Day 2 of @btcplusplus Nairobi 🇰🇪 kept the momentum going with a mix of technical deep dives, design conversations, and discussions about the future of bitcoin adoption. The day explored how bitcoin can become more accessible and usable across different contexts, from Lightning⚡ as bitcoin's translation layer and cross-platform wallet development, to open bitcoin mining and building better on and off-ramp experiences. There were also conversations around product design, the role of African designers in shaping bitcoin's future, and how more women across the continent are contributing to and reimagining Bitcoin innovation. We're especially proud of our grantees who took the stage, including John Osezele, who shared insights on building cross-platform bitcoin wallets with Flutter and BDK-Dart, and Tobechi Chukwuleta, who spoke about extending BTCPay Server through plugins while maintaining the integrity of the core project. Meanwhile, hackers continued building throughout the day, refining their projects, collaborating with mentors, and turning ideas into working solutions ahead of the Hackathon Expo.

Still buzzing from @btcplusplus Nairobi 🇰🇪, the first-ever conference in Africa, and the first open-source edition. Day one was packed with incredible sessions that explored what it really means to build, contribute to, and sustain open-source software. From practical advice on getting started in Bitcoin open source and becoming a better code reviewer, to discussions on making software more hackable and user-modifiable, there was something for everyone, regardless of where they are in their journey. We also dove into the technical side of Bitcoin and Lightning, exploring topics like improving Lightning infrastructure security, enhancing privacy in Taproot transactions, modern testing and fuzzing techniques in Bitcoin Core, and implementing features such as Replace-By-Fee in Lightning applications. AI was another major theme throughout the day, with speakers examining both the opportunities and trade-offs of using AI in open-source development. Conversations ranged from how AI can support contributors to the cognitive costs that come with relying too heavily on these tools, and what that means for the future of open source. There were also important discussions around building technology for African realities, closing the gap between contributor and founder, improving payment experiences across the continent, and exploring emerging technologies like Nostr and secure enclaves. Proud to see several Btrust grantees and team members take the stage, including Sulaiman Aminu Barkindo, Abiodun Awoyemi, Kelvin Isievwore, Abdullahi Yunus, Frankline Omondi, and 👩‍💻 Rita Anene, sharing their work and contributing to these important conversations. And that was just day one. Stay tuned for updates from the following days.

The countdown is on.⏳ In less than two days, @btcplusplus Nairobi 🇰🇪 kicks off, marking the first-ever conference in Africa and the first open source edition of the series. As the title sponsor, we're excited to be part of this milestone moment for the Bitcoin ecosystem. We'll be in Nairobi alongside developers, researchers, and open-source contributors from around the world, sharing ideas, learning from one another, and building the future of Bitcoin. If you're attending, come find us, say hello, and join the conversation. See you in Nairobi. 🚀

We had such an incredible time at the Freedom Tech Summit ahead of @BTC Prague 🇨🇿. A huge thank you to Lea Petrasova and the entire team for creating a space where builders, developers, and freedom technology enthusiasts can come together to learn, collaborate, and exchange ideas. We're leaving with new insights, meaningful connections, and plenty of inspiration for the work ahead. 🚀

We're heading to Nairobi 🇰🇪 for @btcplusplus open source edition, happening June 17–19. We're excited to join developers, contributors, and builders from across the global Bitcoin ecosystem for three days of talks, workshops, hackathons, and networking. If you'll be in Nairobi and would like to attend the conference, we're giving away a number of tickets. Here's how to participate: • Join the BitDevs Nairobi or the Btrust Builders Discord • Check the general channel for the giveaway details We'll be selecting a few community members to receive conference tickets. See you in Nairobi! 🚀

Earlier today Abubakar Sadiq Ismail walked us through a demo of the Bitcoin Core fee rate estimator Ul and the new mempool fee rate diagram (v31) was presented, showing ongoing work on making Bitcoin Core fee estimator design and proposal to reduce its over estimation and increases accuracy. If you're interested in the details or want to contribute, you can check out the work ongoing work on GitHub:

GitHub

fees: Introduce Mempool Based Fee Estimation to reduce overestimation by ismaelsadeeq · Pull Request #34075 · bitcoin/bitcoin

This PR is another attempt to fix #27995 using a better approach. For background and motivation, see #27995 and the discussion in the Delving Bitco...

Explore the live fee estimation stats here:

Bitcoin Core Fee Rate Estimator

Real-time Bitcoin fee estimation and mempool health analysis powered by Bitcoin Core.

