More projects receive bitcoin grants from Opensats

[NotATether]

Opensats, the non-profit funding incubator for bitcoin projects, has funded three more projects today and has renewed grants to 3 other projects.

Tenth Wave of Bitcoin Grants
OpenSats is pleased to announce a new wave of grants supporting six projects advancing the Bitcoin ecosystem.

This round includes three first-time project grants—each showcasing promising developments in self-custody, Lightning-based financial tools, and developer sustainability. Additionally, we're renewing our commitment to three existing project grants that continue to push the boundaries of decentralized infrastructure and secure bitcoin usage.

The three first-time project grants in this wave are:

Bitcoin Safe
Stable Channels
Waye
In addition to the above, OpenSats has renewed project grants for:

Floresta
Krux
Krux-Installer
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, OpenSats can actively support the open-source developers and projects that are building key infrastructure and helping bitcoin flourish.

Let's explore these projects in more detail to understand their goals, contributions, and their role in strengthening the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Bitcoin Safe
Bitcoin Safe is an open-source, self-sovereign bitcoin wallet designed for secure and intuitive self-custody. By integrating BDK, nostr, and Compact Block Filters (BIP 158), it enhances privacy and reliability while reducing reliance on centralized servers. Currently in beta, Bitcoin Safe streamlines self-custody by simplifying single- and multi-signature storage, drawing inspiration from Electrum, Sparrow, and mempool.space.

One of Bitcoin Safe's standout features is "Sync & Chat", a nostr-based messaging system that leverages relays to route encrypted messages and metadata between users and devices. Whenever a Bitcoin Safe wallet sends a PBST to another Bitcoin Safe wallet, the transaction labels are synced between devices, and when multi-sig users message each other concerning the status of their transaction, all of this encrypted communication is securely relayed over nostr.

Next steps for Bitcoin Safe include refining the "Sync & Chat" feature by improving nostr relay reliability, transitioning to bdk_wallet v1.1.0 for improved performance and privacy, and implementing deterministic builds for Windows and Linux.

Repository: andreasgriffin/bitcoin-safe
License: GPL-3.0

Stable Channels
Stable Channels is an open-source project introducing bitcoin-backed dollar balances to the Lightning Network, enabling decentralized, self-custodial stable value transactions without relying on centralized stablecoins. By matching users seeking stable USD exposure with those desiring leveraged bitcoin positions, Stable Channels facilitates synthetic dollar balances through frequent, price-adjusted settlements over Lightning payment channels. This approach maintains dollar-pegged stability for one party while providing leveraged bitcoin exposure for the counterparty. The project has also collaborated with Cashu to integrate its stability mechanism into eCash mints, allowing users to mint USD and EUR tokens backed by bitcoin.

Looking ahead, Stable Channels will continue developing its Rust-based reference implementation using LDK and BDK, ensuring compatibility across server, desktop, and mobile platforms. Key milestones include deploying an iOS app for interacting with custom LSPs, launching an alpha version in early 2025, and refining the software based on user feedback. The project also plans to release a stable version across all platforms and develop a decentralized marketplace using Liquidity Ads, further enhancing Bitcoin's Lightning Network with self-custodial, stable financial tools.

Repository: toneloc/stable-channels
License: GPL-3.0

Waye
Waye is an initiative dedicated to supporting the well-being of developers building open-source technologies, aiming to reduce burnout and improve the long-term sustainability of their work. Recognizing the unique challenges faced by grant-funded, unaffiliated open-source developers—who often juggle engineering, project management, and community roles—Waye has launched pilot programs to address these issues. These initiatives include academic research, group coaching, and the development of scalable, openly shared frameworks.

At the heart of their mission is OS Reboot, Waye's cornerstone program, with monthly expert-led discussions, structured group work, and reflection periods to provide sustained, practical support for open-source developers. The outcomes of Waye initiatives will be open-sourced, providing the broader community with methodologies and frameworks to better support FOSS contributors. By fostering a more resilient and diverse developer community, Waye aims to strengthen the human infrastructure essential for advancing decentralized technologies. If you are an open-source developer looking for support, sign up for a program or reach out to Waye directly.

