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Seventeenth Wave of Nostr Grants
We're pleased to announce a new wave of grants from The Nostr Fund, supporting five open-source projects building across the nostr ecosystem. This wave includes four first-time grants and one grant renewal.
The projects in this round extend nostr into app discovery, private calls, software distribution, client onboarding, and access to AI tools. The first-time grants include a browser-based launcher for discovering and using nostr apps, an encrypted audio and video calling app for mobile and desktop users, a protocol that connects AI clients and providers through nostr discovery and bitcoin-native payments, and a polished mobile client that abstracts the complexity of nostr and Lightning for first-time users.
The first-time grants in this wave will go to:
The returning grantee in this wave is:
- Zapstore (Mar. 2025)
These grants are made possible by our generous donors who believe in an open, censorship-resistant communications layer for the internet. To help us support the nostr ecosystem, please consider setting up a recurring donation to The Nostr Fund.
Let's dive in to learn about how each project is contributing to the future of nostr.
44Billion
44Billion is a nostr app launcher with an app store for discovering and installing nostr applications. It presents nostr apps through a familiar toolbar-style interface, where installed apps sit in one place and can receive access to window.nostr after the user signs in. The project includes the core platform, a signer module, an app store, and a public relay. Users can create an account with a simple profile setup, import an existing nsec, or sync encrypted key material across devices using passkeys. This gives non-technical users a clearer path into nostr apps while keeping app discovery, app publishing, and signing infrastructure open.
With support from this grant, 44Billion will focus on platform and app store improvements, including ratings, reviews, category filtering, and sorting by downloads. The next phase will add two starter apps designed for non-technical users: a microblogging app with a public group joining around localized topics, followed by a messenger app focused first on direct messages. Together, these pieces aim to make nostr app discovery and first-use onboarding feel closer to the patterns people are already accustomed to.
Repositories: 44Billion
License: MIT
NosCall
NosCall is an audio and video calling application built for nostr users. The app is written in Flutter and uses WebRTC for real-time media, with nostr libraries handling the protocol layer for encrypted call signaling between users. Its current feature set includes audio and video calls, end-to-end encryption, call history, contact management, and support for iOS and Android, with macOS already part of the project structure. Private communication has long been one of nostr's most important use cases, and real-time calls add a familiar way for users to communicate through identities they already control.
The grant will support continued work on reliability, performance, and user-facing features that make private calling practical in daily use. Planned milestones include push notifications for incoming calls, friend grouping, favorites, voice messages, and desktop releases for Linux and Windows. NosCall also plans to add a pay-to-call mechanism, allowing a user to require payment before another party can initiate a voice call. Additional planned work includes NIP-05 identity support, login via external nostr signers, custom relay configuration, and Tor network support for users who want an extra layer of network anonymity.
Repository: sanah9/noscall
License: MIT
Routstr
Routstr is a decentralized protocol for permissionless AI inference. It uses nostr for discovery and communication between clients and providers, with Lightning and Cashu ecash payments used to add funds to their balances. For users and developers, Routstr can work as an OpenAI-compatible API endpoint: a client points an existing SDK or application at a Routstr provider, pays per request with a Cashu token, and receives the model response. This gives nostr applications a path to use AI services through open discovery and bitcoin-native payments, while giving operators a way to sell access to hosted or local inference infrastructure.
With support from this grant, Routstr will focus on hardening its minimum viable protocol into a v1 release, improving reliability around edge cases, failures, retries, and timeouts, and adding security and abuse-resistance improvements. The roadmap also includes dynamic pricing, batch processing, performance benchmarks, specialized worker-node software for local inference, better operator documentation, Umbrel-ready distribution, and application work across Routstr Chat, agentic AI features, nostr feed ranking, and a framework for building nostr bots.
Repositories: Routstr
License: GPL-3.0
Wisp
Wisp is a nostr client for Android, built for speed and for users new to the protocol. It implements the outbox model and supports dedicated DM relay sets for private messaging. The client includes a non-custodial wallet based on the Breez SDK (Spark), with seed-phrase recovery and encrypted backup to the user's own relays. Upon signing up, a new user can receive zaps, open a private message thread, and upload photos through Blossom. Wisp has been one of the fastest-growing nostr clients on Android since launch.
With support from this grant, creator Barry Deen will work on the client full-time. Near-term development includes a web client and a "normie mode" that displays Lightning wallet balances in USD and lets users cash out with Bitrefill gift cards. iOS development and beta launch are planned for the second half of the year, along with private relay-based communities.
Repository: barrydeen/wisp
License: MIT
Renewed support for Zapstore continues the work of building permissionless software distribution on nostr, with signed releases, social discovery, and bitcoin payments going directly to developers.
The projects in this wave reflect the variety of work happening across the nostr ecosystem. App launchers, private calls, AI access, mobile clients, and signed software distribution all bring the protocol closer to the tools people already use. Each grant supports work that can make nostr easier to adopt while preserving the open, interoperable, and user-controlled foundations that make the network valuable.
We're grateful to our donors who make this funding possible. If you'd like to help us continue supporting builders in the nostr ecosystem, please consider donating to The Nostr Fund or becoming a recurring supporter.
If you are a developer working on free and open-source nostr projects, consider applying for funding.