On June 10th, Abubakar Sadiq Ismail will be speaking at the Freedom Tech Summit in Prague 🇨🇿. The Freedom Tech Summit is a gathering of developers, builders, hackers, and freedom technology enthusiasts exploring the future of open-source and decentralized systems. Abubakar will be presenting Bitcoin Core Fee Rate Estimator U.I demo. The session will feature: • A demonstration of the Bitcoin Core Fee Rate Estimator and fee estimation benchmarks • A demo of the Cluster Mempool Fee Rate Diagram UI Location📍: Hotel Duo, Prague West Room Time ⏰: 12:10pm If you'll be at the conference, be sure to stop by and catch the session. Learn more about the conference here:

Freedom Tech Summit 2026 | Prague

Freedom Tech Summit (formerly dev/hack/day) - Year 4 of the one-day conference for developers, hackers, and tech enthusiasts diving deep into Bitco...

Last week, the Btrust team had the privilege of attending the Oslo Freedom Forum, joining builders, activists, technologists, and advocates from around the world in conversations about freedom, human rights, and open technologies. Our CEO, @Abubakar Nur Khalil, took the stage during the closing panel of the Freedom Tech Track alongside Anaïse Kanimba, @npub1kp7j...487l, and @Sabina to discuss one of the most important questions in the Bitcoin ecosystem today: How do we make bitcoin practical for everyday people? A key theme throughout the discussion was Africa's growing role in Bitcoin adoption. Across the continent, people are already using Bitcoin for payments, savings, financial inclusion, and economic empowerment, demonstrating real-world use cases at scale. The conversation explored how builders, entrepreneurs, and advocates can continue creating tools that reduce barriers to access, expand freedom, and make bitcoin more useful in people's daily lives. Watch the full discussion here: https://www.youtube.com/live/Q-7xMYnMXfc?t=12208 A huge thank you to the @HRF team for curating such an impactful space for dialogue, learning, and collaboration.

The Btrust team is heading to Prague 🇨🇿 Kelvin Isievwore, @Sharon Murugi, Itoro Ukpong Oluwasegun, Abubakar Sadiq Ismail and Oghenovo Usiwoma will be attending the Freedom Tech Summit, @BTC Prague, and BTCPay Day from June 10-14. Across these events, they'll be joining builders, entrepreneurs, open-source contributors, educators, and advocates from around the world who are working to advance freedom through technology. We're excited to connect with the global Bitcoin ecosystem and contribute to conversations around open-source development, financial empowerment, digital sovereignty, privacy, and censorship-resistant technologies. If you'll be in Prague for the events, we'd love to connect.

On June 2nd, @HRF will be hosting the Freedom Tech Track at the 2026 Oslo Freedom Forum, bringing together builders, founders, and advocates exploring the role of technology in advancing freedom around the world. Our CEO, @Abubakar Nur Khalil, is one of the featured speakers and will be joining the panel on bitcoin adoption in practice. He’ll be speaking alongside: • Anaïse Kanimba, director & founder, Africa Bitcoin Institute • @npub1kp7j...487l, founder & CEO, @Fedi • @Sabina, co-founder, @Tando.me 📍 Oslo Konserthus, Deep Dive Stage ⏰ June 2nd, 5:45pm This is one session you won’t want to miss. Check out the Freedom Tech Track speaker lineup and schedule here:

Oslo Freedom Forum

Freedom Tech at the Oslo Freedom Forum

June 2, 2026 June 2 Buy Tickets June 2, 2026 June 2 Buy tickets Meet Our Freedom Tech Speakers Meet Our Workshop Speakers Explore the Freedom Tech ...

The Btrust team is heading to Norway 🇳🇴 @Abubakar Nur Khalil, @Chuks, Peter Tyonum, Abubakar Sadiq Ismail and Oghenovo Usiwoma will be on ground at the 2026 Oslo Freedom Forum, by @HRF, happening from June 1st to 3rd. They will be joining activists, technologists, innovators, and freedom advocates from around the world for important conversations around human rights, financial freedom, digital rights, and censorship-resistant technology. We’re excited to connect with builders, thinkers, and fellow advocates exploring how technology can help protect and empower communities where it matters most. If you’ll be attending #OsloFreedomForum, we’d love to connect.

