BitDevs Explained: What to Expect and How to Get Involved

Walk into a BitDevs meetup for the first time and you may feel as though the conversation started before you arrived.

Someone might be discussing a recent change proposed for Bitcoin Core. A few minutes later, the group moved on to a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal, better known as a BIP, or a new idea for the Lightning Network. People ask questions, challenge assumptions, and debate the trade-offs.

There are usually no long presentations and no expectation that everyone will reach the same conclusion. Instead, the meetup is built around open discussion.

At first, it can be hard to understand what you are walking into. Is BitDevs a technical meetup, a study group, or simply a place to keep up with what is happening in Bitcoin?

In many ways, it is all three. But BitDevs is also something more: a place to learn with others, exchange ideas, meet potential collaborators, and become part of the wider Bitcoin open-source community.

And despite the name, you do not need to be a developer to attend.

How BitDevs Started

BitDevs began in New York City as a space for people interested in the technical side of Bitcoin to discuss new developments and learn from one another.

Since then, the idea has spread around the world. Independent BitDevs chapters now organize regular meetups in cities across different countries. Each community is locally run, but they share a similar goal of helping people understand and participate in the conversations shaping Bitcoin.

In Africa, BitDevs communities are now active in more than 15 cities across several countries. Btrust supports the largest network of BitDevs meetups on the continent, helping local communities create consistent spaces for learning, discussion, and collaboration.

Most chapters meet once a month, giving members a regular opportunity to reconnect, explore new topics, and keep up with developments across the Bitcoin ecosystem.

What Happens at a BitDevs Meetup?

BitDevs meetups usually follow a Socratic format. This simply means they are led by discussion rather than presentations or lectures.

The exact format may differ from one chapter to another. Some chapters focus entirely on a Socratic discussion, while others may include workshops, project demos, or beginner sessions. Each chapter adapts its meetup to the needs of its local community.

What remains the same is the core idea of BitDevs: creating an open, discussion-led space where people can explore developments in Bitcoin, ask questions, challenge ideas, and learn from one another.

Before each meetup, organizers often share an agenda containing recent topics from across the Bitcoin ecosystem. During the meetup, a facilitator introduces each topic and invites people to share what they know, ask questions, and examine the idea from different angles.

The goal is not for one person to stand at the front of the room and provide all the answers. It is for the group to think through the topic together.

That approach reflects how Bitcoin itself is developed. Open-source development rarely moves forward because one person has a perfect idea. Proposals are shared, questioned, tested, reviewed, and improved. Healthy disagreement is part of the process. BitDevs brings that process into the room.

You Don’t Have to Be Technical to Join

It is easy to assume that BitDevs is only for experienced programmers. After all, many discussions involve code, protocols, security, and other technical subjects.

But you do not need to write code, or understand every topic, to benefit from attending.

Designers, writers, researchers, educators, product managers, community organizers, students, and people who are simply curious about Bitcoin can all take part. Open-source projects need more than code. They also need clear documentation, thoughtful design, useful research, strong communities, and people who can explain complex ideas in simple ways.

A designer might learn about a usability problem in a bitcoin wallet. A writer may discover a technical idea that needs better documentation. A researcher might find an unanswered question worth exploring. A founder may meet someone interested in building a new project.

You are also allowed to attend simply to listen. Many regular BitDevs members began by sitting quietly, following the conversation, and looking up unfamiliar terms afterwards. Understanding develops over time. No one is expected to know everything before walking through the door.

Building Context Before Contributing

One of the biggest benefits of BitDevs is context. Before contributing to an open-source project, it helps to understand the problems people are trying to solve. You also need to know what has already been tried, why certain decisions were made, and what trade-offs contributors are considering.

Those details are not always easy to pick up from reading code or social media posts alone.

At BitDevs, you can hear people explain not only what is happening but also why it matters. You begin to understand how experienced contributors approach problems, evaluate proposals, and respond to disagreement.

That context is useful whether you eventually contribute to Bitcoin Core, Lightning, wallets, developer tools, research, education, design, or another part of the ecosystem.

BitDevs will not turn someone into an open-source contributor in one evening. What it can do is help build the habits that make long-term contribution possible: curiosity, careful thinking, consistent learning, and the confidence to ask better questions.

More Than Technical Learning

The conversations are important, but they are not the only reason people keep coming back. BitDevs also helps people build relationships.

At a meetup, you might:

• Debate an idea with people who see it differently
• Find someone who can help you understand a difficult topic
• Meet a partner or collaborator for a project
• Discover an open-source issue you can work on
• Get feedback on an idea you are exploring
• Learn about programs, grants, jobs, and hackathons
• Find a mentor, or eventually become one
• Become part of a community that supports your growth

Across Africa, members of BitDevs communities have gone on to join programs such as the BOSS Challenge and Btrust Builders. Some have won hackathons or started their own projects. Others have become full-time Bitcoin open-source contributors with support from organizations such as the Human Rights Foundation and Btrust.

Not everyone will follow the same path, and that is the point. A meetup can be the beginning of many different journeys.

How to Get the Most From a Meetup

Getting value from BitDevs has less to do with how much you already know and more to do with how you approach the experience.

Come Prepared, Not Perfect

Most BitDevs communities publish the agenda before each meetup. Spend a little time looking through it before you attend.

You do not need to understand every pull request, proposal, or research paper. Even reading a short summary can make the discussion easier to follow. Write down any terms or questions you want to explore.

The aim is not to arrive as an expert. It is to arrive curious.

Ask Questions

If something is unclear, there is a good chance someone else is wondering about it too.

Questions such as “What problem is this trying to solve?” or “Why is this approach controversial?” can help open up the discussion. Simple questions often bring the conversation back to the ideas that matter most.

If you are not comfortable speaking during your first meetup, that is fine too. Listen, take notes, and speak with someone afterwards.

Follow the Topics That Interest You

You probably will not understand or enjoy every discussion. Pay attention to the topics that stay with you after the meetup.

Go back to the proposal that caught your attention. Read more about the project someone mentioned. Look up the unfamiliar term you wrote down. Ask a member of the community where you can learn more. Those small moments of curiosity build knowledge over time.

Talk to People

Do not leave as soon as the final topic ends. Introduce yourself and tell people what you are interested in, even if you are still figuring that out.

You may meet someone working on a similar problem, looking for a designer, starting a study group, or preparing for a hackathon. Many useful collaborations begin with a simple conversation after a meetup.

Keep Showing Up

BitDevs makes more sense with time. The first meetup may introduce you to unfamiliar ideas. By the third or fourth, you may begin to recognize recurring debates, projects, and contributors. Eventually, you may find yourself asking questions, sharing what you have learned, helping newcomers, or working on a project of your own. You do not need to understand everything immediately. Consistency matters more.

Find a BitDevs Community Near You

BitDevs meetups take place monthly in communities around the world. Across Africa, there are chapters in more than 15 cities across several countries. Visit our website to find a community near you.

Follow your local chapter on social media and join its community channels to receive updates about upcoming meetups, discussion topics, and other opportunities.

Remember, you do not have to wait until you feel “technical enough”. Find a meetup, show up with an open mind, and start from where you are. One conversation may lead to a question, a collaborator, a project, or an entirely new direction.