grants programs.
  • Complementary Focus: Gitcoin will serve enterprise partners with grants solutions, while Allo.Capital focuses on developer tools for the technical layer of capital allocation.
  • Shared Roadmap: Gitcoin’s Grants Lab will work closely with Allo to ensure we build tools that create real value for our customers.

If Allo ever tokenizes, I fully expect Gitcoin and its DAO constituents to be substantial tokenholders.

My Continued Role at Gitcoin

While my full time focus will shift to Allo.Capital, Gitcoin remains my home base.

As a steward, tokenholder, and active supporter, I’ll continue to help guide Gitcoin’s mission and fund its growth. Gitcoin’s strategy is strong, and its momentum speaks for itself. We have strong partnerships with major ecosystems like Optimism, Arbitrum, Sei, Filecoin and many more. Gitcoin is thriving, and I leave it in fantastic hands with leaders like Meg (Grants Lab) and Mathilda (Citizens) driving forward with clarity and precision.

But no matter where I go, I’ll always be Gitcoin’s biggest advocate.

What’s Next?

Today, we will propose this new structure and funding budget from Gitcoin, and plans to raise additional capital from outside investors. From there, Allo.Capital will chart its own course.

In Closing

Gitcoin’s mission has always been about empowering communities to fund their shared needs. Spinning out Allo.Capital is the next step in that journey—expanding beyond grants into the broader world of decentralized capital allocation.

The future is big, bold, and full of possibilities. I’m excited to build it with you.

If you want to learn more,

  1. Checkout https://allo.capital
  2. Keep an eye out for the budget being posted later today.

Kevin Owocki
Co-founder of Gitcoin, Gitcoin Steward, Citizen, User, GTC Holder
Founder of Allo.Capital

17 Likes
[PROPOSAL] 2025 Budget - Allo
[PROPOSAL] 2025 Budget - Allo
2

I’m excited about this and the upside it creates for Allo and the Gitcoin ecosystem!

3 Likes
3

Gitcoin has experienced a monumental shift in growth over the past year, successfully launching not one but now two stellar initiatives. The achievements that Allo and Gitcoin will accomplish in 2025 are set to be truly transformative, I’m so proud of the team(s). A huge shout out to our contributors, leaders, and supporters who are driving the future of PGF and Capital Allocation. :rocket::seedling:

1 Like
4

I’m excited for this as well! I do think you should think intentionally about the overlap on both roadmap (as you’ve noted above) and also on partnership(s) where there’s strong synergy in both working well together for the partner.

2 Likes
5

Having seen Owocki’s vision of capital allocation slowly sprout to life over the past few months, I’m excited to see it take root. Gitcoin is off to a great start in 2025 and set to be the leader in grants (imho). Owocki’s expanded mission of building more equitable financial systems will only help us scale faster. I look forward to collaborating with Allo.capital to create win:win’s for Gitcoin and Allo!

6

I believe this is the right move. Freeing each entity from the tensions of horizontal by vertical will allow both to focus on what will make each succeed.

Congratultaions on make a decision, I’m excited to see what energy it unleashes, and innovations it unlocks!

1 Like
7

Incredibly excited to see this shift. I think the timing is spot on and I’m excited to see the momentum continue as Gitcoin and Allo continues to evolve and scale. I’m eager and excited to also see where there will be opportunity for collaboration between Allo and Gitcoin Grants.

Kudos to this team. 2025 is shaping up to be quite the year.

1 Like
8

If anyone is interested in seeing what the Allo.capital ecosystem has been up to since announcement… feel free to checkout

  1. our new research forum
  2. our telegram
  3. our github especially project boards
  4. our weekly office hours
9

Update: Allo.Capital is winding down

Hey all —

We’re winding down Allo.Capital. It didn’t work, and I want to be transparent about why.

When we spun this out in Jan 2025, the bet was that on-chain capital allocation would become a generational category and that Allo could own the developer layer of that stack. We gave it a real shot - shipped AlloKit, Deep Funding, Cookie Jar, InfiniteRegen.AI, a brief pivot towards launching a venture fund for the Gitcoin ecosystem. and went out to raise. After more than a year in market, here’s why it didn’t land:

  1. AlloKit, Deep Funding, Cookie Jar, InfiniteRegen.AI - All were interesting ideas and products that launched, but didnt find product market fit or revenue that could grow in a scalable way.

  2. My focus returned to Gitcoin. Rebuilding Gitcoin became a full time (or more) job and I couldnt focus on the fundraise.

  3. I couldn’t raise new capital. I spent most of late 2025 and Q1 2026 pitching the fund and could not bring in net-new institutional money.

  4. The crypto-VC fundraising environment was brutal. LP capital flew to a small number of mega-funds. Public-equity AI returns ate VC returns. Endowments cut allocations. “Crypto” anywhere on the deck was a hostile signal to a lot of LPs we needed.

  5. The fund was structurally too small to be effective in the landscape we pivoted into. DeAct-aligned companies tend to be capital-intensive and longer-cycle. A small early-stage check from us wasn’t going to be the difference in those rounds.

  6. The brand drag was real. “Allo” was illegible outside crypto, and even Allo’s pure-capital-allocation thesis inherited crypto skepticism in this fundraising climate. Different brand wouldn’t have flipped the underlying market, but it didn’t help.

What happens next

  • We are winding down the entity and liquidating remaining assets. The remaining fund capital (mostly ETH, USDC, GTC from the initial fundraise) will be returned to investors (Protocol Labs and Gitcoin). Allo.Capitals legal team is leading the legal wind-down.
  • The Allo.Capital energy is rolling forward with me into the Gitcoin work- where the skills transfer cleanly; capital allocation expertise is more transferable to philanthropic deployment than to a crypto-VC vehicle in this market.
  • Gitcoin gets some of its capital back, and 100% of my focus, but otherwise is unaffected in the structural sense. Gitcoin continues. The Allo.Capital work and its ecosystem aren’t tied to this entity wind-down. (Though Gitcoin will receive a portion of the liquidated assets)

What I want to say to the people who believed in this

To Protocol Labs, Gitcoin, and everyone who put time, capital, or reputation into Allo.Capital - thank you. You knew the risk going in. Most startups don’t make it. This one didn’t. I’m grateful you supported it anyway, and I’m grateful the wind-down conversation was the kind of conversation you can only have with people who actually have your back.

Most of all: I tried to make it work, and I couldn’t. That sits with me. The lesson I’m taking forward is conviction — pick the thing, hold it for a decade, don’t pivot every six months when the market gets hard. I’m applying that now to Gitcoin 3.0.

More on what’s next soon.

— owocki

6 Likes