Brink, a non-profit organization focused on funding open source Bitcoin development has published its annual report detailing more than $1 million in donations to Bitcoin developers in 2023. Founded in 2020 by famous Bitcoin developers John Newbery and Mike Schmidt, it aims to provide financial support and training to promising developers working on open source Bitcoin development.
In its fourth annual report, Brink disclosed that it received approximately $2.4 million in donations last year from more than 500 donors, with Jack Dorsey’s StartSmall program as the largest sponsor.
Brink’s salary reached about $1.6 million in 2023. More than $1.2 million went directly to developer salaries and allowances, enabling them to focus on the development of the Bitcoin protocol.
Since Bitcoin’s code is voluntarily maintained by open source developers, organizations like Brink help ensure adequate funding for the work that is important to the protocol. Supporters believe that having more full-time developers developing Bitcoin results in a stronger network.
The report highlighted major achievements from Brink-funded developers in areas such as code reviews, security enhancements, testing infrastructure, and research development.
The annual report provided an overview of how Brink directs funding to support the Bitcoin developer community. Its disclosure of costs and engineering progress helps ensure the nonprofit’s role in sustaining Bitcoin as a decentralized open source project.