Meet Shammah Agwor, one of the 2025 BOSS alumni, a passionate software engineer from Port Harcourt, Nigeria 🇳🇬, who has steadily grown into an active Bitcoin open‑source contributor. Shammah’s journey began long before joining the BOSS program. With a background in security engineering and years of experience in backend systems, he discovered his true calling in Bitcoin open‑source development. Through the program, he deepened his work in Rust‑Payjoin, a privacy‑enhancing Bitcoin project focused on improving transaction privacy and disrupting common input ownership heuristics. Today, Shammah continues to contribute full‑time to Bitcoin open-source. His work on Rust‑Payjoin includes major improvements like metrics collection for adoption tracking, caching mechanisms for performance, and better code structure for maintainability, all critical to strengthening Bitcoin’s privacy layer and reliability. Shammah’s ongoing impact as a @Btrust‑funded grantee reflects what’s possible for African developers who take that first step into the ₿OSS ecosystem. Ready to start your own Bitcoin open‑source journey? Applications are now open for the 2026 ₿OSS Challenge, in partnership with Chaincode Labs. This is your chance to gain hands‑on experience, mentorship, and a pathway into the global Bitcoin open‑source community, just like Shammah did. 🔗 Learn more about the program:

Btrust Blog

Btrust Builders & Chaincode Labs Partner Again for the 2026 BOSS Challenge

Applications are ongoing for the 2026 ₿OSS (Bitcoin Open-Source Software) Challenge, kicking off January 12, 2026.

📝 Apply for the 2026 cohort:

Chaincode Labs

A week after the @Africa Bitcoin Conference, we’re still feeling the excitement. 🙌🎉 This year was especially meaningful as we were recognized as the African Bitcoin Project of the Year, a huge honor we're grateful to the @African Bitcoiners team for. Some of our community members also hosted workshops, we connected with builders from across the world, and the sessions throughout the conference were incredibly insightful. The conversations opened up fresh perspectives and sparked exciting ideas. We’re grateful to @Btrust for the chance to be part of it, and we’re already looking forward to the next one. Till then, we keep building 🚀 #ABC25 #ABC2025

Thank you so much! This means the world to us.🥹🧡 From the bottom of our hearts, we're grateful. To our builders, faculty, chaperones, mentors, and the entire community, this award is yours. We wouldn't have achieved this without your dedication, belief, and hard work. We're honoured to keep building for, and with, all of you. 💪🚀 View quoted note →

We recently had the pleasure of participating in the 2025 #BtrustGathering in Mauritius🇲🇺. Our faculty, several alumni, now @Btrust grantees, and top students from the 2025 pathways were all represented. Our program lead, Stephanie Titcombe, walked attendees through our 2025 program report, highlighting achievements like the program redesign (https://pathways.btrust.tech/) and the strengthened support plan for builders in the BOSS program. We also spent time collaborating with builders and Global South programs to explore ideas that will help us refine and elevate our work going into 2026. It was great finally meeting people we’ve only worked with online and reconnecting with familiar faces. Looking forward to the work ahead. 💪

We’re excited to partner with Chaincode Labs once again for the 2026 BOSS (Bitcoin Open‑Source Software) Challenge. 🚀 The ₿OSS Challenge is a structured, hands‑on program designed to help developers take their first steps into Bitcoin open‑source development. Here’s how it works: 🔸 Month 1: A fully guided, hands‑on learning experience featuring coding exercises, mentorship, and technical discussions led by Bitcoin open‑source contributors. 🔸 Months 2 & 3: Top performers continue with advanced mentorship and project work through Chaincode Labs, while other participants engage in partner‑supported pathways to keep learning and building. This program has already helped developers across Africa launch into meaningful open‑source careers. Several participants from the 2025 cohort are now Btrust-funded grantees contributing full‑time to Bitcoin and Lightning projects. If you’re a developer ready to learn, build, and contribute to Bitcoin open‑source software, this is your opportunity. 🗓️ Applications are ongoing until December 31st, 2025. 🗓️ Program starts the week of January 12th, 2026. Learn more about the partnership and program in our latest blog post:

Btrust Blog

Btrust Builders & Chaincode Labs Partner Again for the 2026 BOSS Challenge

Applications are ongoing for the 2026 ₿OSS (Bitcoin Open-Source Software) Challenge, kicking off January 12, 2026.

