Btrust will initially focus on financing developers from Africa and India. The fund is currently seeking three members for its board of directors.
In recent days, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey once again showed his support for the development of Bitcoin. On this occasion, he created a fund to finance developers, jointly with rapper and music producer Jay-Z.
The Btrust fund will initially focus on financing developers from Africa and India. Dorsey reported on Twitter that Btrust has a total fund of 500 BTC, equivalent to around USD 24 million.
The businessman said that the fund will consist of a “blind irrevocable” trust, where none of them will have the address. On the contrary, Btrust will have a board of directors, so they are currently receiving nominations for the appointment of three of their members.
By initially focusing on Africa and India, Dorsey suggests that there will be an expansion of the program in the future. However, the executive did not provide further details or mention regions that they could serve later.
No one knows the names of those who have run so far to serve on the Btrust board. However, relevant personalities in the Bitcoin environment have already mentioned potential candidates.
The most prominent of the potential candidates was Fodé Diop, one of Lot49’s developers. This is a private messaging mesh network project based on the Bitcoin Lightning Network. People like Elizabeth Stark, CEO, and Co-founder of Lightning Labs, and privacy developer Hartej Sawhney have mentioned Diop.
Diop responded to Dorsey’s announcement calling this funding fund “an incredible opportunity for those working on Bitcoin in Africa.”
Bitcoin in Africa and India
Last year, Indian developer Amiti Uttarwar stated that it was necessary to make the development world around Bitcoin more “diverse”.
Uttarwar considered that work on Bitcoin was too centralized in the West and needed new voices to truly become a global phenomenon. Last year, Amiti herself, a contributor to Bitcoin Core, received funding of USD 150,000 to dedicate herself to Bitcoin.
According to Diop, this seems to be a good opportunity to expand the horizons of Bitcoin’s development. This is particularly true considering that Africa has been increasingly paying attention to Bitcoin. The growing trading volume of cryptocurrencies in the region thus demonstrates this.
There is an increasing number of projects and funds to finance developers working in search of improvements and solutions for Bitcoin. As it is an open-source project, those who contribute to its advances do not receive financial incentives beyond those that Dorsey has announced.
Among members of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, the creator of Twitter is a recognized Bitcoin enthusiast. Through his company Square, the also software developer has previously financially supported several projects that focus on Bitcoin.
Dorsey has also had contact with Africa regarding Bitcoin, getting to meet entrepreneurs from various countries. He has spoken about projects that focus on Bitcoin, assuring that “Africa will define the future of Bitcoin in a special way.”
By Willmen Blanco
