BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes’ crypto investment fund Maelstrom announced the launch of the Bitcoin Grant Program that aims to help with the technical development of the largest blockchain network. The focus will also be to improve its resilience, scalability, censorship resistance, and privacy characteristics.
On its official website, Maelstrom said that it can support Bitcoin developers and is committed to an “open and transparent grant process.”
Bitcoin Grant Program to Foster Innovation
Grants will be awarded between $50,000 and $150,000 per applicant, distributed over 12 months in monthly payments in bitcoin (BTC) or stablecoins Circle’s USDC and Tether’s USDT.
Recipients should engage in Bitcoin’s technical advancement, possibly by contributing to Bitcoin Core through pull requests or code reviews, according to Maelstrom’s announcement, which reads,
“Maelstrom, like other companies in the space, indirectly relies on the work of open-source Bitcoin developers. We are therefore keen to give back and donate to the Bitcoin technology, on which the crypto ecosystem depends.”
The applications should be submitted before August 25, and the grants will likely be distributed in the third or fourth quarter of the year. While grant stacking is permitted, the total amount is capped at $250,000 per year.
In addition to Hayes, the review committee for the grant will also include London-based investment company Farside Investors’ Chief Investment Officer Jonathan Bier who will serve as the Grant Program Administrator.
Hayes, who serves as the Chief Investment Officer of Maelstrom, tweeted,
“Announcing the Maelstrom Fund’s Bitcoin Developer Grant Program. As loyal followers of Lord Satoshi, we are doing our part to spread the word.”
Maelstrom’s Features Pendle Finance, Elixir, and More
Chief Investment Officer Maelstrom’s recent investments include Pendle Finance, a protocol that enables users to tokenize and trade future yields. It has been heavily endorsed by Hayes as the most important derivative exchange.
Meanwhile, the crypto investment fund’s portfolio also features the Bitcoin trading app Oyl and modular network project Elixir, among others. Maelstrom is also a founding advisor to the synthetic dollar protocol Ethena.