Angor and the Future of Bitcoin Grants
Dear readers,
The only reason Bitcoin and Nostr move forward is because people keep building. From protocol improvements to new apps, from education programs to infrastructure, it’s the builders who shape the future. They wholeheartedly invest their time, energy, and creativity into making it real. Some are well known, others work quietly in the background, but together they’re the reason this ecosystem keeps growing.
But passion alone isn’t always enough. Builders need support that gives them time to think, space to experiment, and the freedom to stay focused. That’s where grant-givers like @OpenSats , Brink, and @Btrust step in. They’ve made it possible for builders to stay immersed in their work, without getting pulled away by funding gaps or red tape.
And as this ecosystem matures, new tools are emerging to make that support even more efficient. One of those tools is @Angor - an open-source protocol originally designed for crowdfunding, but with potential far beyond that. Instead of relying on manual approvals or loose timelines, Angor introduces a milestone-based approach that aligns funding with real progress.
What is Angor?
Angor is an open source decentralized funding protocol built on Bitcoin and Nostr. It locks funds using hashed time-lock and multisig contracts tied to predefined milestones. Updates and project metadata are shared over Nostr so that progress remains transparent from day one.
Here’s how it works in practice -
- Define the path: A project begins by outlining its milestones upfront, making expectations and progress markers clear from the start.
- Lock the funds: Once the path is set, Bitcoin funds are secured on-chain, giving builders confidence that support is in place before they begin.
- Unlock with progress: As milestones are reached, funds are released through the protocol.
Picture One: OpenSats on Angor
OpenSats is a non-profit that provides sustainable funding for free and open-source contributors working on Bitcoin, Nostr, and other freedom tech. It operates as a public charity with full transparency, and every donation goes directly to the projects and developers it supports.
Take Frostr by @bitcoinplebdev (https://www.frostr.org/), a Nostr project OpenSats has supported.
With Angor, that kind of grant could be mapped to milestones such as: • Protocol design – drafting and testing the core framework. • Testnet release – shipping an early version for community feedback. • Production launch – delivering a ready-to-use tool for the wider ecosystem.
Each milestone would release its share of funds, giving developers steady support. At the same time, automatic payouts reduce admin work for OpenSats, while milestones give donors the option of meaningful updates without exposing sensitive details.
Picture Two: Btrust on Angor
Btrust is a non-profit founded in 2021 with a 500 BTC endowment from @jack Dorsey and Jay-Z. Its mission is to decentralize Bitcoin open-source development by funding, educating, and supporting engineers across Africa and the Global South.
One of the projects it has supported is @bitshala , a grassroots education initiative in India that helps new developers enter the Bitcoin ecosystem through study cohorts, PR review clubs, and fellowships.
With Angor, a grant like this could be mapped into milestones such as:
• Cohort design – preparing the curriculum and learning materials. • Workshops and onboarding – running study groups, meetups, and review clubs. • Fellowship projects – guiding students to contribute directly to real Bitcoin FOSS projects.
Each milestone would unlock the next portion of funding, tying support directly to progress. And depending on the grant, that progress could be shared openly with the community or kept private for safety — which brings us to the question of transparency.
Privacy vs Transparency: It’s a Choice
Different grants have different needs, just like Bitcoin itself grew from both open collaboration and cypherpunk privacy.
Some projects thrive in the open. Think of community-led efforts where a public dashboard of milestones and funding gives donors and supporters confidence, much like how Bitcoin’s ledger is visible to everyone.
Others depend on privacy. Developers working on sensitive projects may need to stay in the background for safety, similar to how many early Bitcoin contributors operated under pseudonyms. For these grants, Angor can still release funds according to milestones, but without exposing personal details or progress to the public.
What It Means For The Ecosystem
Whether it’s developers, grant-givers, donors, or communities, everyone stands to gain something from this model:
•For funders: operations become smoother with less admin needed to track and release funds, and there is also the option to share funding with the community. A foundation might cover 50% of the costs while the rest comes from 10, 20, or even 100 other donors, creating a strong signal of community validation because projects that attract many backers show genuine demand.
•For developers: payouts are predictable because they are tied to progress, and Angor allows funds to be locked for longer periods. This gives developers the security of seeing funding lined up ahead of time and, when the support is strong enough, the chance to leave a fiat job and fully commit to their project.
•For donors: what they see depends on the foundation they give through. Some foundations may share milestones openly, so donors can follow progress as funds unlock. Others may keep updates private for safety, but donors still know their contribution only moves when milestones are reached.
•For the community: funding tied to milestones creates a transparent record of progress, almost like a live leaderboard. It may not reveal every detail, but it makes accountability visible and gives everyone a shared sense of collective progress.
An Open Invitation
Well, I sincerely hope that one of the foundations has read this far. Or maybe you are a friend of theirs, and you can suggest they give this protocol a try. Start small, with one pilot grant. See how it feels in practice. If it works, keep going. If it doesn’t let the angor team know what can change, or even just fork it, make it your own.
With that I would leave you with one question -
If Brink or OpenSats grants were milestone-based on Angor, would you trust the process more? And would you contribute to community-led funding if you could see exactly how funds were unlocked?
That’s all from me. Keep building & see y’all next week. Ciao