₿trust Announces Q3 2024 Grant Recipients to Drive Open-Source Bitcoin Development

• The ₿trust Starter Grant offers full-time funding to qualified Bitcoin software engineers to contribute to open-source projects, aiming to help them identify a long-term focus.
• Each recipient receives six months of support, including a monthly stipend payable in bitcoin, technical guidance, and assistance in developing proposals to join the ₿trust Open-Source Cohort for long-term funding.

"Through these grants, we can tangibly contribute to decentralizing Bitcoin open-source development by introducing these developers with diverse perspectives to strengthen the resilience of the Bitcoin network," said Abubakar Nur Khalil, ₿trust’s interim CEO and board member, in a press release shared with No Bullshit Bitcoin.

• ₿trust grants are available to developers in Africa, the MENA region, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, with consideration for other Global South developers on a case-by-case basis based on their Proof of Work.
• The goal is to provide opportunities for talented developers from these diverse backgrounds to contribute to the Bitcoin ecosystem.

₿trust Starter Grant Recipients (Q3 2024)

• Enigbe Ochekliye. With over two years in backend engineering and experience on Bitcoin projects like Galoy's Stablesats and Easepay's PSP, Enigbe will enhance the Lightning Development Kit's rust-lightning and improve onboarding for new Bitcoin open-source contributors through this grant.
• Tobechi Chukwuleta. Tobechi, an experienced backend developer, has enhanced BTCPay Server's multisig capabilities and plugin development. He is using the Starter Grant to advance BTCPay's store functionality and improve its modularity.
• Kelvin Isievwore. Kelvin is currently contributing to Bitcoin projects like Polar and LND. Under the Starter Grant, he'll focus on optimizing local development environments for Bitcoin Lightning applications, streamlining testing and development for engineers on the Lightning Network.

The Starter Grants serve as a pathway to the ₿trust Open-Source Cohort, underscoring the importance of continuous development and long-term engagement in Bitcoin open-source projects.

The ₿trust Open-Source Cohort

• Recognizing the unique challenges faced by developers in the Global South, ₿trust has launched the ₿trust Open-Source Cohort. This program offers long-term support, mentorship, professional development, and peer collaboration for contributors to Bitcoin projects.

"The intention is to make grantees' Bitcoin open-source careers sustainable, and in addition to the long-term financial support we provide, create a supportive environment for them to thrive and feel a larger sense of community," said Abubakar Nur Khalil.

Members of the Q3 2024 ₿trust Open-Source cohort include:

• Abubakar Sadiq Ismail. Abubakar, a Nigerian Bitcoin Core contributor, focuses on optimizing the Bitcoin protocol, particularly in fee estimation and transaction analysis. His work enhances performance and reliability, and through the cohort, he will continue to improve the scalability and usability of Bitcoin.
• Duncan Dean. Duncan, a South African Lightning contributor, focuses on developing the Rust-lightning library and participates in projects like ldk-review-club and lndk. He improves CI actions and codebase robustness and aims to enhance his contributions to the Bitcoin and Lightning open-source ecosystem through the cohort.
• Oghenovo Usiwoma. Oghenovo, a skilled engineer from Nigeria, has contributed to Bitcoin Core and other projects since completing the ₿trust Builders 2023 cohort. His recent work under the ₿trust Starter Grant focused on advancing Silent Payments functionality in Bitcoin Core. In the ₿trust Open-Source Cohort, he will introduce new key formats and descriptors for Silent Payments, enhancing the Bitcoin protocol's scalability and privacy.

Apply for a ₿trust Starter Grant here . Follow ₿trust on X and LinkedIn to stay updated.

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