Bitshala Fellowship

Six- to twelve-month, $500-a-month fellowships with mentoring for Bitcoin open-source developers and educators in India and South-East Asia.

Apply on official site

Time left to apply

UTC

ANY

RollingNo deadline

Applications are reviewed as they arrive. There is no deadline to plan around.

Grant size: $3K–$6K; Largest grant $6,000
Paid in: USD stipend; Paid in one go
Funding model: Rolling; Apply any time. Reviewed as applications arrive.
Typical decision: 4 weeks; From submission to an answer

Checked Oct 1 against 2 sources. Confirm amounts and dates on bitshala.org before you apply.

About the program

Bitshala is a grassroots Bitcoin education initiative run by Indian Bitcoiners that trains and supports developers who want to contribute to Bitcoin free and open-source software. Its fellowship is the step after its study cohorts, for people who already understand Bitcoin and want to become serious contributors.

Developer fellows join an existing project, matched with a mentor, or propose their own. Past fellows have worked on silent payments libraries and indexers, coin selection, Lightning key security, BTCPay Server, Fedimint, Stratum V2 and Rust Bitcoin. Educator fellows run study cohorts, clubs and learning resources for Bitcoin in India.

Fellows get a $500 monthly stipend, one-to-one mentoring from contributors to projects such as Bitcoin Core, BDK and BTCPay Server, and help applying for independent grants later. Work is reviewed through regular mentor calls and monthly logs, and is done in the open.

What they fund

Contributions to Bitcoin open-source projects such as BDK, BTCPay Server, Fedimint and Stratum V2
Silent payments and other wallet tooling
Lightning and Rust Bitcoin libraries
Bitcoin education initiatives in India

Who can apply

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Developers, designers or educators based in India or South-East Asia
You already understand Bitcoin basics
Some prior open-source or self-driven work
Part-time or full-time commitment with monthly progress logs

Tick what applies to you. Saved on this device only.

How applying works

Apply
Submit the application on the fellowship page, choosing the developer or educator track and an existing project or your own proposal.
Matching
Bitshala matches developer fellows with a mentor and project based on their skills.
Fellowship
Work for six months with regular mentor calls, monthly logs and a $500 stipend each month.
Extension
Strong performers can extend to twelve months and get help applying for independent grants.

Sources

Checked on Oct 1 against these pages. Programs change often, so confirm the details on bitshala.org before you apply.

About the program

What they fund

Who can apply

How applying works

Apply

Matching

Fellowship

Extension

Sources

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