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Seventh Wave of Bitcoin Grants

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We are excited to announce our seventh wave of grants from our General Fund, furthering our commitment to supporting open-source projects that advance the Bitcoin ecosystem. We remain committed to empowering developers from around the world who are building innovative tools, improving user experience, and strengthening the overall security and privacy of Bitcoin.

This wave gives grants to eight more projects, each playing a pivotal role in enhancing various aspects of the Bitcoin ecosystem. In no particular order, these projects are:

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we are able to fund projects that push the boundaries of what's possible while addressing key priorities in Bitcoin's development. If you want to join us in supporting projects like the above, consider donating to our General Fund:

Let's take a closer look at these projects to discover their purpose and impact, and see what they bring to the Bitcoin ecosystem.


Kyoto

Kyoto is a Rust-based light client that implements block filters (BIP-157/BIP-158) and is aiming to be a simple, memory-conservative, and private Bitcoin client for developers to build wallet applications. The goal for Kyoto is to run on mobile devices with a low-enough memory footprint to allow users to interact with Lightning Network applications; it is also aspiring to be a client that is easy to maintain.

The main developer of Kyoto is also contributing to BDK, helping to push it towards its 1.0.0 milestone. This work includes improving coin selection strategies, assisting in the development of a Swift-based iOS wallet, and contributing code examples and documentation to make integrating with Bitcoin easier for developers. He also works on maintaining and expanding BIP-324, a bitcoin improvement proposal that enables encrypted peer-to-peer messaging between Bitcoin clients. This proposal strengthens privacy and censorship resistance by protecting P2P messages from network observers and ISP-level censorship, with ongoing integration into Rust clients like Floresta.

Repository: rustaceanrob/kyoto, bitcoindevkit/bdk, rust-bitcoin/bip324
License: Apache-2.0, MIT

Minibits

Minibits is a mobile Cashu wallet that integrates Bitcoin and the Lightning Network, offering a seamless payment experience through ecash, Lightning addresses, zaps, and Nostr identities. Key features include seed-based recovery, Tor network support, LNURL pay and withdraw, and encrypted push notifications. The next development phase focuses on iOS support, enhanced security, and improved interoperability with the latest ecash and Lightning technologies. As a fully open-source wallet, Minibits plays an important role in advancing the Cashu protocol by providing a fast cross-platform mobile wallet which will put Cashu's scalability and privacy claims to the test in real-world scenarios.

Repository: minibits-cash/minibits_wallet
License: MIT

DLC Dev Kit

DLC Dev Kit is a comprehensive development kit that simplifies the integration of Discreet Log Contracts (DLCs) into Bitcoin applications, allowing developers to create financial contracts like futures and peer-to-peer bets without having to deal with the complexities of DLC logic directly. By providing libraries for wallet operations, DLC communication, data storage, and integration of oracles, dlcdevkit enables seamless application development. Future work includes launching a platform-agnostic DLC marketplace, implementing WASM and mobile bindings for broader accessibility, and integrating covenant support to improve the efficiency of DLCs. These enhancements aim to foster a more cohesive and interoperable DLC ecosystem, driving broader adoption and enabling developers to build innovative Bitcoin applications with minimal friction.

Repository: bennyhodl/dlcdevkit
License: MIT

Cove

Cove is a mobile wallet built with BDK. Designed for simplicity and accessibility, it provides strong support for and integrates seamlessly with hardware signing devices, making it suitable for beginners and experienced users alike. The wallet includes features such as PSBT support via NFC, QR codes, and virtual drives for secure offline signing while offering advanced options like coin control and watch-only wallets. Future development will focus on expanding to iOS and Android platforms, and refining the user experience through real-world user feedback. By providing intuitive access to advanced security features, Cove seeks to empower users to adopt safer bitcoin practices, especially when it comes to holding and using bitcoin in a self-sovereign way.

Repository: bitcoinppl/cove
License: MIT

Nutmix

Nutmix is a Cashu mint implementation focused on ease of use and feature completeness, making it the second most advanced mint after Nutshell. Like all proper Chaumian mint implementations, Nutmix allows custodians to hold funds securely and privately, without knowing how users choose to spend their money. By helping to diversify mint implementations, Nutmix offers mint operators more options, reducing systemic risk and thus bringing us closer to an ecash-based free banking system.

Upcoming development plans include an admin dashboard for easy configuration, multi-path payments, CLN support, as well as liquidity management features. Additional milestones on the roadmap include deterministic secrets (NUT-13), HTLCs (NUT-14), a streamlined setup process, Tor-only mode, as well as a nostr-only mode.

Repository: lescuer97/nutmix
License: MIT

ASmap

ASmap is a project focused on mapping IP address blocks to their Autonomous Systems (AS) to enhance Bitcoin Core's defense against eclipse attacks by preventing nodes from being overly connected to peers controlled by a single entity. By improving the accuracy and performance of ASmap generation, ASmap helps Bitcoin Core better manage peer distribution at the AS level, reducing the risk of network attacks. Future efforts include optimizing the Kartograf ("IP to ASN mapping for everyone") tool, improving data sources, and making ASmap generation faster and more accessible. This work strengthens Bitcoin Core's security while offering a valuable tool for other Bitcoin implementations or distributed systems projects.

Repository: fjahr/kartograf
License: MIT

Floresta

Floresta is a modular Bitcoin node implementation written in Rust. It utilizes Utreexo and PoW Fraud Proofs to enable a more trustless and decentralized network. By offering fast synchronization, Floresta aims to make Bitcoin nodes more accessible globally, reducing reliance on trusted third parties. Its modular design allows for the development of new applications, and with the integration of the Bitcoin Core consensus engine via Rust bindings, it mitigates risks of consensus disparity. Upcoming work includes completing comprehensive documentation and making significant contributions to improve the node's design, testing, and performance. Floresta's development promises to enhance the trustless nature of Bitcoin applications and further decentralize the network.

Repository: vinteumorg/floresta
License: MIT

AssumeUTXO in BCA

AssumeUTXO is a feature introduced in Bitcoin Core 26 that allows for faster node bootstrapping using UTXO snapshots. This project aims to integrate AssumeUTXO functionality into the Bitcoin Core App (BCA), simplifying the process of deploying Bitcoin nodes on mobile devices, particularly Android. By enabling users to run fully validating nodes via UTXO snapshots, this integration will improve the security and decentralization of the Bitcoin network while making it more accessible. Over the next 6 to 12 months, the project plans to deliver a proof-of-concept, integrate AssumeUTXO into BCA, and provide UX improvements and documentation updates.

Repository: D33r-Gee/gui-qml
License: MIT


With this seventh wave of grants, as with previous waves, we evaluated applications based on carefully defined criteria and put forth our best efforts to select the most impactful and promising proposals for the Bitcoin ecosystem. If you are a developer working on a project aligned with our mission, we encourage you to apply for funding.

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