Spiral Grants

About

Spiral is a bitcoin-focused initiative dedicated to making bitcoin more than an investment. It builds and funds free, open-source projects that aim to make bitcoin the planet’s preferred currency. Operating as part of the Block ecosystem, Spiral builds and funds free and open-source software (FOSS) projects that enhance bitcoin’s privacy, security, scalability, and user experience. The initiative focuses on improving Bitcoin infrastructure, privacy, usability, and overall design. Spiral actively contributes to open-source projects and encourages continuous innovation throughout the Bitcoin ecosystem. The goal is to make Bitcoin easy to use while maintaining its security and scalability. Key Features of Spiral: • Supports major Bitcoin projects, including Bitcoin Core, Bitcoin Dev Kit, and Lightning Dev Kit. • Encourages privacy, security, and scalability through supported projects. • Runs internship programs such as Summer of Bitcoin to attract fresh developers. • Funds developers, designers, product managers, and researchers to help the ecosystem flourish. Spiral Milestones: Year Achievements 2019 Inception and First Grant: Square Crypto is founded by Jack Dorsey, and the first grant goes to BTCPay Server. 2020 Bitcoin Design Guide: The Bitcoin Design Community was established to bridge the gap between technical protocols and user experiences. 2021 Square Crypto rebrands as Spiral and launches the Lightning Development Kit (LDK). 2022 Spiral's LDK is now incorporated into Cash App, allowing millions of users access to the Lightning Network. 2023 Bitcoin Design Foundation: Spiral co-founded the Bitcoin Design Foundation to encourage open-source UX in the long run. 2024 The Bitcoin Dev Kit (BDK) stabilizes the bdk_wallet crate and prepares for its 1.0 release.

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