In a significant move aimed at bolstering the development of Bitcoin, Arthur Hayes, the co-founder and former CEO of BitMEX, has announced a groundbreaking Bitcoin grant program through his family office fund, Maelstrom.
The initiative is set to provide financial support to developers dedicated to enhancing Bitcoin’s technical capabilities, focusing on its resilience, scalability, censorship resistance, and privacy.
The announcement, made on July 17, has reverberated throughout the Bitcoin community. The program, officially known as the “Bitcoin Grant Program,” is designed to address some of the most pressing challenges facing the Bitcoin network today.
These include improving transaction speeds, reducing delays during high activity periods, and enhancing the overall privacy and security of the Bitcoin blockchain.
The fund stated that Maelstrom is committed to giving back and contributing to Bitcoin technology.
“The objective of the program is to help with the technical development of Bitcoin and enhance its resilience, scalability, censorship resistance, and privacy characteristics. We have the capacity to support Bitcoin developers and are committed to an open and transparent grant process.”
The grant program will provide developers with financial backing ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 over a 12-month period, with the potential to stack grants up to $250,000 per individual.
The funds will be disbursed monthly in Bitcoin (BTC), USD Coin (USDC), or Tether (USDT). Applications for the grants are open until August 25, 2024, and successful applicants can expect to receive their grants between the third and fourth quarters of 2024.
Arthur Hayes emphasized the importance of this initiative, stating:
“As loyal followers of Lord Satoshi, we are doing our part to spread the word.”
The program is not just about funding but also about active participation in the Bitcoin development community.
Grantees are expected to contribute to the technical development of Bitcoin through activities such as participating in pull requests, conducting code reviews, or contributing to the ongoing evolution of the Bitcoin Core software project.
The Bitcoin Grant Program is poised to support projects that aim to enhance Bitcoin’s scalability and privacy features, areas that have been identified as critical for the network’s growth.
The grant aims to foster innovations similar to the Lightning Network, which was created to improve transaction speeds on the Bitcoin network.
“Bitcoin is the bedrock asset in the crypto space,” Hayes said, highlighting the foundational role that Bitcoin plays in the broader digital asset ecosystem.
By supporting developers, Maelstrom aims to ensure that Bitcoin continues to evolve and maintain its position as the leading blockchain network.
Maelstrom, an early-stage investment fund managed by Hayes’s family office, has been instrumental in fostering growth within the Bitcoin ecosystem and the broader digital asset market.
The fund typically invests between $100,000 and $250,000 in new startups within the industry, involving a mix of equity stakes and tokens.
Hayes noted that the fund’s major focus is on startups that concentrate on infrastructure projects with strong potential to withstand market volatility. He explained:
“We want to identify projects that are actually quality. It’s not a game of spray-and-pray because we don’t have outside LPs.”
The digital asset community has widely praised the launch of the Bitcoin Grant Program. Lucas Ferreira, a developer at Lightning Labs, lauded the initiative on social media, and London-based venture capital firm Farside Investors called the grant “fantastic news.”
The announcement comes at a time when bitcoin is showing signs of recovery after a bearish phase. On the day of the announcement, bitcoin’s price had risen to $65,183, up 3.49% over the past day, indicating renewed interest and optimism in the market.
The announcement of the grant program comes amid legal challenges faced by BitMEX. The exchange recently pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act, with charges brought by the United States Department of Justice.
The court found that BitMEX failed to provide appropriate anti-money laundering (AML) checks while offering its services to US customers. Hayes, along with his colleagues Samuel Reed, Benjamin Delo, and Gregory Dwyer, had previously pleaded guilty to similar charges.
Despite these legal issues, Hayes’s commitment to advancing Bitcoin’s development remains steadfast.
By launching the Bitcoin Grant Program, he aims to support the next generation of developers who will contribute to Bitcoin’s ongoing evolution and help solve some of the network’s most pressing challenges.
Developers interested in applying for the Bitcoin Grant Program can submit their applications through Maelstrom’s official website.
The application process is designed to be open and transparent, with developers expected to undergo at least one interview with either Arthur Hayes or Jonathan Bier, the grant program administrator.
The fund’s emphasis on supporting open-source Bitcoin developers underscores its commitment to fostering a collaborative and innovative environment.
By providing independent funding, the grant program aims to empower developers to work on projects that enhance the Bitcoin network without the constraints typically associated with corporate sponsorship.
