zkSNACKs, the company behind Bitcoin privacy wallet Wasabi Wallet, and Canadian Bitcoin exchange Bull Bitcoin have teamed up to finance a $40,000 grant awarded to Bitcoin developer Luke Jr in support of the further development of Bitcoin node software Bitcoin Knots.

As the two companies announced in a blog post shared with the BTC Times, the grant has already been paid in full. Bitcoin Knots is a full node and wallet software developed by Luke Jr and serves as an alternative to Bitcoin Core. 

With the grant, Bull Bitcoin and zkSNACKs seek to set an example for the support of open-source development and encourage other companies to follow suit.

"Cypherpunks write code, but cypherpunks don’t always get paid," Bull Bitcoin CEO Francis Pouliot commented on the announcement. "We can’t expect the world’s most talented experts to contribute indefinitely without financial compensation. If the companies that profit from Bitcoin open-source development don’t provide the necessary funding, who will?"

The choice to support Luke Jr's work on Bitcoin Knots is a strategic one: Bull Bitcoin uses software developed by Wasabi Wallet to CoinJoin all transactions to and from the exchange, and Wasabi Wallet itself relies on the Bitcoin Knots software. The grant was further motivated by the companies' belief that the availability of different full node and wallet software options is critical to preserving the decentralization of Bitcoin's infrastructure.

Wasabi developer zkSNACKs previously donated one bitcoin to the Human Rights Foundation's Bitcoin Development Fund, which focuses on supporting developers who work on improving Bitcoin's privacy and resilience. The latest contribution is line with both companies' pursuit "to support the development of open source software to maintain the decentralization of Bitcoin."

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