Thank you @btrustteam and @btrust_builders for recognizing my work in the bitcoin open-source ecosystem and for granting me this much needed support. I look forward to doing much more 🚀

Lightning⚡ is best known as a network for fast bitcoin payments. But what if the same infrastructure could also carry private messages? That’s the idea behind onion messages🧅. They rely on onion encryption, a technique where data is wrapped in multiple layers of encryption, like layers of an onion. As the message travels through the network, each node removes just one layer, learning only where the message came from and where it should go next. No single node ever sees the full route or the original sender and final recipient. In this article, @Thevelopher explores how onion messages work, how they differ from traditional payment routing, and how they’re being implemented in LND. The piece also looks at why this small protocol change could turn Lightning into more than just a payment network. If you’re curious about how Lightning might evolve into a private communication layer, read the full blog to learn more: blog.btrust.tech/onion-messa…

⚡️ Donations are now open to support Polar. lightningpolar.com/donate/ Polar has been fully open source and free to the Bitcoin dev community for over 6 years, and it’s grown thanks to the community: ✨ 800 GitHub stars ✅ 30K downloads 🔨 40 code contributors 🧵

🎉

🔥 Announcing the release of Polar v4.0.0! 🚀 You can now use your AI agents to control the nodes in your Lightning networks using the integrated MCP server. Check out this Cursor agent confirming the balances displayed in my demo app are accurate.

My oga 🫡

Our community co-lead @Thevelopher will lead this session, join us

LFG 🙌🏼

We’re happy to have @pins_btc joining us as a speaker at the upcoming #BtrustDeveloperDay! ⚡ Pins is a @Vinteum_org grantee currently contributing to LND (Lightning Network Daemon). His journey into Bitcoin development is a powerful example of passion meeting persistence. After starting his career as a software developer, Pins transitioned to commercial and sales roles in cybersecurity within major tech companies. Yet, his love for Bitcoin and open-source software reignited his drive to get back to hands-on coding. Over the past two years, Pins has dedicated himself to relearning programming and has been actively contributing to the LND codebase. At Developer Day, Pins will lead a hands-on workshop titled Taproot Lightning Channels from Scratch, designed for developers eager to dive deep into the Taproot transactions required to create and operate simple Taproot channels. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn directly from Pins and strengthen your understanding of how Bitcoin’s latest protocol upgrades expand the possibilities of the Lightning Network. RSVP now to secure your spot: clooza.com/events/BTRUSTDEVE…

See you all in Mauritius 🇲🇺🔥

@ihate1999, Btrust CEO and @bitcoincoreorg contributor, joins the #BtrustDeveloperDay lineup to share insights on the future of Bitcoin development across Africa. 🎉 Abubakar is one of the leading voices shaping the continent’s Bitcoin ecosystem, and also serves as CEO of @RcrsvCapital, a bitcoin-focused venture fund fueling innovative projects across the global bitcoin landscape. Through his leadership at Btrust, he drives initiatives that empower developers in the Global South with training and mentorship, helping cultivate the next generation of Bitcoin builders. Beyond his technical and community-building work, Abubakar contributes to @Forbes Digital Assets, where he shares thoughtful analysis on Bitcoin’s evolution and highlights key developments within Africa’s growing Bitcoin space. Join Developer Day to hear Abubakar’s vision for a decentralized, sustainable Bitcoin ecosystem and the work being done to unlock Africa’s potential in global Bitcoin development. 👉 Secure your spot here: clooza.com/events/BTRUSTDEVE…

I want to say a huge thank you to @jack for starting this historic initiative. Thank you to everyone who has helped us along the way, the team, mentors, and community. The Global Majority will lead Bitcoin development and ensure we all continue to have freedom money 🫂❤️

Congratulations lil bro @ihate1999 !!! 🥳 Chief Executive Officer @btrustteam ✅ Well deserved! Open-source #Bitcoin development in the global south is in good hands! 🔥🌍 Keep inspiring & stay focused! Youngest in charge! 🫡 We love you & forever proud of you!! ❤️

In July, we put out a call for a Chief Executive Officer, and after a long, thoughtful, and rigorous selection process, we’re excited to share that @ihate1999 has been appointed as the new CEO of Btrust. Abubakar will be stepping down from his position on the Board to take on this full-time role, where he will report directly to the Btrust Board. His appointment marks an important new chapter for Btrust as we continue our mission to strengthen and support open-source development across Africa and beyond. This is a three-year term, with the possibility of renewal by a subsequent board for one additional three-year period. Read more about the appointment, as featured by @micahvzimmerman on @BitcoinMagazine: bitcoinmagazine.com/builders… Join us in congratulating Abubakar on this new role and in looking forward to what’s ahead for us.

Well Done 👏

Love this, great work Abdullahi 👏🔥

It was nice speaking at @dakarbtcdays 🇸🇳 about Bitcoin open source contribution . It's high time we saw more devs from francophone African countries actively contributing to Bitcoin open source. Thanks to efforts from @btrustteam and all involved.

@TChileta shared how @BtcpayServer can bridge Africa’s local payment systems with bitcoin, enabling true financial sovereignty across the continent. He also walked us through the BTCPay Naira payment plugin, which lets customers pay in naira via bank transfer while merchants receive bitcoin directly in their wallets, powered by @mavapay as the offramp service. With this model already running in Nigeria 🇳🇬, the team is now looking to scale the solution across more African countries.

One Infrastructure @BtcpayServer.... 54 African countries One country at a time.. It's always day 1 🔥🔥

Bonjour Senegal 🇸🇳 👋🏽 Our team is on-site for @dakarbtcdays. We’ll be here over the next 3 days, so feel free to connect with us if you’d like to learn more about our programs or explore collaboration opportunities. You can also livestream the conference here: youtube.com/live/nyDMgjTyWgI…

You know what’s frustrating? When you’ve got the skills, the drive, and the ideas to make an impact, but the only thing stopping you is a border stamp. That’s the reality for so many brilliant Bitcoin developers across Africa and the Global South. They can write world‑class code, contribute to open‑source, and push the ecosystem forward, but collaborating in person with global peers or speaking on major stages? Too often, visa challenges make that impossible. We’ve decided that can’t be where the story ends. That's why we created the Pull Partnership; a way to place our grantees directly inside top Bitcoin teams around the world, where they can learn, share, and grow without barriers holding them back. The idea started when our grantee, @sadeeq_ismaela, joined @ChaincodeLabs in New York 🇺🇸 last year. He spent time working alongside leading Bitcoin developers, gaining hands-on experience and navigating the visa maze. That success made us think: what if we made this kind of opportunity a standard part of our grant ecosystem? Fast forward to this year. We’ve just piloted the Pull Partnership with @2140_dev in Amsterdam 🇳🇱. We’ve paired the Btrust‑funded developers with their team, covering salaries, relocation costs, and visa support, while 2140 provided mentorship, career development, and access to key Bitcoin industry events. We’d like to say a huge thank you to @josibake, @SomsenRuben and the @2140_dev team for making this partnership a reality. Learn more about the Pull Partnership here: blog.btrust.tech/introducing…