Bitcoin open-source development is growing, and so is the need for skilled developers to sustain and advance the ecosystem. At Btrust Builders, our mission is to identify, train, and support African developers as they build their expertise in Bitcoin and contribute meaningfully to open-source projects. With this in mind, we’
This quarter, Brandon Odiwuor and Itoro Ukpong have been awarded the Btrust Starter Grant, enabling them to work full-time on open-source Bitcoin projects and strengthen their contributions to the ecosystem.
We take a closer look at the progress and architecture of the dual-funded channel implementation in the Lightning Development Kit (LDK).
A recap of Btrust's 2024 milestones in decentralizing Bitcoin development in Africa and the Global South and impactful grants and education support for Africa, LATAM, and India.
Written by Sadiq Ismail In theory, Bitcoin Core’s block-building algorithm reserves 4,000 WU for miners’ coinbase transactions. This means it should generate a block template with a weight of 3,996,000 WU. However, in practice, this is not the case due to an accidental double-reservation bug (see
Btrust Builders, in collaboration with Chaincode Labs, is issuing a final call for applications to the 2025 Builders January Cohort. This part-time, three-month, fully remote program is designed to identify and push passionate software developers in Africa to contribute to Bitcoin open-source software (₿OSS). Applications are now open, and developers
We are excited to announce the Q4 2024 recipients of Btrust grants. This quarter, Abdullahi Yunus has been awarded the Starter Grant, while Enigbe Ochekliye and Tobechi Chukwuleta will transition to the Btrust Open-Source Cohort.
We are happy to announce that Kelvin Isievwore has been selected as our new Engineering Lead
Written by Sadiq Ismail In our journey to understand Bitcoin's cryptography, we've already seen how the ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm) plays a key role in securing transactions. But, as Abubakar Sadiq Ismail pointed out in his previous piece, ECDSA comes with a notable vulnerability;
Written by Sadiq Ismail Digital signatures are crucial for ensuring the authenticity and integrity of digital documents, offering a level of security that physical signatures simply can't match. Among the various digital signature algorithms available, the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) stands out for its efficiency and
GLOBAL, September 20, 2024 — Btrust, a non-profit organization focused on decentralizing the development of Bitcoin software, is partnering with the Africa Bitcoin Conference 2024 to present the ‘Btrust Developer Day’. The Btrust Developer Day will take place on December 8, 2024, at the JW Marriott Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. The
GLOBAL, Aug 16, 2024 — We are proud to announce the recipients of its Q3 Starter Grants and new members of the Btrust Open-Source Cohort. These grants highlight our dedication to expanding the pool of skilled contributors to Bitcoin's open-source ecosystem from the Global South. The Btrust Starter Grant
Btrust Builders
Written by Collins Okafor A Bitcoin block is a fundamental component of the Bitcoin blockchain, acting as a container for a group of transactions. Each block is linked to the previous one, forming a secure chain of data. At the heart of each block is a block header, which includes
Btrust Builders
Written by Charles Chege Ecash, conceptualized by David Chaum in the 1980s, was one of the first attempts to create anonymous digital currency. Chaum's idea used cryptographic proofs to mint and manage electronic tokens, ensuring the privacy of transactions through blinded digital signatures. These early ideas laid the
Btrust Builders
Written by Aurelia Naiyoma In the Bitcoin Network, peer discovery is an essential process that ensures nodes can effectively connect and exchange information. This plays a critical role in securing the network by ensuring blocks are propagated and transactions can be validated, forming the core basis of how the network
Btrust Builders
Written by Aurelia Naiyoma Imagine an instance where every tiny code change is traceable, and transactions are secured with unbreakable chains of verification. This is the power of Merkle trees, a deceptively simple data structure at the heart of systems like Git and Bitcoin. Merkle trees work by converting data
Btrust Builders
GLOBAL, Jan 19, 2024 — Btrust Builders is excited to announce the commencement of its January 2024 fellowship cohort. The cohort, consisting of 55 carefully selected fellows, is set to kick off on Monday, the 22nd of January 2024. These participants have successfully gone through the rigorous code challenge and faculty
Btrust Builders
Are you ready to build innovative solutions tailored to the unique challenges faced by Africans? Welcome aboard the Build for Africa Bitcoin and Lightning Hackathon train! As you prepare to dive into building, we want to share some valuable insights to help you choose the right idea to enter for
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The “Build For Africa” hackathon is a virtual hackathon for anyone interested in building innovative applications and tools to solve African problems powered by Bitcoin and the Lightning network. Organized by Btrust Builders in partnership with the Africa Bitcoin Conference 2023, the hackathon will serve as a launchpad for collaborative
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Jay-Z and Jack Dorsey-funded Bitcoin Non-profit Acquires Qala to Build Next Generation of Open-Source Bitcoin Developers GLOBAL, Sept 5, 2024 — Btrust, a non-profit organisation which exists to decentralise the development of Bitcoin software, has today announced its acquisition of Qala, the leading organisation training the next generation of African Bitcoin
Btrust Builders
Written by Oghenovo Usiwoma Lightning is a second layer for Bitcoin that uses micropayment channels to scale the blockchain’s capability to conduct transactions more efficiently. This layer consists of multiple nodes that can open and close payment channels with each other, without having to broadcast every transaction to the
Btrust Builders
Written by Ibironke Marvellous The Lightning Network is a second-layer payment protocol built on the Bitcoin network. It is designed to improve the scalability of the Bitcoin network and provide near-instant, low-cost transactions. In contrast, the Bitcoin network is a first-layer payment protocol that supports secure, decentralized transactions. The Lightning
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Written by Nasser Saazi One of the most fundamental properties of Bitcoin as a medium of exchange is that transactions, once made, remain valid and cannot be double spent. When Alice pays Bob, she wants the assurance that the payment made can never be invalidated. This is critical to the
Btrust Builders
Written by Abubakar Sadiq Ismail Bitcoin address is a set of alphanumeric characters which can also be encoded in a QR code format, bitcoin addresses have uniform prefixes 1, 3, bc1 etc., and each prefix type has a meaning. Bitcoin addresses are used to receive bitcoin payments from other bitcoin