Btrust

On November 29 and 30, we hosted our annual #BtrustGathering at the Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel in Port Louis, Mauritius 🇲🇺. This year’s theme, mapping the future ofnopen‑source collaboration across the Global South, set the tone for two days of deep learning, open conversation, and collective action. We welcomed around 75 participants from across our community, including the Btrust team, grantees, and members from @Btrust Builders, @bitshala, @La Librería de Satoshi and @vinteum. Together, we explored the evolving landscape of open‑source Bitcoin development and how collaboration can accelerate progress across the Global South. Two days of exchanges, workshops, and genuine connection reminded us of the power of community and what’s possible when developers across the Global South co‑create the future of open‑source Bitcoin development. We’re deeply grateful to everyone who joined us, and we’re looking forward to the work ahead of us.

"This is my first time outside India 🇮🇳 to an international bitcoin conference or gathering. The bar has been set really high for me now." Paperpsych from @bitshala. Day two of the 2025 #BtrustGathering built beautifully on the momentum from day one, diving deeper into collective learning and collaboration.

Day two of the #BtrustGathering began with an opening plenary, where participants shared takeaways and reflections from day one and discussed what to look forward to. The morning continued with a session on rethinking developer funding and support, facilitated by Kelvin Isievwore. This session explored how developers across the Global South are supported, financially and beyond, through existing funding mechanisms, mentorship, travel opportunities, and access to tools. We brainstormed practical ways to build fairer, more sustainable models that empower developers long‑term. Next came an insightful session on finding your lane and building credibility in open-source, by Edil Medeiros. This conversation encouraged developers to navigate their open‑source development journeys with authenticity, confidence, and resilience. We then had a thought‑provoking panel on AI, facilitated by Kelvin Isievwore and featuring Abubakar Nur Khalil, Raj, Bruno Ely Reis Garcia, Federico Zupicich, and Leonardo L. The panel unpacked how AI is reshaping open‑source contributions, from enhancing reviews and documentation to transforming developer workflows, and discussed both the opportunities and trade‑offs it brings to Bitcoin development. After a productive morning of discussions and learning, we took a break to take group photos and lunch. In the afternoon we moved into the mapping Global South FOSS priorities workshop, facilitated by Abubakar Nur Khalil. Participants worked collaboratively to define shared priorities, align regional outcomes, and begin drafting a collective 2026 roadmap for open‑source growth across the region. We closed the day, and the gathering, with a heart‑to‑heart fireside chat on lessons from the field. This conversation, featuring Kelvin Isievwore, Nymius, Abubakar Sadiq Ismail, Stratosphere and Marcello Pinsdorf, highlighted real‑world experiences, challenges, and lessons from the community, with candid reflections on sustaining motivation, balancing life and contribution, and navigating burnout. With the Gathering coming to a close, participants left inspired and energized, ready to carry the spirit of collaboration, learning, and open‑source excellence into the year ahead.

Day one of the #BtrustGathering began with an engaging opening plenary by Stephanie Titcombe, followed by the state of Btrust address from our CEO, @Abubakar Nur Khalil, who shared a thoughtful year‑in‑review, key milestones from 2025, and the outlook for 2026. The morning continued with the 2025 program reports, where @Btrust Builders, @vinteum, @bitshala, and Libreria de Satoshi presented updates on their work, growth, and the impact they’ve created in supporting open‑source Bitcoin development across the Global South. In the afternoon, participants joined cross‑organization working groups to explore opportunities for collaboration on joint programs, developer connectivity, localization, and technical cooperation. Discussions also covered shared initiatives, developer exchange and communication, grants and sustainability, as well as community growth, storytelling, and brand alignment. These sessions were energetic and idea‑driven, with groups sharing thoughtful outputs that reflected the strength of cross‑community collaboration. The day captured the essence of what the gathering stands for; connection, transparency, and collective progress. It was a powerful reminder of how much can be achieved when builders from across the Global South come together to advance open‑source Bitcoin development.

Highlights from day one of the 2025 #BtrustGathering 🎉 Day one of set the tone for the work that's to come in 2026. It was a day focused on sharing progress, celebrating program highlights, and reflecting on our collective impact across the ecosystem.

We recently announced our Q4 2025 Btrust Developer Grant recipients at this year’s #BtrustDeveloperDay 🚀 We’re celebrating six exceptional Bitcoin open‑source developers from across Africa who are driving forward decentralization, privacy, and scalability in the Bitcoin ecosystem. This cohort includes four starter grant recipients and two long‑term open‑source cohort members, all building critical infrastructure that strengthens the global Bitcoin ecosystem. Read the full announcement and meet the recipients on our blog:

Btrust Blog

Announcing Q4, 2025 Btrust Developer Grant Recipients

Africa, December 12, 2025 — We’re excited to recognize six outstanding Bitcoin open-source developers awarded Btrust grants, including four sta...

