My plan: full-time open source on Lightning.

One area of work, the problem first, proof I can point to, and six months that leave time for review. Written the way Bitcoin funders ask.

See my progressWhat funders look for

My area of work: LND

• I run it

  Ye₿ente, my open-source wallet, runs on my own LND node. I meet its invoices, payments and channels every day.

• It's Go

  158 Go challenges at Zone01 Kisumu, and 100+ Go developers at LakeHub to learn with.

• It's Lightning

  Fast, cheap payments: what people around me need to use Bitcoin day to day.

Alongside: reviewing Bitcoin Core pull requests, to learn how careful review is done.

The problem

In Kenya and Ethiopia, people pay with M-Pesa and Telebirr. Lightning can serve them, but the node software has to stay simple to run, safe for the people relying on it, and understood by developers close to the people who use it.

What I've done

• 28 merged pull requests and counting on public projects, every one linked.
• Ye₿ente: a Lightning wallet on my own LND node, with M-Pesa payouts.
• Bitcoin Core Lab: 13 hands-on stages, regtest to mainnet.
• My first talk at BitDevs Kisumu, now a free setup guide.
• BitDevs Kisumu, which I co-founded, sponsored by Btrust.

Six months

1. Month 1Learn the projectBuild LND from source; run the unit tests. Follow the code contribution guidelines. Review two open pull requests, saying exactly what I tested.
2. Month 2First contributionTake a good first issue. Open a small, tested pull request. Answer review until it's merged or closed.
3. Months 3–4Where Ye₿ente livesReview and contribute around the parts Ye₿ente relies on every day: invoices, payments and macaroons. Two more pull requests, with time left for review.
4. Months 5–6Sustain and shareRegular reviews each week. Write up what I learned, in plain words, and present it at BitDevs Kisumu.

Each step ticks on my tracker when GitHub shows it. No AI: I write, test and review everything myself.

Who benefits

• People using Ye₿ente: a node run by someone who knows its code.
• Developers at BitDevs Kisumu and LakeHub: a path into Lightning, from someone a step ahead.
• LND: another careful reviewer and tester, close to its users in East Africa.

What funding changes

Today I contribute around my apprenticeship and running Ye₿ente. Funding would let me give LND my full working day: reviews, tests and pull requests, every day. Details go to funders directly.

The path

1. NowBtrust BuildersBuilders programs first: in Q2 2026, all but one of Btrust's seven grant recipients came through Btrust Builders.
2. NextBtrust Starter GrantSix months full-time, once I meet its bar.
3. ThenBtrust Open-Source CohortMonthly support for sustained contributors.

Also funding Bitcoin open source: OpenSats, the Human Rights Foundation's Bitcoin Development Fund, Brink, Spiral and Vinteum. See Players.

The funder's checklist, answered

• ✓A clear area of open-source work?
  LND, the Lightning node: the software Ye₿ente runs on. Why LND.
• ✓Technical ability shown with something concrete?
  Ye₿ente, a Lightning wallet on my own LND node, and Bitcoin Core Lab.
• ✓Previous work or contributions to point to?
  28 merged pull requests on public projects, every one linked on my tracker.
• ◐Understanding of the problem, beyond wanting to solve it?
  From running LND for Ye₿ente every day. Next: reviews on LND pull requests, with what I tested.
• ◐A plan and timeline that would survive scrutiny?
  The six months above, with review and testing time built in.
• ✓Specific about what funding would enable?
  What funding changes.
• ✓Connected to the wider ecosystem, not just my interests?
  Who benefits.

From Btrust's guide: How Bitcoin developers can get funding for open-source work.