👉 Apply to join the 2026 ₿OSS Challenge cohort here:

Chaincode Labs

Last Saturday, BitDevs Kano 🇳🇬 held their first Bitcoin and Lightning-powered hackathon exploring open-source solutions for EdTech challenges in Nigeria. Over 50 participants spent the day forming teams, building prototypes, and exchanging ideas on how blockchain and Lightning technology can improve access and transparency in education. Mentors guided the process, and quick lightning talks sparked fresh thinking between coding sessions. The event highlighted Bitcoin’s potential in tackling real-world challenges while strengthening Kano’s growing developer community.

Behind every successful Btrust Builders cohort is a faculty team whose dedication carries the program forward. 🧡 This year, many of them, alumni themselves, returned to mentor, teach and walk alongside participants, turning their own experiences into guidance for the next wave of open‑source Bitcoin and Lightning developers. We’re proud to celebrate this collective of builders and mentors who made this year’s journey so meaningful. Their stories are inspiring, and their contributions remind us that the heart of Btrust Builders lies in its people. 👉 Read more about them on our blog:

Btrust Blog

Celebrating Our Faculty: The Heart of Btrust Builders

Behind every successful Btrust Builders cohort is a team of dedicated faculty members who go above and beyond to shape the learning journey. This y...

We’re excited to share Bitcoin Core Principles by @npub13vk4...m2ah 🚀 This course goes beyond how Bitcoin works to explain why it was designed with decentralization, absolute scarcity, and immutability, and why the base layer changes slowly on purpose. During the course you’ll cover: • The philosophy of decentralization and the trade-offs that keep Bitcoin neutral. • Why scarcity matters, how the timechain protects history, and why finality is social as much as technical. • Fungibility, privacy, and scalability across layers. • How change happens: BIPs, social consensus, activation paths, real case studies. • The developer ethos: humility, ossification, and building for the long term. Participants will engage in socratic, discussion-led sessions rather than passive lectures. They’ll also work through curated readings and hands-on workshops to cement their understanding. There will be experienced facilitators to guide participants through the sessions. Application deadline is October 10th, 2025 Classes start on October 13th and will be happening every Monday & Wednesday. The course is offered in English, Spanish and Portuguese. 🔗 Learn more, apply and share with a friend:

Libreria de Satoshi

We're super excited to announce the graduates of our first-ever Rust for Bitcoiners and Language Clubs cohorts. 🥳🎉 These talented developers from over 15 countries dedicated themselves to acquiring the core skills needed for open-source Bitcoin projects. We've captured all the highlights, insights from the cohorts, and what's next in our full recap, which you can read here:

Btrust Blog

Q2 2025 Btrust Builders Pathways Graduation

We are excited to announce the successful completion of the 2025 Btrust Builders’ Q2 Pathways. This was an initiative designed to equip developer...

If you're interested in joining upcoming cohorts, keep an eye out on our Discord and application page for details:

Btrust Builders Apply

Kickstart Your Bitcoin Developer Career

Do you get frustrated with how today’s digital payments seem to demand a tradeoff; forcing you to give up your privacy, pay high fees, or worry about data breaches every time you accept a transaction? Many merchants and shoppers feel boxed in by systems that leave a trail of personal information behind with every tap or scan, making privacy feel like a thing of the past. But what if you didn’t have to choose between fast, modern payments and the anonymity of cash? In our latest blog, Tobechi, a @Btrust grantee, introduces Cashu, a digital cash protocol that lets merchants enjoy the best of both worlds. With Cashu, you can accept Bitcoin-backed payments instantly and privately, without exposing customer data or risking chargebacks. The blog breaks down exactly how Cashu works, explaining the roles of tokens, wallets, and mints in this ecosystem. He explores ways businesses can benefit from Cashu. You’ll also find a simple guide on how to start accepting Cashu payments using BTCPay Server so you can quickly bring digital cash into your store. Curious how Cashu can transform your business and give your customers true payment privacy? Check out the full blog post here:

