We’re excited to support the Lagos 🇳🇬 edition of #Hack4Freedom, kicking off tomorrow and running through May 30th. Stephanie Titcombe, Kelvin Isievwore, and 👩‍💻 Rita Anene will also be joining the program and leading sessions over the next couple of days. Huge thanks to Brianna, Sekinah, and the team for the incredible work they’re doing to build a strong pipeline of female Bitcoin open-source developers.🧡 We’re looking forward to the next two weeks, the conversations, the learnings, and seeing the ecosystem continue to grow.

Behind every active Bitcoin open‑source contributor is a system that helped them get there; one that helped them discover Bitcoin, develop the skills to work on it, and find a place within the open‑source ecosystem. Supporting that system across the Global Majority is what Btrust grants are designed to do. Developer grants support open‑source contributors working across the Bitcoin stack, from core protocol development to wallets, privacy tools, and user‑facing applications. Through funding and support, developers are able to focus on contributing to the software that powers the network. Education grants strengthen the pipeline of future contributors by supporting programs that introduce developers to the Bitcoin open‑source ecosystem. By funding these initiatives, the grants help expand access to Bitcoin development education and prepare more engineers to participate in open‑source work. Event grants support meetups, bootcamps, workshops, and conferences that create the spaces where developers meet, collaborate, and find their way into Bitcoin open‑source contribution. Across all three categories, the goal is the same: strengthening the conditions under which Bitcoin open‑source development can grow across the Global Majority. In 2025 alone, this work translated into over 3,800 developers engaged across our programs, with more than $2M awarded in grants to contributors and initiatives across the Global Majority. Explore Btrust grants to get started: https://www.btrust.tech/grants

Throwing it back to our 2025 Year in Review.🚀 2025 was about strengthening the foundation for decentralized Bitcoin development across Africa and the broader Global Majority. After several years of experimentation and iteration, the year marked a shift toward more structured execution; deepening the programs, partnerships, and systems that support open‑source contributors across the Bitcoin ecosystem. Throughout the year, we focused on building and strengthening the developer pipeline, from discovery and education to mentorship, grants, and long‑term contribution opportunities. Across our initiatives, more than 3,800 developers engaged with Btrust programs and ecosystem activities. From Btrust Builders, which continues to introduce engineers to Bitcoin open‑source development, to grants supporting contributors and initiatives across the ecosystem, our work centered on expanding opportunities for developers to learn, collaborate, and build. We also supported BitDevs communities across Africa, participated in global conferences, and brought together developers from Africa, India, and Latin America through gatherings and technical events designed to strengthen collaboration across the Global Majority. Together, these efforts reflect our long‑term mission of helping build a more geographically distributed community of engineers contributing to Bitcoin’s open‑source infrastructure. If you missed it the first time, read the full Btrust 2025 Year‑in‑Review blog here: https://blog.btrust.tech/btrust-2025-year-in-review/

Lightning⚡ is best known as a network for fast bitcoin payments. But what if the same infrastructure could also carry private messages? That’s the idea behind onion messages🧅. They rely on onion encryption, a technique where data is wrapped in multiple layers of encryption, like layers of an onion. As the message travels through the network, each node removes just one layer, learning only where the message came from and where it should go next. No single node ever sees the full route or the original sender and final recipient. In this article, Abdullahi Yunus explores how onion messages work, how they differ from traditional payment routing, and how they’re being implemented in LND. The piece also looks at why this small protocol change could turn Lightning into more than just a payment network. If you’re curious about how Lightning might evolve into a private communication layer, read the full blog to learn more: https://blog.btrust.tech/onion-messages-lightnings-private-messaging-layer/

As our work supporting Bitcoin developers and open‑source communities across the Global Majority continues to grow, we’re excited to welcome three new team members to Btrust. 🎉 Earlier this year, we opened applications for two roles on our team, programs & operations officer and communications associate, and received an incredible 536 and 529 applications respectively. After a thoughtful selection process, we’re thrilled to welcome Taiye Salami and Feranmi Famuyiwa to the team. We’re also excited to officially bring on Absalom Gavin as our Designer, after working closely with him over the past couple of years. Taiye Salami joins us as program & operations officer, bringing over seven years of experience leading and supporting large, multi‑stakeholder programs across Africa. Before Btrust, Taiye worked with organizations including AfriLabs, Microsoft, and EdTech Hub, where he coordinated grant‑funded initiatives, managed continent‑wide innovation and education programs, and supported founders, hubs, and ecosystem partners across multiple countries. His work has spanned program execution, stakeholder coordination, operations systems, and the delivery of large-scale initiatives backed by partners such as the World Bank, European Commission, GIZ, and UNFPA. Joining as Communications Associate, Feranmi Famuyiwa brings strong experience in digital marketing, storytelling, and community-focused communications. Prior to Btrust, she worked with Bitnob where she managed newsletters, blogs, and social media content while supporting campaigns, developer events, and product communications within the Bitcoin ecosystem. Her work focuses on making complex ideas easy to understand through thoughtful content and consistent messaging across digital platforms. We’re also excited to welcome Absalom Gavin as Designer. Absalom has been working with the team for the past couple of years, supporting design needs across our initiatives. With a background in graphic design, UI/UX, and technical systems, he brings a thoughtful mix of creativity and technical understanding to visual storytelling and product design. Please join us in welcoming Taiye, Feranmi, and Absalom to the team as we continue building and supporting the Bitcoin open‑source ecosystem in the Global majority.

Yesterday BitDevs Addis Ababa 🇪🇹 hosted its inaugural meetup, bringing together 75 developers and Bitcoin enthusiasts for the community’s first Socratic Seminar. 🚀 The session featured a lively discussion, led by Yeabsra Henok, exploring recent developments in the Bitcoin ecosystem. The level of engagement in the room made it clear that there is strong interest among developers in Addis to better understand Bitcoin from a technical perspective. If you're a developer in Addis Ababa curious about Bitcoin development, BitDevs Addis is building a local community where developers can connect, discuss Bitcoin’s technical developments, and discover resources, programs, and pathways that support getting started and contributing to the ecosystem. Join the community and attend the monthly meetups to be part of the conversation and connect with other builders in the ecosystem. A big thank you to , Hana Terefe, and Yeabsra for getting the ball rolling. 🧡