The Btrust Starter Grant empowers software engineers to contribute to open‑source Bitcoin development full‑time, offering mentorship, community support, and the freedom to focus on impactful, long‑term projects. Shammah Destiny Agwor is advancing privacy and reliability within Rust‑Payjoin, enhancing transaction‑level privacy through metrics‑driven adoption tracking, performance optimizations, and security enhancements. He will also lead the creation of a community Payjoin PR Review Club to onboard new contributors. Mohamed Emad is improving Bitcoin privacy infrastructure by enhancing the Mill‑IO event‑loop library and leading the migration of Coinswap to an event‑driven architecture. His work will bring Bitcoin‑specific performance optimizations, a new RPC framework, and detailed developer documentation to strengthen privacy and scalability. Simon focuses on mining decentralization through the Stratum V2 Template Provider and sv2‑apps. As co‑founder of BitDevs Nairobi, Btrust Builders faculty member, and Bitcoin educator who has facilitated developer bootcamps both within and outside Kenya, he is helping nurture the next generation of open‑source contributors. Ifeanyichukwu Amajuoyi is strengthening Lightning infrastructure through production‑level improvements to LDK‑Server, adding PostgreSQL support for high availability, a unified logging system, and comprehensive telemetry. His work addresses core stability and operability for Lightning Service Providers (LSPs) worldwide. The Btrust Long‑Term Grant sustains established open‑source contributors with year‑long support, mentoring, and funding to help them expand their impact across vital Bitcoin projects. Abdullahi Yunus, a former Starter Grantee and Btrust Builders alum, is deepening his work on Onion Messaging (BOLT 4) and BOLT 12 Offers in LND, pushing forward privacy‑preserving, invoice‑less Lightning payments. He will also enhance Lightning Polar with new developer tooling and testing features to support broader interoperability in the Lightning Network. Sulaiman Aminu Barkindo is driving VLS (Validating Lightning Signer) to mainnet readiness, integrating secure persistence, fuzz testing, dual funding, and splicing support while improving entropy security and enterprise‑scale validation. His long‑term focus on security and enclave deployments will make VLS production‑ready for non‑custodial Lightning operators. Five of the six recipients are graduates of the Btrust Builders program, which offers structured learning pathways covering Bitcoin fundamentals, open‑source contribution practices, and mentorship from seasoned Bitcoin developers. Their journey, from Builders graduates to funded grantees, highlights Btrust’s commitment to cultivating long‑term open‑source careers in the Global South and expanding the network of independent Bitcoin contributors worldwide. Applications are now open for the 2026 ₿OSS (Bitcoin Open‑Source Software) Challenge, a structured, hands‑on program for developers taking their first steps into Bitcoin open‑source development, created by Chaincode Labs. Learn about the ₿OSS Challenge:

Btrust Blog

Btrust Builders & Chaincode Labs Partner Again for the 2026 BOSS Challenge

Applications are ongoing for the 2026 ₿OSS (Bitcoin Open-Source Software) Challenge, kicking off January 12, 2026.

Apply for the 2026 cohort:

Btrust - Start Your Career in Bitcoin Open Source Software 2026

Online

BOSS Challenge cohort applications close December 31st, 2025. Btrust developer grant applications are open year-round, with new recipients announced quarterly. If you’re a developer passionate about contributing to Bitcoin open-source development, we encourage you to apply. Learn more about our grant programs and apply through our website: https://www.btrust.tech/grants/developer

Applications for the Btrust Board are ongoing 🚨 We are seeking new board members from the Global South region to join our mission-driven organization and help shape its next chapter. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to Btrust’s vision of strengthening Bitcoin open-source development across the Global South. The incoming members will succeed our inaugural board as part of Btrust’s planned transition process. Following this first three-year term, all future boards will serve two-year terms, with staggered transitions to ensure continuity and stability. If you’re passionate about open-source development, Bitcoin, and community-driven impact, we’d love to hear from you. 🗓 Applications close: 22nd December, 2025 📢 Notifications sent by 26th January, 2026 Learn more and apply here:

Google Docs

Call for Board Members

Thank you for your interest and for taking the time to apply for a seat on the Btrust Board. Btrust is a non-profit organization committed to dece...

We’re excited to partner with Chaincode Labs for the 2026 ₿OSS Challenge, through our engineering program, @Btrust Builders.🎉 Learn more about the partnership and program here:

Btrust Blog

Btrust Builders & Chaincode Labs Partner Again for the 2026 BOSS Challenge

Applications are ongoing for the 2026 ₿OSS (Bitcoin Open-Source Software) Challenge, kicking off January 12, 2026.

Applications are open until the 31st of this month. Apply to join the cohort here:

Btrust - Start Your Career in Bitcoin Open Source Software 2026

Online

We're excited to be sponsoring this year's @Africa Bitcoin Conference, happening from December 3-5 at the Caudan Arts Centre in Port Louis, Mauritius. The conference brings together builders, businesses, innovators, policymakers, and community members from across Africa and beyond, all working to advance bitcoin on the continent. This year, we've flown in over 90 people from across our ecosystem, including the Btrust team, grantees, members from Btrust Builders, Bitshala, Vinteum & Librería de Satoshi, #BtrustDeveloperDay speakers, and more, to attend the conference. You'll see us throughout the event, with some of our community members speaking at the conference. We'll also have a booth, so make sure to stop by to learn more about what we're working on and grab some merch. We're looking forward to networking with fellow builders, innovators, and community members. See you soon! #ABC25 #BtrustInMauritius

If you’re joining us at the #BtrustDeveloperDay, we’ve got you covered. We’re offering free transport for all attendees to make getting to the venue as easy as possible. 🚍 Buses will be running from 7am to 11am, and if you’re coming from Middlesex University, pickups will go until noon. Here are the routes where you can catch a ride: • University of Mauritius (UoM) → Reduit → Moka • Middlesex University → Coastal Road → Uniciti → Flic‑en‑Flac • African Leadership College (ALCHE) → 21001 Powder Mill Road → Pamplemousses When the event wraps up, return buses will depart from 4:30pm, following the same routes back. Find your route, hop on, and enjoy the ride. Your transport to Dev Day is on us! 🎉 👉 Register to attend:

Btrust Developer Day 2025

The Btrust Developer Day is back, and this year we’re heading to Mauritius 🇲🇺. This one-day technical event is designed for Bitcoin develop...