We’re excited to announce a new independent nonprofit organization to support open source development for Bitcoin and related technologies. Brink will support established developers through a grant program and onboard new contributors through a fellowship program. These programs will help address the most pressing issues facing the Bitcoin project: how to sustainably fund open source protocol developers, and how to bring new developers into Bitcoin protocol development.
Brink is founded by John Newbery and Mike Schmidt. They are joined on the board by independent director Dave Harding. The Brink team will foster relationships with individual donors and sponsoring organizations, administer developer grants, and mentor exceptionally talented new contributors. John Pfeffer and Wences Casares have generously provided organizational funding. The Human Rights Foundation, Square Crypto and Gemini are funding our first two fellows, and Kraken is sponsoring our first grantee. We are actively seeking additional funding, grant recipients, and fellows.
Brink offers a new model for onboarding and funding protocol developers, with many advantages:
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Grant applicants will be judged by the Brink board solely on their contribution history and potential. Recipients will have no obligations to any sponsoring corporation or individual.
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The Brink team’s history of high-quality, impactful contributions ensures that sponsoring organizations and individuals can be confident that their donations will be used effectively, without having to go through the time-consuming process of vetting, assessing, and administering direct grants.
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We have applied for 501(c)(3) designation in the United States, which will allow U.S. taxpayers to make tax exempt donations to the organization. We will be the only organization solely devoted to Bitcoin development that takes direct donations from the public in this way.
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Brink’s commitment to onboarding and mentoring new contributors supports the long-term health of Bitcoin protocol development.
We believe that Brink’s unique model of funding, grant awards, and focus on mentoring will further decentralize Bitcoin’s protocol development and strengthen the Bitcoin network and developer ecosystem.
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