Bitcoin is open source. Its long-term resilience depends in part on the people who review, maintain and improve it.
Btrust was founded in 2021 through a donation of 500 BTC from Jack Dorsey and Jay-Z, with the aim of helping decentralize Bitcoin open-source development.
Our mission is to support the Bitcoin open-source ecosystem in the Global Majority. Starting in Africa and expanding into regions including India and Latin America, we help people find opportunities to learn, connect and contribute.
People in the Global Majority are not only users of Bitcoin. They help build it.
Btrust Builders is a comprehensive engineering program designed to train experienced software developers in Africa to contribute to open-source Bitcoin and Lightning development.
Our program offers an immersive learning experience for engineers looking to build their competencies and portfolio in Bitcoin & Lightning development and a ramp to build a sustainable (funded) career contributing to open-source Bitcoin projects.
Application is open all year round for mid-senior level engineers ready for the transition.
We have two grant schemes for developers who want to start or continue their contribution efforts to open-source Bitcoin projects.
This grant supports software developers new to Bitcoin open-source contributions. It provides full-time funding for six months to help you focus on key projects and prepare a strong proposal for long-term support.
Working in open source can feel isolating, especially for developers in the Global South facing pay and career uncertainties.
Our Open Source Cohort offers support, allowing you to contribute to Bitcoin projects independently within a supportive team framework.
Btrust sponsors independently organized BitDevs meetups across Africa. Local organizers bring developers, researchers and technically curious participants together to discuss Bitcoin research, software and related protocols.
Explore a chapter near you or learn what it takes to start one in your city.
Global Majority, April 9, 2026 — 2025 was a pivotal year for us at Btrust, as it marked the start of what we believe will serve as the generational foundation for the organization and Btrust Builders for years to come.
In this post, we provide a simplified, high‑level explanation of how Silent Payments work, their advantages over existing approaches, and how they can be used in practice. We will also walk through a practical example of receiving and scanning Silent Payment outputs using Frigate and BDK.
Africa, April 1, 2026 — We're excited to announce our largest Btrust developer grant cohort to date. Ten outstanding Bitcoin open-source developers have been awarded grants, comprising six starter grant recipients and four open-source cohort members, including two renewals and two promotions from starter to long-term grants.
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