The three open-source developers Jesse Posner, Alekos Filini, and Hennadii Stepanov are receiving a grant from independent organization Brink, according to a press release shared with the BTC Times.

Founded by Bitcoin Core contributor John Newbery and Bitcoin Optech contributor Mike Schmidt last year, Brink focuses on supporting Bitcoin developers through specialized programs that include funding, teachings, and mentorship. The latest grants, which make up the first round of what Brink calls its "open-source developer grants," are intended to support their recipients to allow them to work on their respective areas of focus full-time:

Jesse Posner, whose grant Brink says was made possible by financial services company Nexo, is working on adaptor signatures and an implementation of the FROST threshold signature scheme, both of which aim to improve the security, privacy, and functionality of multisignature and second layer protocols.

Alekos Filini's grant will support his work on the Bitcoin Developer Kit, a lightweight kit with tools for use in wallets and other applications, which is also supported by Bitfinex and Square.

Hennadii Stepanov has been contributing to Bitcoin Core since 2018; his grant will allow him to work on Bitcoin Core development and review full-time.

Brink itself is a non-profit organization that relies completely on donations from individuals and organizations. Currently, Brink counts Nexo, the Human Rights Foundation, Square, Kraken, and Gemini, as well as Wences Casares and John Pfeffer as its sponsors.

Besides its grants, Brink further runs a fellowship program, which aims to onboard software engineers to Bitcoin protocol development over the course of a year. The first Brink fellow is Gloria Zhao, a Bitcoin Core developer since 2020, who is currently working on mempool transaction packaging and relaying.

Share this article
The link has been copied!