Btrust Developer Grants for Bitcoin open source
Btrust pays Bitcoin open source developers in BTC to work full time, with six month starter grants and yearly long term grants. Applications are open all year.
Btrust Developer Grants pay developers in BTC to work full time on Bitcoin open source projects. Btrust runs two tracks: the Open-Source Starter Grant and the Btrust Open-Source Cohort for long term contributors.
The starter grant lasts six months and is for developers who are new to Bitcoin open source. The long term grant lasts one year and can be renewed. It also covers a hardware stipend and travel to conferences. Btrust does not publish the grant amounts.
Starter applicants need at least one merged code PR, not only documentation, and work beyond good first issues. They must pick one project, write a six month plan, commit to full time work and bring a reference from a project mentor or contributor. Long term applicants need at least a year of documented work, a clear plan and a willingness to mentor starter grantees.
Eligible work includes the Bitcoin protocol, Lightning, mining protocols, wallets, privacy tools and developer tooling. There is no fixed project list, and each application is judged on its own.
Applications are open all year, and Btrust names new recipients every quarter. On 16 September 2026 Btrust said it is widening its long term grants from Africa to Brazil, India and other countries. On 23 September 2026 it named ten Q3 recipients from Nigeria, Kenya, India and Brazil.