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Sixth Wave of Bitcoin Grants

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We are excited to announce the sixth wave of Bitcoin grants, reaffirming our commitment to supporting freedom tech and projects that help Bitcoin flourish. An important part of our mission is to provide essential funding to developers and projects that advance the open-source ecosystem that Bitcoin relies upon.

In this latest round, we are proud to support seven projects that align with our mission. In no particular order, these projects are:

Made possible by the generosity of our donors, these grants enable the various contributors to continue and expand their important work. If you would like to support our mission, then please consider donating to our General Fund:

To learn more about the types of projects and contributors we support, have a look at our long-term support grants as well as our 2023 year in review.

Let's dive in and take a closer look at these projects to understand what they are and how these grants will help.

Peer Storage Backups for Lightning Channels

Lightning's peer_storage specification allows for automated backups via a node's peers on the Lightning Network, enabling fund recovery in case of data loss. The project aims to enhance the reliability of the Lightning Network by developing a seamless recovery process for users to retrieve funds from corrupted databases using only their initial passphrase.

The grant will support automating peer storage backup detection, creating mechanisms for nodes to advertise backup support, and preparing a Lightning-spec proposal for peer storage backups. These efforts will make backups automatic and universally compatible across different implementations. The project will also research methods to resume channel operations post-recovery and explore additional use cases for peer storage.

Repositories: bolts / rust-lightning / lightning / lnd
Licenses: Various (CC-BY 4.0 / MIT / Apache / BSD-MIT)

secp256k1.swift

Secp256k1.swift is a public key cryptography library written in Swift. It simplifies the development of Bitcoin applications by offering common cryptographic operations as well as APIs for features like ECDSA and Schnorr signatures. By utilizing C bindings from libsecp256k1, it enhances the efficiency of Bitcoin app development, fostering innovation and supporting the creation of non-custodial, decentralized apps.

The grant will support launching a project website, developing Swift APIs for MuSig2 and native UInt256 type, adding an XCFramework artifact for cross platform integration, and establishing the 21.dev organization to support future projects. These initiatives aim to expand the project's capabilities and promote broader adoption and innovation within the community.

Repository: 21-DOT-DEV/swift-secp256k1
License: MIT

Blitz Wallet

Blitz Wallet is a self-custodial Bitcoin Lightning wallet leveraging Breez SDK and Blockstream Greenlight for its infrastructure. It integrates features like automatic channel rebalancing, smart channel openings via Boltz, a built-in store for spending sats on applications like ChatGPT, and enhanced contact features for mass payments and payment requests.

The grant will support integrating a Liquid wallet, improving user experience with the built-in store and contact features, and launching iOS and Android apps (both currently in Beta). The project aims to create an all-encompassing Lightning wallet experience, addressing inbound liquidity issues and providing users with practical ways to spend bitcoin and simplify transactions.

Repository: BlakeKaufman/BlitzWallet
License: Apache v2.0

NLightning

NLightning is an implementation of the Lightning Network protocol developed in C#, aimed at enhancing Bitcoin scalability and adoption in enterprise systems. The project provides a robust, secure, and easy-to-integrate solution for bringing Lightning into traditional financial environments. It follows a modular design, making it easy to extend and customize.

The grant will support completing the implementation of BOLT specifications, launching comprehensive documentation and tutorials, developing additional tools for monitoring and managing Lightning Network transactions for enterprise use, and piloting NLightning with financial institutions.

Repository: ipms-io/nlightning
License: MIT

eNuts

eNuts is a free and open-source mobile Cashu wallet available for Android and iOS, designed with Lightning support and the ability to connect to multiple mints. It integrates nostr for seamless eCash transactions between users and their contacts. The wallet aims to enhance user experience by making eCash payments easier and safer, providing features like detailed transaction history, various mint settings, quick share options, and enhanced privacy settings​.

The grant will support the release of APK and Testflight versions, enhance its nostr integration, add proper UI testing, and improve the maintainability of the codebase. This funding will also facilitate the addition of features like seed backup, auto mint-swap, and an improved user experience.

Repository: cashubtc/eNuts
License: GNU GPLv3

Gonuts

Gonuts is a Cashu wallet and mint written in Go, serving as a library for developers to integrate Cashu functionality into their Go applications. This project aims to simplify the implementation of privacy-preserving eCash transactions within the Bitcoin and Lightning Network ecosystems, making it easier for developers to incorporate these features into their own applications.

The grant will support several key developments for Gonuts by implementing new protocol additions such as Spending Conditions and Pay-to-Public-Key (as outlined in NUTs 10 and 11), enabling "Multinut" payments to allow users to pay a Lightning invoice from multiple mints, and improving mint reliability by adding support for SQLite.

Additionally, the grant will facilitate the creation of a Docker container for easier mint deployment and extend support to other Lightning backends beyond LND. These enhancements will make Gonuts more robust, versatile, and user-friendly, fostering broader adoption and innovation within the Cashu ecosystem.

Repository: elnosh/gonuts
License: MIT

Bitcoin Fees

Bitcoin Fees aims to create a cross-platform, open-source app that tracks on-chain fees and notifies users of specified fee changes. The app helps users understand UTXOs and provides a fee calculator to educate users about Bitcoin transaction fees.

The grant will support developing a proof-of-concept beta version of the app, focusing on tracking fees and educating users on managing Bitcoin transaction costs.

Repository: tallyforge/bitcoinfees
License: MIT

With this 6th wave of grants, much like our prior waves, we evaluated applications based on carefully defined criteria and did our best to select the most impactful and promising proposals for the Bitcoin ecosystem. If you are a developer working on a project that is aligned with our mission, don't hesitate to apply for funding.

Please consider donating if you want to support open-source projects and developers in the Bitcoin ecosystem:

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