Introducing the 2026 Btrust Builders Program

At Btrust Builders, our work is grounded in the belief that Bitcoin’s open‑source ecosystem only thrives when contributors are supported not just to learn, but to stay, grow, and lead over time.

As interest in Bitcoin development continues to rise, we’ve learned that access alone is not enough. Developers need structure. They need clear expectations. They need guidance that meets them where they are, and a path that doesn’t disappear once a single program ends.

That’s exactly what the 2026 Btrust Builders Program is designed to deliver.

Many of the insights that shaped this year’s design are captured in the 2025 Btrust Builders Program Report. In 2026, we are building directly on that foundation with sharper clarity, stronger systems, and a deeper commitment to long-term contribution.

Our Vision for 2026

This year, Btrust Builders is being designed as a scaled, high-quality contributor pipeline. Our goal is to absorb large applicant volumes without sacrificing rigor or care. We aim to meet developers where they are through a mix of self-paced learning and guided support, while maintaining a clear bar for excellence. We are focused on producing developers who are genuinely ready to contribute to Bitcoin open‑source projects and, over time, become strong candidates for grants and long‑term ecosystem roles.

Equally important, we are committed to delivering a consistently excellent student experience across all cohorts while protecting the sustainability of our faculty and mentors through better tooling, clearer systems, and intentional cohort sizing.

What Success Looks Like in 2026

We are measuring success differently than before. Graduation matters, but so does retention. We care about how many developers continue after BOSS through structured pathways. We care about whether there is a clear progression from graduation to fellowship, and from fellowship to grants. We care about real open‑source output, including meaningful contributions and merged pull requests. We care about whether alumni are still contributing six to twelve months later. And we care deeply about faculty satisfaction and sustainability.

The Builders program in 2026 is not optimized for short‑term wins, but is designed for durable outcomes.

The Btrust Builders Architecture

The Btrust Builders program in 2026 operates as a connected, three‑layer system.

The first layer is the on-ramp: the Btrust Builders Pathways, focused on skill-building, strong foundations, and contribution readiness. The second layer is acceleration, which happens through the Open Source Fellowship; a selective, high-touch, contribution-driven experience. The third layer is outcomes, where contributors transition into grants, continued open‑source work, ecosystem placements, and an active alumni network.

Rather than treating these as separate programs, we’ve designed them as a single, continuous journey.

How the Builders Journey Works

Developers enter Builders either through open applications or via the BOSS challenge. BOSS is a high‑bar external one‑month challenge run by Chaincode Labs, and in 2026 and continues in 2026 to serve primarily as a filter and signal generator.

Once in the pathways, developers build the technical knowledge, tooling familiarity, and contribution readiness needed to engage meaningfully with Bitcoin open-source projects. Through consistent participation and performance, top contributors are identified and invited into the Open Source Fellowship. From there, developers who demonstrate sustained impact are well positioned for grants and long-term involvement in Bitcoin open-source work, ensuring continuity beyond short-term programs and strengthening the broader ecosystem. 

The Btrust Builders Pathways

The Btrust Builders pathways form the core learning engine of the program.

Each pathway is designed to help developers build confidence, skills, and contribution readiness at different stages of their journey. All pathways use a hybrid model that combines self-paced and shared learning with live, guided support. We work in small groups, assign chaperones, and set clear weekly expectations so developers always understand what success looks like.

Mastering Bitcoin

Mastering Bitcoin is an eight‑week beginner pathway focused on theory and conceptual understanding. It runs twice in 2026. Participants study Bitcoin fundamentals using Mastering Bitcoin: Programming the Open Blockchain, Third Edition by Andreas Antonopoulos.

Learning is structured around guided readings, discussion prompts, recorded walkthroughs, and weekly live Socratic discussions led by chaperones. Developers are also placed in small buddy groups to encourage consistency and collaboration.

The goal of this pathway is to build strong Bitcoin mental models and a solid conceptual foundation.

Learn Bitcoin from the Command Line

Learn Bitcoin from the Command Line is a seven‑week intermediate pathway that also runs twice in 2026. It focuses on practical interaction with Bitcoin Core through the command‑line interface.

Participants work through GitHub-hosted exercises, set up their development environments, and gain hands-on experience interacting with nodes, transactions, and the network. Learning is supported by structured materials, weekly live review sessions, and Socratic discussions. Where possible, submissions are automatically checked to reduce overhead and speed up feedback.

The goal is practical confidence with Bitcoin Core and contributor workflows.

Rust for Bitcoiners

Rust for Bitcoiners is a six‑week intermediate-to-advanced pathway running twice in 2026.. It is designed for developers preparing to contribute to Bitcoin open‑source projects written in Rust.

The pathway mirrors existing BTCdemy and Btrust Builders practical exercises, emphasizing consistency, code quality, and real contribution patterns. Developers work in small groups per chaperone, attend weekly office hours and mentor syncs, and complete a required capstone project.