Nagasha's path into Bitcoin open source is anything but ordinary. She began her career as a civil engineer, explored technology on the side, and followed her curiosity into a completely new world. That curiosity led her to BitDevs Kampala 🇺🇬, the Btrust Builders program, and eventually to a full-time role contributing to Polar. In our latest grantee spotlight, she shares how the journey unfolded, what she learned along the way, and why Bitcoin has room for people from many different backgrounds. If you have ever wondered how people make the jump into Bitcoin open source, this is one story you will want to read. Check out the blog here:

Btrust Blog

How Curiosity Led Me from Civil Engineering to Bitcoin Open Source Contribution

Written by Jemimah Nagasha If you had told me a few years ago that I would leave my civil engineering job to work full-time in Bitcoin open sourc...

Last year, we put out a global call for new Btrust Board members as part of a planned governance transition. Today, we’re excited to welcome Laurence Aderemi, Janet Maingi, and Bruno Garcia as the new Btrust Board of Directors.🎉 After a thoughtful and rigorous selection process, they now assume full governance responsibilities as the inaugural board completes its mandate. Each brings deep experience across Bitcoin infrastructure, open‑source development, and energy systems, and will help guide Btrust’s mission to decentralize Bitcoin development and expand opportunities for builders across the Global Majority. We’re grateful to the inaugural board, Carla Kirk-Cohen, Ojoma Ochai, @npub1kp7j...487l and @Abubakar Nur Khalil, for laying the foundation that made this transition possible, and excited for what comes next. Read more:

Bitcoin Magazine

Btrust Appoints New Board Of Directors To Steer Next Phase Of Bitcoin Development

Btrust has completed a major governance transition, appointing Janet Maingi, Bruno Garcia, and Laurence Aderemi as its new Board of Directors follo...

This past Saturday, we had the pleasure of attending the soft launch of Node NBO.🎉 The space brings together people working across AI, energy and freedom technology under one roof, creating room for new ideas and collaborations to emerge. Our CEO, @Abubakar Nur Khalil, joined the launch and shared a few thoughts on the opportunity ahead. Huge congratulations to the Node NBO team for bringing this vision to life. We’re super excited to be one of the tenants and to have a home in Kenya 🇰🇪. More details about our space coming soon. Learn more about Node NBO here:

Node NBO — Gigiri, Nairobi

A Nairobi campus at the frontier of energy, AI, and freedom tech — built for the builders shaping Africa

We’re excited to support the Lagos 🇳🇬 edition of #Hack4Freedom, kicking off tomorrow and running through May 30th. Stephanie Titcombe, Kelvin Isievwore, and 👩‍💻 Rita Anene will also be joining the program and leading sessions over the next couple of days. Huge thanks to Brianna, Sekinah, and the @Evento team for the incredible work they’re doing to build a strong pipeline of female Bitcoin open-source developers.🧡 We’re looking forward to the next two weeks, the conversations, the learnings, and seeing the ecosystem continue to grow.

Behind every active Bitcoin open‑source contributor is a system that helped them get there; one that helped them discover Bitcoin, develop the skills to work on it, and find a place within the open‑source ecosystem. Supporting that system across the Global Majority is what Btrust grants are designed to do. Developer grants support open‑source contributors working across the Bitcoin stack, from core protocol development to wallets, privacy tools, and user‑facing applications. Through funding and support, developers are able to focus on contributing to the software that powers the network. Education grants strengthen the pipeline of future contributors by supporting programs that introduce developers to the Bitcoin open‑source ecosystem. By funding these initiatives, the grants help expand access to Bitcoin development education and prepare more engineers to participate in open‑source work. Event grants support meetups, bootcamps, workshops, and conferences that create the spaces where developers meet, collaborate, and find their way into Bitcoin open‑source contribution. Across all three categories, the goal is the same: strengthening the conditions under which Bitcoin open‑source development can grow across the Global Majority. In 2025 alone, this work translated into over 3,800 developers engaged across our programs, with more than $2M awarded in grants to contributors and initiatives across the Global Majority. Explore Btrust grants to get started:

