Maelstrom Bitcoin Grants
MaelstromBitcoinAlways open
Year-long grants of $50K to $150K per developer, paid monthly in BTC or stablecoins, for open-source Bitcoin Core and privacy work.
Time left to apply
Anytime
Rolling: reviewed as applications arrive
Apply to Maelstrom Bitcoin Grants
Applications go through forms.gle. Expect a decision in about 6 weeks.
Grant stats
- Grant size
- $50K–$150K
- Largest grant
- $150,000
- Paid in
- BTC or stablecoins
- Payout
- One payment
- Funding model
- Rolling
- Apply any time. Reviewed as applications arrive.
- Typical decision
- 6 weeks
- From submission to an answer
- Ecosystem
- Bitcoin
Checked Oct 1 against 2 sources. Confirm amounts and dates on maelstrom.fund before you apply.
About Maelstrom Bitcoin Grants
Maelstrom, the family office of Arthur Hayes, funds open-source Bitcoin developers to improve Bitcoin's resilience, scalability, censorship resistance and privacy. Grants are meant to give developers stable, long-term funding, and grantees are expected to contribute pull requests or review work, for example on Bitcoin Core.
Each grant runs for 12 months and pays $50,000 to $150,000 per developer, in monthly installments of BTC, USDC or USDT. You can stack it with other grants up to $400,000 a year. Applications need at least one reference, and candidates have at least one interview with the review committee of Arthur Hayes and program administrator Jonathan Bier.
Current grantees include Rkrux and Stratospher on Bitcoin Core, Benalleng on Payjoin and Macgyver on Silent Payments. Maelstrom publishes an annual report on what each grantee shipped.
Resources
Categories
Funded before
- Rkrux
- Stratospher
- Benalleng
What they fund
- Bitcoin Core development and code review
- Privacy technology such as Payjoin and Silent Payments
- Protecting Bitcoin against a break in elliptic curve cryptography
- Scalability and censorship resistance
Who can apply
Tick what applies to you. Saved on this device only.
How applying works
- 1
Apply
Fill in the Google Form linked from the program page, with at least one reference.
- 2
Interview
Expect at least one interview with a member of the review committee.
- 3
Grant issued
Successful applicants receive a 12-month grant.
- 4
Monthly payments
Funds arrive monthly in BTC, USDC or USDT, and work is summarized in an annual report.
Similar programs
More in InfrastructureFAQ
- When does Maelstrom Bitcoin Grants close?
- Maelstrom Bitcoin Grants has no deadline. Applications are reviewed as they arrive, so you can apply whenever your proposal is ready.
- How much can I get?
- $50K–$150K per grant, paid in BTC or stablecoins.
- How long until I hear back?
- About 6 weeks from submission to a decision, going by the program's own process or past rounds.
- Where do I apply?
- On the official site, forms.gle. web3grant links there directly and never takes applications itself.
Sources
Checked on Oct 1 against these pages. Programs change often, so confirm the details on maelstrom.fund before you apply.