Maelstrom Launches $250K Bitcoin Grant Program to Boost Core Development
Maelstrom, a family office fund led by former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes, has announced the launch of an ambitious Bitcoin Grant Program. This initiative aims to support and enhance Bitcoin’s core development, offering grants of up to $250,000 per developer.
The program, which opens for applications until August 25, 2024, will provide funding ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 per developer annually. Developers have the opportunity to stack grants, potentially reaching the maximum of $250,000 per year. Grants will be issued for 12-month periods, with monthly payments made in Bitcoin (BTC), USD Coin (USDC), or Tether (USDT).
Maelstrom’s Chief Investment Officer, Arthur Hayes, emphasized the importance of giving back to the Bitcoin ecosystem. “Bitcoin is the bedrock asset in the crypto space, and unlike other crypto projects, Bitcoin never conducted an offering to raise funds for its technical development,” the company stated. The program’s primary objective is to enhance Bitcoin’s resilience, scalability, censorship resistance, and privacy characteristics.
Successful applicants will be expected to contribute directly to Bitcoin’s technical development, potentially through pull requests or code reviews for the Bitcoin Core software project. The selection process will include at least one interview with a member of the review committee, which consists of Arthur Hayes and Jonathan Bier, the Grant Program Administrator.
This initiative comes at a time of renewed interest in Bitcoin development, fueled by the recent approval of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs and the Bitcoin halving event in April 2024. Industry experts speculate that Maelstrom’s grant program could potentially lead to more innovation in Bitcoin-native decentralized finance (DeFi), also known as BTCFi.
The launch of this grant program aligns with recent public statements from Hayes on Bitcoin’s role in society. In a recent Substack post, he argued that “Bitcoin is digital speech” and deserves constitutional protection from government interference.
Maelstrom, known for its long-term investment perspective and focus on decentralized technologies, views this program as a way to contribute to the foundational technology upon which much of the crypto ecosystem depends. The company expects to award grants in the third or fourth quarter of 2024, potentially ushering in a new era of innovation for the world’s first and largest cryptocurrency.
