MaelstromArthur Hayes’ family office has received its first grant from Bitcoin Developer Program to contributor RkruxThe funding will support Rkrux in working full-time on Bitcoin Core.
Bitcoin relies on volunteer developers to maintain its codebase as an open-source project. Maelstrom recently launched a grant program to encourage more full-time work to improve and contribute to Bitcoin’s core infrastructure.
The first recipient is Rkrux, an emerging Bitcoin Core reviewer who graduated from Chaincode Labs’ FOSS program this year. The grant will allow Rkrux to quit his job and focus on Bitcoin development.
“One of the goals of the grant program is to recognize and reward emerging talent that contributes to the development of Bitcoin Core,” it said. Arthur HayesCIO of Maelstrom.
Hayes added that supporting full-time developers strengthens the Bitcoin ecosystem. Rkrux represents the type of new talent that Maelstrom hopes to support through its grants.
Rkrux said the funding came at the perfect time as he was deciding whether to quit his job to work on Bitcoin Core full-time. “Maelstrom’s financial backing made this possible,” he noted.
As an experienced engineer, but newer Bitcoin contributor, Rkrux is eager to take on the role and move the project forward. He aims to be a top Bitcoin Core developer with Maelstrom’s grant. The more full-time developers working on Bitcoin core, the better it is for the network’s improvement and resilience over time.