The goal is Rust proficiency tailored specifically for Bitcoin open-source work.

Language Clubs

Language Clubs are six‑week intermediate-to-advanced pathways that also run twice in 2026. They focus on other key programming languages used in Bitcoin development, beginning with Python and C++.

Learning is structured and peer‑supported, using Exercism alongside Builders‑specific practical add‑ons. Developers work in small groups, receive mentor support, and complete a capstone project. Grading is lightweight, but consistency checks are strong.

The goal is fluency in Bitcoin-relevant programming languages.

The Resource Hub

In 2026, the Btrust Builders program will be supported by the Resource Hub.

The Hub is a continuously updated, always-on knowledge base that supports developers before, during, and after every program. It serves contributors at every stage of the Builders pipeline, reduces repeated questions, lowers onboarding friction, and reinforces open-source best practices and norms.

The Hub includes contribution cheat sheets, walkthroughs, and step-by-step guides for first pull requests, issue selection, reviews, and maintainer communication. It also features curated lists of Bitcoin open-source projects organized by language, stack, and contribution readiness, alongside environment setup guides, workflows, and both technical and non-technical articles.

Across the program, the Hub is referenced weekly in pathways, serves as the primary landing resource for BOSS developers, supports fellowship contribution workflows, and remains available to alumni as a long-term learning resource.

The Open Source Fellowship

The Open Source Fellowship is the centerpiece of Builders 2026.

It is a ten-week, selective program designed for top performers across all pathways. Fellows receive stipends, work with assigned mentors, and operate within small homegroups. They contribute to pre-approved open-source projects, participate in weekly standups and contribution reviews, and produce technical writing such as articles, walkthroughs, and documentation.

The fellowship culminates in a proof-of-work database that provides public visibility and serves as a clear signal to Btrust and partner funders.

By the end of the fellowship, developers are grant-ready, have a strong public contribution record, and are positioned for sustained open-source impact.

The 2026 Program Calendar

The 2026 calendar reflects the full Builders journey across the year.

• The year begins in Q1 with the BOSS challenge running from January 12 to February 12. From February 12 onward, BOSS candidates flow directly into Btrust Builders Pathways. The first cohorts of Mastering Bitcoin and Learn Bitcoin from the Command Line run from early March through late April.
• Q2 focuses on Rust for Bitcoiners and Language Clubs, running from May 11 to June 19.
• In Q3, the second cohorts of Mastering Bitcoin and Learn Bitcoin from the Command Line run from June through July. The Open Source Fellowship runs from August 3 to October 9.
• Q4 brings the second cohorts of Rust for Bitcoiners and Language Clubs from October 12 to November 20. The year closes with program review and planning in November, and the 2027 program plan launches in December.

This calendar is intentional. It creates multiple entry points, clear progression, and a steady rhythm of learning, contribution, and outcomes throughout the year.

Systems, Faculty, and Evaluation

The 2026 Btrust Builders Program is supported by improved systems and infrastructure. The LMS hosts all pathway materials, enables self-paced learning, and reduces administrative load through progress tracking, submissions, grading rubrics, and integrations with GitHub and Discord. The website and pathways pages clearly communicate the full pipeline, timelines, and outcomes.

Our faculty model includes a Head of Program, Head of Engineering, Faculty Members, Chaperones, and Fellowship Mentors, each with clearly defined responsibilities and time commitments. Evaluation across pathways uses a shared rubric focused on consistency, technical understanding, engagement, initiative, collaboration, and communication.

Alumni and Long‑Term Outcomes

Beyond learning and graduation, 2026 places explicit emphasis on long-term contribution and leadership.

By year-end, we will maintain a live internal database of Bitcoin open-source projects to improve contributor matching. We are launching an alumni contributor network with private channels and regular calls, building a curated alumni directory to support ecosystem visibility and opportunity matching, and documenting clear post-Builders pathways into mentorship, faculty roles, BitDevs leadership, and ecosystem coordination.

We are also introducing non-financial recognition systems and tracking alumni retention and impact at six- and twelve-month intervals.

Our goal is simple. Btrust Builders should not just train developers. We should retain contributors.

Join Us

If you’d like to learn more about the Btrust Builders program, explore the pathways, or apply, you can start here: https://btrust.homerun.co/btrust-builders-application/en 

If you’re not ready to apply yet, we encourage you to explore the Btrust Builders Resource Hub. It’s always available and designed to help you start learning, make your first contributions, and understand how Bitcoin open‑source development works.

About Us

Btrust Builders is Btrust’s comprehensive engineering program dedicated to training and funding African software developers to contribute to Bitcoin and Lightning open-source projects. The Builders program provides technical mentorship, community support, and structured pathways to sustainable Bitcoin development careers.