Q1 2025 Builders Pathways Graduation

The first cohorts of the Builders Pathways have officially completed their programs. Over the past two months, developers from across Africa participated in the Mastering Bitcoin and Learn Bitcoin from the Command Line pathways, each designed to strengthen technical skills, build a deep understanding of Bitcoin, and prepare developers for real-world open-source contributions. 

These pathways are part of Btrust Builders’ developer education strategy: a progressive, hands-on system that supports developers at different stages of their journey, from first learning about Bitcoin to making meaningful contributions to open-source projects. The Q1 2025 cohorts were our first to run under this new framework, and they’ve set a high bar.

Mastering Bitcoin

In our Mastering Bitcoin pathway, we accepted 96 developers from across the continent, including participants from Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda, Rwanda, and Malawi. The cohort was made up of 80% male and 20% female participants, with Lagos and Nairobi emerging as the top contributor cities.

Over the course of eight weeks, learners studied Mastering Bitcoin: Programming the Open Blockchain (3rd Edition) by Andreas M. Antonopoulos. Each week focused on a new technical concept, from how Bitcoin transactions work and how wallets are constructed, to the deeper mechanics of mining, consensus, and second-layer protocols. Learning was collaborative and peer-led, with developers attending weekly 90-minute group study sessions, preparing presentations on Socratic questions, and engaging in weekly partner discussions that challenged their thinking and expanded their technical depth .

In the end, 41 developers successfully met the graduation criteria, which included consistent attendance, active participation in peer discussions, and a demonstrated understanding of the study material.

You can view the full list of graduates and their final rankings here.

Learn Bitcoin from the Command Line

In parallel, we launched our first cohort of Learn Bitcoin from the Command Line, a 7-week, hands-on program designed to give intermediate learners practical experience with Bitcoin Core through the command-line interface. We accepted 68 developers into the cohort, with participation spanning seven countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Benin, Ghana, Uganda, and Brazil. The group was 81% male and 19% female, with Nairobi, Lagos, and Abuja emerging as the most active cities.

Throughout the program, developers worked directly with Bitcoin-CLI to run commands, build transactions, and analyze outputs from a local Bitcoin Core node. They explored multisig, PSBTs, timelocks, and the basics of Bitcoin scripting. Every week, participants completed technical assignments, met with partners, and joined live study sessions to discuss implementation details and clarify tough concepts.

Of the 68 developers who joined, 24 completed the pathway and met the graduation criteria. You can view the full list of graduates and their final rankings here.

What’s Next?

Several top performers from the Q1 2025 pathways have been invited to join the Btrust Builders Open Source Bootcamp, which begins on May 12, 2025. This four-week experience is designed to help developers take their first steps into real world Bitcoin open-source development. 

During the bootcamp, participants will set up their development environments, review and explore real Bitcoin projects, and make their first meaningful contributions to open-source repositories. They’ll also receive weekly guidance and feedback from mentors and faculty, building the skills and confidence needed to qualify for developer grants and continue their journey as long-term contributors.

This program serves as a bridge between the Btrust Builders Pathways and the Btrust Developer Grants, which support developers working full-time on open-source Bitcoin projects.

Q2 Pathways Are Open

As we celebrate these first graduates, applications are now open for two new Builders Pathways launching in June  2025:

• Rust for Bitcoiners: A 4–6 week technical track for intermediate to advanced developers looking to learn Rust for Bitcoin development. 
• Language Clubs: A self-paced experience for beginner and intermediate developers who want to strengthen their programming fundamentals in other languages relevant to Bitcoin.

Interested in building your skills and contributing to open-source Bitcoin development? Apply now to join the next cohort of Builders pathways: https://btrust.homerun.co/btrust-builders-application/en  

You can also join the Btrust Builders Discord to stay connected with the community and get real-time updates.

Thank You to the Builders Team

None of this would be possible without the dedication of the Btrust Builders team, faculty and chaperones. Their mentorship, patience, and behind-the-scenes effort shaped these cohorts into something meaningful.

To everyone who showed up, stayed curious, asked questions, shipped code, or supported the journey, thank you.

About Us

Btrust Builders is Btrust’s comprehensive engineering program designed to train experienced software developers in Africa to contribute to open-source Bitcoin & Lightning development. The program offers an immersive learning experience for engineers looking to build their competencies and portfolio in Bitcoin & Lightning development and a ramp to build a sustainable (funded) career contributing to open-source Bitcoin projects.