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: 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: Apply for the 2026 cohort: 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: image
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: Applications are open until the 31st of this month. Apply to join the cohort here: image
We're excited to be sponsoring this year's @npub1ndzn...5nva, 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 & LibrerĂ­a 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 image
1 day to go 🚀 Get ready for a full day of building at this year's #BtrustDeveloperDay. Tomorrow we dive into hands-on sessions, real-time problem-solving, and a full lineup designed to help you learn, collaborate, and create. We'll be sharing updates across our social media channels throughout the day, so stay tuned and follow along. And don't forget to bring your laptop. Learn more and register on our website: devday.btrust.tech image
The 2025 #BtrustDeveloperDay schedule is live. 🚀 If you’ve been waiting to see what’s in store, from workshops and keynotes to live demos and lightning talks, it’s all up now. Catch all the sessions and plan your day on our website: Register to attend the Developer Day here: Get ready for a full day of learning, building, and connecting with the global Bitcoin developer community. ⚡ image
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: image
New to bitcoin? Stop by the Bitcoin 101 booth at the #BtrustDeveloperDay to get guided, hands‑on help from our team.  Our booth will walk you through the fundamentals of bitcoin, what it is, how it works, and why it matters, while helping you set up your wallet. You’ll get to explore user‑friendly tools like Wallet of Satoshi and @Blink Wallet and learn how to send, receive, and secure your bitcoin with confidence. Our team will be available throughout the event to answer questions, share practical tips, and help you take your first steps toward bitcoin ownership and financial independence. 👉 Register to attend the Developer Day here: image