We’re excited to announce the Q1 Btrust Developer Grant recipients, our largest cohort to date. 🚀
Ten Bitcoin open-source developers have been awarded grants, including six starter grant recipients and four open-source cohort members, including two renewals and two promotions from starter to long-term grants.
This cohort also marks a couple of important firsts: support for Cashu 🥜 development and the introduction of a dedicated research role within the open-source cohort. This builds on our work across the stack, from core protocol development to wallets, privacy tools, and user-facing applications.
The Btrust starter grant provides support for software engineers ready to contribute full-time to open-source Bitcoin development. It allows recipients to explore areas of interest, identify a focus for long-term contributions, and engage deeply with the global Bitcoin developer community with relevant support via mentorship and without financial constraints.
Q1, 2026 starter grantees are:
• Michael Ariwaodo working on Cashu
• Frankline Omondi working on Bitcoin Core and bip353‑rs
• John Osezele working on Bitcoin Dev Kit and Rust Payjoin
• Victor Chabunda working on rust‑payjoin and UniFFI‑Dart
• Muhammad Shehu working on Payjoin Dev Kit and Bitcoin Dev Kit
• Sonkeng Maldini working on Bitcoin Dev Kit and Bitcoin Core
The Btrust Open-Source Cohort offers long-term support to established Bitcoin open-source contributors, promoting a collaborative environment for sustained development.
Members receive funding paid monthly in bitcoin, mentorship, and peer support to deepen their work on critical Bitcoin open-source projects. The cohort model aims to build a resilient, inclusive developer ecosystem, enabling contributors from the Global Majority to make meaningful, lasting impacts on Bitcoin's open-source ecosystem.
Q1, 2026 long-term grantees are:
• Chuks Agbakuru working on Lightning Dev Kit
• Peter Tyonum working on Bitcoin Dev Kit
• Enigbe Ochekliye working on Lightning Dev Kit with a focus on research
• Tobechi Chukwuleta working on BTCPay Server
Learn more about the recipients and what they’re working on in the blog: https://blog.btrust.tech/q1-2026-btrust-developer-grant-announcement
Applications for Btrust developer grants are open year-round, with new grantees announced quarterly.
If you’re a developer looking to contribute to Bitcoin open source projects, we encourage you to apply.
Learn more about Btrust developer grants here: https://www.btrust.tech/grants/developer
Ten Bitcoin open-source developers have been awarded grants, including six starter grant recipients and four open-source cohort members, including two renewals and two promotions from starter to long-term grants.
This cohort also marks a couple of important firsts: support for Cashu 🥜 development and the introduction of a dedicated research role within the open-source cohort. This builds on our work across the stack, from core protocol development to wallets, privacy tools, and user-facing applications.
The Btrust starter grant provides support for software engineers ready to contribute full-time to open-source Bitcoin development. It allows recipients to explore areas of interest, identify a focus for long-term contributions, and engage deeply with the global Bitcoin developer community with relevant support via mentorship and without financial constraints.
Q1, 2026 starter grantees are:
• Michael Ariwaodo working on Cashu
• Frankline Omondi working on Bitcoin Core and bip353‑rs
• John Osezele working on Bitcoin Dev Kit and Rust Payjoin
• Victor Chabunda working on rust‑payjoin and UniFFI‑Dart
• Muhammad Shehu working on Payjoin Dev Kit and Bitcoin Dev Kit
• Sonkeng Maldini working on Bitcoin Dev Kit and Bitcoin Core
The Btrust Open-Source Cohort offers long-term support to established Bitcoin open-source contributors, promoting a collaborative environment for sustained development.
Members receive funding paid monthly in bitcoin, mentorship, and peer support to deepen their work on critical Bitcoin open-source projects. The cohort model aims to build a resilient, inclusive developer ecosystem, enabling contributors from the Global Majority to make meaningful, lasting impacts on Bitcoin's open-source ecosystem.
Q1, 2026 long-term grantees are:
• Chuks Agbakuru working on Lightning Dev Kit
• Peter Tyonum working on Bitcoin Dev Kit
• Enigbe Ochekliye working on Lightning Dev Kit with a focus on research
• Tobechi Chukwuleta working on BTCPay Server
Learn more about the recipients and what they’re working on in the blog: https://blog.btrust.tech/q1-2026-btrust-developer-grant-announcement
Applications for Btrust developer grants are open year-round, with new grantees announced quarterly.
If you’re a developer looking to contribute to Bitcoin open source projects, we encourage you to apply.
Learn more about Btrust developer grants here: https://www.btrust.tech/grants/developer
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