Btrust Blog

E-Cash for Commerce: How Cashu Empowers Merchants via Bitcoin

E-Cash for Commerce: How Cashu empowers merchants via Bitcoin

We did it! Our very first Open-Source Bootcamp brought together 38 developers from Africa and Brazil, equipping them to make contributions to Bitcoin open-source projects like Bitcoin Core and BTCPay Server.🚀 Over 4 weeks, this diverse group submitted 103 pieces of code, learned from experienced maintainers, and gained the skills and confidence to shape the future of open source. 👏 Kudos to everyone who joined, and an extra congratulations to those who made it to the end. 🔗 Check out our blog to see their journey, impact, and see what’s coming up:

Btrust Blog

Celebrating Our First Open Source Bootcamp

A few months ago, our team started discussing a common challenge: While many Builders Pathways graduates had the technical skills, stepping into th...

Unlock the future of Bitcoin node performance with our newest blog, Schnorr and Steady Wins the Race: The Case for Batch Validation. Oghenovo dives deep into how BIP340 Schnorr signatures and batch verification are transforming the efficiency of Bitcoin Core, explaining the math behind it, the use of multi-scalar multiplication, and the real benchmark data that demonstrates faster block verification times. As Taproot continues to gain traction and new technologies like Silent Payments, MuSig2, and FROST drive even greater Schnorr adoption, these optimisation techniques become essential to keep Bitcoin scalable, private, and secure. If you want to understand the mechanics of batch validation or see the real-world impact on block validation speed, this article covers that and sets the stage for the next era of Bitcoin scalability. Read the full article here:

Btrust Blog

Schnorr and Steady Wins the Race: The Case for Batch Validation

Understanding BIP340 Schnorr Signature Verification

Last week, BitDevs Gitega 🇧🇮 hosted its very first meetup! The community came together to explore Bitcoin and open-source development, with the team introducing BitDevs and breaking down the basics of Bitcoin and Lightning⚡. If you're in Gitega, come learn, build, and connect with fellow enthusiasts. For more info, visit: bitdevsgtga.org Here’s to the first of many! 🚀

Last Saturday, BitDevs Lagos 🇳🇬 hosted another meetup, bringing the community together for a hands-on and insightful session. Peter introduced the Bitcoin Development Kit (BDK) and the BDK CLI tool, showing how these can be used to build Bitcoin applications, manage wallets, sync data, and handle transactions with ease. Chigala then dove into Bitcoin scripting. He explained what OP_Codes are, how Bitcoin scripts operate using a stack-based model, and demonstrated how to construct scripts using different OP_Codes. With Bitscript (https://www.bitscript.app/), attendees had an interactive playground to experiment and test scripts themselves, making complex ideas more accessible. The meetup also marked Bitcoin Pizza Day, with plenty of pizza, great company, and vibrant conversations all around. 🍕 BitDevs Lagos remains one of the most active and longest-running BitDevs communities in Africa, thanks to the dedication of the organizers and the energy of everyone who attends. A huge thank you to Peter, Enyeazu, Tobechi and everyone who joined. See you at the next one!

BitDevs Uyo 🇳🇬 recently held its inaugural meetup, marking the latest BitDevs location to be supported by Btrust. 🚀 Participants explored the why behind Bitcoin, dove into hands-on wallet setups, shared sats with each other, and learned how wallets, transactions, and nodes work under the hood. The meetup also introduced everyone to the wider Builders community and shared opportunities to get involved in open source development. A huge thank you to the BitDevs Uyo organizers for a great start, and kudos to all the speakers who made the day so insightful. Check them out and follow them on X through their website: https://bitdevsuyo.org/

After a long pause, BitDevs Kampala 🇺🇬 made a comeback last Friday. The meetup brought together over 40 developers, students, and Bitcoin enthusiasts for an evening of learning and connection. The session, hosted by Jemimah Nagasha and MC’d by Wafoyo Angella, featured speakers Angella Mulikatete and Brindon Mwiine. Topics ranged from Bitcoin 101 and common misconceptions to getting started in Bitcoin open-source. A highlight of the evening came from Builders pathways alumni who shared their learning journeys. BitDevs Kampala is back, and there's more to come. You can follow them on X, join their community, and stay updated here:

BitDevsKLA

Home

BitDevsKLA is a meetup devoted to the research and development of Bitcoin.

