Maelstrom Bitcoin Grants

Year-long grants of $50K to $150K per developer, paid monthly in BTC or stablecoins, for open-source Bitcoin Core and privacy work.

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: $50K–$150K; Largest grant $150,000
Paid in: BTC or stablecoins; Paid in one go
Funding model: Rolling; Apply any time. Reviewed as applications arrive.
Typical decision: 6 weeks; From submission to an answer

Checked Oct 1 against 2 sources. Confirm amounts and dates on maelstrom.fund before you apply.

About the program

Maelstrom, the family office of Arthur Hayes, funds open-source Bitcoin developers to improve Bitcoin's resilience, scalability, censorship resistance and privacy. Grants are meant to give developers stable, long-term funding, and grantees are expected to contribute pull requests or review work, for example on Bitcoin Core.

Each grant runs for 12 months and pays $50,000 to $150,000 per developer, in monthly installments of BTC, USDC or USDT. You can stack it with other grants up to $400,000 a year. Applications need at least one reference, and candidates have at least one interview with the review committee of Arthur Hayes and program administrator Jonathan Bier.

Current grantees include Rkrux and Stratospher on Bitcoin Core, Benalleng on Payjoin and Macgyver on Silent Payments. Maelstrom publishes an annual report on what each grantee shipped.

What they fund

Bitcoin Core development and code review
Privacy technology such as Payjoin and Silent Payments
Protecting Bitcoin against a break in elliptic curve cryptography
Scalability and censorship resistance

Who can apply

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Individual open-source Bitcoin developers
Work must contribute to Bitcoin's technical development, such as PRs or review
At least one reference in the application
Total grant income from all funders capped at $400,000 a year

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

How applying works

Apply
Fill in the Google Form linked from the program page, with at least one reference.
Interview
Expect at least one interview with a member of the review committee.
Grant issued
Successful applicants receive a 12-month grant.
Monthly payments
Funds arrive monthly in BTC, USDC or USDT, and work is summarized in an annual report.

Sources

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

About the program

What they fund

Who can apply

How applying works

Apply

Interview

Grant issued

Monthly payments

Sources

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