Repository: waye-dev/waye
Licenses: MIT & CC BY-SA 4.0

Bitcoin's strength lies in its open, permissionless nature—sustaining that requires continued support for free and open-source development. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, OpenSats can fund builders like those featured here, working to make Bitcoin more secure, decentralized, and accessible.

If you'd like to support open-source development, consider making a donation. Every contribution helps sustain the people and projects shaping Bitcoin's future.

All of these repositories are making life slightly easier for some Bitcoin users in some way, so it is good to see their hard work rewarded and kept sustainable by non-profits.

If you know any Bitcoin projects which you think deserve funding, show this website to the maintainer(s) and ask them to apply for a grant.

[ABCbits]

I never hear any of those 3 projects, so i guess OpenSats isn't afraid at all to fund barely known project. Bitcoin Safe seems promising and practical, since AFAIK most wallet that aimed for family/group either require good multi-sig knowledge or intended for inheritance purpose.

[NotATether]

I never hear any of those 3 projects, so i guess OpenSats isn't afraid at all to fund barely known project. Bitcoin Safe seems promising and practical, since AFAIK most wallet that aimed for family/group either require good multi-sig knowledge or intended for inheritance purpose.

That's kind of the point.

For every famous project like Electrum, Sparrow, LNbits there are 10 obscure projects which nobody has heard of but are being used by some locality.

It is very important to support these kinds of projects because they can't expect to get funding from bigger players, like investors, if they haven't even heard of them.

[MrSpasybo]

That's kind of the point.

For every famous project like Electrum, Sparrow, LNbits there are 10 obscure projects which nobody has heard of but are being used by some locality.

It is very important to support these kinds of projects because they can't expect to get funding from bigger players, like investors, if they haven't even heard of them.

Honestly, I'm only familiar with a few projects in the Bitcoin ecosystem, such as Electrum, Lightning Network, and Stacks. I use Electrum and really like this hot wallet app. Unfortunately, I haven't needed to use the Lightning Network yet, even though I know it's super fast and cheap.

I also just recently learned about OpenSats and checked out their website. I don't fully understand the value of the solutions that the funded projects will bring to the market. I think they're all valuable projects, but I just don't have enough knowledge to assess their potential. I hope that they'll help strengthen the BTC ecosystem, which will lead to impressive growth for the entire crypto market and bring profits to investors.

[yhiaali3]

This is a good initiative by Opensats to support emerging Bitcoin projects. But are any projects supported, or are there specific criteria for receiving the grant? If there are no specific criteria for receiving support, this could encourage scammers to create fake projects to obtain the grant.

Another question: Is the grant completely free, or is it a loan that will be repaid after the project launches?

[NotATether]

This is a good initiative by Opensats to support emerging Bitcoin projects. But are any projects supported, or are there specific criteria for receiving the grant? If there are no specific criteria for receiving support, this could encourage scammers to create fake projects to obtain the grant.

Another question: Is the grant completely free, or is it a loan that will be repaid after the project launches?

No, this is not a loan at all - Opensats is a nonprofit organization, so they are giving out their money for free. Opensats obtains the money required for funding all these projects from donations.

You need to have some sort of online presence to apply for a grant though - that's how all these foundations work. You can't be anonymous and then apply for your project that was created 1 month ago for example.

[TomPluz]

No, this is not a loan at all - Opensats is a nonprofit organization, so they are giving out their money for free. Opensats obtains the money required for funding all these projects from donations.

Yes, these are grants and not loans so the projects funded need not to repay the money released to them to develop the platform they are focusing on. I am glad to see that there is a non-profit organization like OpenSats envisioning to help the Bitcoin ecosystem become robust and more alive with different practical and effective applications that people can use today and into the future. I am hoping that these projects can also involved the people by opening their network for supporters in exchange for coins or tokens...kinda like a bounty program or even an airdrop.