We’re excited to announce our first Bitcoin Open Source Bootcamp! 🚀 The bootcamp officially kicks off today with our inaugural cohort selected from the recently completed Builders pathways: BOSS, Mastering Bitcoin and Bitcoin CLI cohorts. The Open Source Bootcamp is a 4-week intensive program designed to upskill developers and guide them toward making meaningful contributions to open-source Bitcoin projects. This cohort will spend the next month: • Setting up their Bitcoin development environments • Learning to navigate and review Bitcoin Core • Exploring real-world Bitcoin open-source projects • Making their first meaningful contributions to the ecosystem Participants will also receive weekly mentorship, feedback from experienced faculty, and guidance on preparing proposals for the @Btrust Starter Grant, which supports promising new contributors in continuing their open-source journey. The goal is to grow a diverse, capable pipeline of Bitcoin open-source developers committed to building long-term.

The first cohorts of the 2025 Btrust Builders Pathways have officially graduated. 🎉🎓 Over the past two months, developers from across Africa took part in Mastering Bitcoin and Learn Bitcoin from the Command Line. These programs were designed to build foundational Bitcoin knowledge and technical skills for open-source contribution. We’ve captured the highlights, cohort insights, and what’s next in our full recap. You can read it here:

Btrust Blog

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 partic...

Applications are now open for the next round of Builders Pathways starting in June. This round includes Rust for Bitcoiners and Language Clubs. The two programs are built to support developers at different stages of their Bitcoin journey. Apply for the June cohorts here:

Btrust

Btrust Builders: Application

An engineering program designed to train experienced software developers across Africa to contribute to open-source Bitcoin & Lightning development

We’re excited to announce the first-ever BitDevs meetup in Kano 🇳🇬, happening this Saturday. 📍 Location: Enovate Lab 📅 Date: Saturday, 19th April 2025 🕐 Time: 1pm - 3pm WAT 🔗 RSVP here:

Bitdevs Kano Meetup · Luma

Socratic Seminar #1 Agenda 01:00pm Welcoming Address 01:10pm How I got into Bitcoin 01:50pm Bitcoin 101 02:30pm Bitcoin Developer Opportunities Loc...

Come connect, learn, and build with like-minded individuals.

Do you want to contribute to Bitcoin open-source projects, but you're not sure where to start? The BOSS (Bitcoin Open Source Software) pathway is a 3-month immersive program that helps developers make real contributions to Bitcoin projects. 🚀 It’s not just a learning program. It’s a launchpad into the world of open-source Bitcoin development. This pathway includes: ✅ Deep technical learning. You get to work on real Bitcoin open-source challenges. ✅ Mentorship from Bitcoin developers. Get professional feedback and guidance. ✅ Exposure to real-world Bitcoin development workflows. ✅ A structured approach to making meaningful contributions to Bitcoin Core & related projects. This program is rigorous and hands-on. It’s designed for developers with programming experience, but there are no strict prerequisites, just a passion for Bitcoin and a willingness to learn. The 2025 BOSS cohort is already in session, and applications for the next intake will open in late 2025 for the 2026 cohort. If you’re serious about getting involved in Bitcoin open-source development, this is your chance to make an impact. Who Should Apply? 🔹 Developers with at least one year of programming experience. 🔹 Anyone excited about a challenge and ready to work on real Bitcoin projects. 🔹 Those willing to dedicate at least 10+ hours per week to deep technical learning. This isn’t a beginner’s program, but if you’re ready to take your skills to the next level, BOSS will get you there. Learn more about the program and join our community here:

Btrust Builders Apply

Kickstart Your Bitcoin Developer Career

📢 Applications for the 2026 cohort open in late 2025. Join the waitlist today and be the first to know when applications go live;

Btrust

Btrust Builders: Application

An engineering program designed to train experienced software developers across Africa to contribute to open-source Bitcoin & Lightning development