Grants

Get funding to work on Free and Open-Source Bitcoin projects

Throwing it back to our 2025 Year in Review.🚀 2025 was about strengthening the foundation for decentralized Bitcoin development across Africa and the broader Global Majority. After several years of experimentation and iteration, the year marked a shift toward more structured execution; deepening the programs, partnerships, and systems that support open‑source contributors across the Bitcoin ecosystem. Throughout the year, we focused on building and strengthening the developer pipeline, from discovery and education to mentorship, grants, and long‑term contribution opportunities. Across our initiatives, more than 3,800 developers engaged with Btrust programs and ecosystem activities. From Btrust Builders, which continues to introduce engineers to Bitcoin open‑source development, to grants supporting contributors and initiatives across the ecosystem, our work centered on expanding opportunities for developers to learn, collaborate, and build. We also supported BitDevs communities across Africa, participated in global conferences, and brought together developers from Africa, India, and Latin America through gatherings and technical events designed to strengthen collaboration across the Global Majority. Together, these efforts reflect our long‑term mission of helping build a more geographically distributed community of engineers contributing to Bitcoin’s open‑source infrastructure. If you missed it the first time, read the full Btrust 2025 Year‑in‑Review blog here:

Btrust Blog

Btrust 2025 Year in Review

A recap of Btrust’s 2025 milestones in decentralizing Bitcoin open‑source development across Africa and the Global South.

Lightning⚡ is best known as a network for fast bitcoin payments. But what if the same infrastructure could also carry private messages? That’s the idea behind onion messages🧅. They rely on onion encryption, a technique where data is wrapped in multiple layers of encryption, like layers of an onion. As the message travels through the network, each node removes just one layer, learning only where the message came from and where it should go next. No single node ever sees the full route or the original sender and final recipient. In this article, Abdullahi Yunus explores how onion messages work, how they differ from traditional payment routing, and how they’re being implemented in LND. The piece also looks at why this small protocol change could turn Lightning into more than just a payment network. If you’re curious about how Lightning might evolve into a private communication layer, read the full blog to learn more:

Btrust Blog

Onion Messages: Lightning’s Private Messaging Layer

Written by Abdullahi Yunus Most people know the Lightning Network as a fast way to send Bitcoin payments. It’s a network of computers (called n...

As our work supporting Bitcoin developers and open‑source communities across the Global Majority continues to grow, we’re excited to welcome three new team members to Btrust. 🎉 Earlier this year, we opened applications for two roles on our team, programs & operations officer and communications associate, and received an incredible 536 and 529 applications respectively. After a thoughtful selection process, we’re thrilled to welcome Taiye Salami and Feranmi Famuyiwa to the team. We’re also excited to officially bring on Absalom Gavin as our Designer, after working closely with him over the past couple of years. Taiye Salami joins us as program & operations officer, bringing over seven years of experience leading and supporting large, multi‑stakeholder programs across Africa. Before Btrust, Taiye worked with organizations including AfriLabs, Microsoft, and EdTech Hub, where he coordinated grant‑funded initiatives, managed continent‑wide innovation and education programs, and supported founders, hubs, and ecosystem partners across multiple countries. His work has spanned program execution, stakeholder coordination, operations systems, and the delivery of large-scale initiatives backed by partners such as the World Bank, European Commission, GIZ, and UNFPA. Joining as Communications Associate, Feranmi Famuyiwa brings strong experience in digital marketing, storytelling, and community-focused communications. Prior to Btrust, she worked with Bitnob where she managed newsletters, blogs, and social media content while supporting campaigns, developer events, and product communications within the Bitcoin ecosystem. Her work focuses on making complex ideas easy to understand through thoughtful content and consistent messaging across digital platforms. We’re also excited to welcome Absalom Gavin as Designer. Absalom has been working with the team for the past couple of years, supporting design needs across our initiatives. With a background in graphic design, UI/UX, and technical systems, he brings a thoughtful mix of creativity and technical understanding to visual storytelling and product design. Please join us in welcoming Taiye, Feranmi, and Absalom to the team as we continue building and supporting the Bitcoin open‑source ecosystem in the Global majority.

Yesterday BitDevs Addis Ababa 🇪🇹 hosted its inaugural meetup, bringing together 75 developers and Bitcoin enthusiasts for the community’s first Socratic Seminar. 🚀 The session featured a lively discussion, led by Yeabsra Henok, exploring recent developments in the Bitcoin ecosystem. The level of engagement in the room made it clear that there is strong interest among developers in Addis to better understand Bitcoin from a technical perspective. If you're a developer in Addis Ababa curious about Bitcoin development, BitDevs Addis is building a local community where developers can connect, discuss Bitcoin’s technical developments, and discover resources, programs, and pathways that support getting started and contributing to the ecosystem. Join the community and attend the monthly meetups to be part of the conversation and connect with other builders in the ecosystem. A big thank you to @Kal Kassa, Hana Terefe, and Yeabsra for getting the ball rolling. 🧡