Core Development is Looking for Sponsors

On April 6, Bitcoin Core announced the organization is initiating a Bitcoin Core Sponsorship Programme. The team is looking for industry leaders to help fund the developers who work with the Bitcoin protocol and will oversee “project communication, infrastructure and project coordination.”

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Bitcoin Core Focusing on ‘Large Sponsors’

The group says that Bitcoin Core software runs a significant portion of the digital currency’s network and believes the magnitude of work required to maintain it will grow greater. The program is directed at “large sponsors” and the team is not looking for public donations at the current time. They are also looking for volunteers such as developers but warn that the job is a full-time gig. Core states in its blog post:

Everyone is welcome to contribute to the Bitcoin Core project according to the contributor guidelines, however, to be considered for recognition under this programme, developers should commit to contributing a significant amount of time on a regular basis.

The announcement reveals sponsors will receive recognition on the Core website, which includes a logo with link to a website. The group says they will only accept sponsorships with businesses “that are aligned with the general principles of Bitcoin and project’s goals.” This means that if a company chooses to bolster projects that reduce the privacy of cryptocurrency users, the business will not be selected. Funds will be managed by project managers who will manage team coordination, and reporting on the project development. Some of the Core Projects include:

Hard Fork research

Lightning integration and testing

Libsecp256k1 maintenance

Schnorr Signatures

Coinjoin and mixnet research

Encrypted transactions

SNARKS and zero-knowledge research

Transaction fee estimation

The search for sponsorship comes after the digital currency has been criticized by some in the community for lack of development and funding. However, throughout the block size debate and after the claims that Bitcoin was dead again, the Digital Currency Initiative (DCI) at MIT has announced a USD $900,000 Bitcoin Developer Fund. DCI says that businesses such as Circle, BitFury, Bitmain, Nasdaq, and others have donated to the fund to continue progressive research and development with the cryptocurrency. The funds will help pay for developers like Wladimir van der Laan, Cory Fields, and Gavin Andresen’s work on the network’s programming.

Bitcoin is growing more popular by the day, constant development is needed. Core developers believe this is the best route to go for funding without faltering to centralization. With this sponsorship initiative, they can “launch a clear way for the industry as a whole to get directly involved and sponsor many of the projects on the development wish list.”

Core explains that it needs more qualified developers that are testing and reviewing code regularly as well as public relations and other positions filled. Core developers hope that sponsors and more volunteers can continue to help Bitcoin thrive as it progresses into the future.

What do you think about Core’s request for sponsorship? Let us know in the comments below!

Images courtesy of Pixbay, the Core website, and Shutterstock