START YOURCAREER INBITCOIN OPEN SOURCE

The OSS Challenge is a Chaincode Labs initiative for coders serious about beginning a career in bitcoin open source software

Join the waitlist

About the Challenge

It's no secret that getting started in OSS (Bitcoin Open Source Software) can be difficult. Sometimes it's not obvious where to begin, and other times it takes an extra nudge. No matter the situation, the OSS Challenge is ready to tackle obstacles like these by providing guidance and scaffolding for the journey.

At the heart of the challenge is a set of programming exercises and hands-on activities spanning the course of a month. Once that month is complete, participants that are ready to continue the adventure have the opportunity to extend the program for two additional months.

[Bitcoin Open Source Ecosystem Flow]

How It Works

A structured 3-month journey from learning to contributing

Month One

Foundation & Core Learning

Chaincode curates each cohort, arranges curriculum, and provides ongoing support throughout the program. You will be expected to prep for a minimum 10 hours per week. Outside of the first week, there are no scheduled calls. This program will be taught and mentored by OSS contributors that have stood in your shoes. Throughout the week, there will be async chat discussions and support. If you are willing to do the work, we'll give you what you need to get to where you want to go.

[Stage 1 - Foundation & Core Learning]

[Stage 2 - Advanced Programs & Partnerships]

2-3

Months 2 & 3

Advanced Programs & Partnerships

You will have the opportunity to participate in a program with a partner organization. Chaincode will also run a seminar and provide a list of supplemental resources. Advanced participants may be selected for additional opportunities.

Your Journey

Beyond the Program

The journey to becoming a full-time OSS contributor is long, winding, and different for everybody. It is not a straight path. This challenge is not only designed to give you some supports along the way, but to foster the proactive, self-starter spirit that is required in open source. Join the challenge and see how far you can go!

[Stage 3 - Your Journey]

Testimonials

Hear from our alumni

[Beulah]

"This is the best program for jumpstarting your career in bitcoin open source"

[Beulah]

Beulah

Vora & Second

[Spacebear]

"BOSS challenge is hard, but fun and deeply rewarding"

[Spacebear]

Spacebear

Spiral

[Rob]

"It allowed me to do a fun and rigorous course to transition my skills into bitcoin open source"

[Rob]

Rob

2140

[David]

"It changed the trajectory of my career and now I get to work on awesome problems"

[David]

David

Localhost Research

[Rita]

"The BOSS challenge really helped me think deeply about bitcoin"

[Rita]

Rita

trust

[Chuks]

"BOSS program was really intense and fast paced... it really changed my life"

[Chuks]

Chuks

trust

[Janb84]

"BOSS challenge was interesting and super challenging, it changed my life"

[Janb84]

Janb84

OpenSats

[Macgyver]

"The program was engaging... it changed my perspective and my life"

[Macgyver]

Macgyver

Maelstrom & OpenSats

[Marco]

"It's tough to get into open source on your own and this program was a good guide"

[Marco]

Marco

Brink

[Martin]

"BOSS challenge was really motivating and challenging, it really changed my life"

[Martin]

Martin

Spiral

[Zealsham]

"The program equipped me with the knowledge to work on bitcoin full time"

[Zealsham]

Zealsham

trust

[Rkrux]

"Successfully completing the BOSS challenge changed my life"

[Rkrux]

Rkrux

Maelstrom

[Elnosh]

"It truly changed my life, now I get to have the best job in the world"

[Elnosh]

Elnosh

OpenSats & Chaincode

[Ram]

"It forced me to engage deeply with bitcoin fundamentals"

[Ram]

Ram

ANNOUNCED SOON

[Sangbida]

"The BOSS challenge was enlightening, testing and inspiring"

[Sangbida]

Sangbida

Blockstream

View All 15 Stories

OSS Alumni

Meet the talented developers who have completed the challenge and are now contributing to bitcoin open source projects

2025

OSS Alumni

[Sangbida]

Sangbida

Funded by Blockstream to contribute to Core Lightning

[Daniel]

Daniel

Funded by Spiral to contribute to Bitcoin Core

[Ben]

Ben

Funded by Maelstrom to contribute to PayJoin

[Zealsham]

Zealsham

Funded by trust to contribute to PayJoin

[MacGyver]

MacGyver

Funded by Maelstrom to contribute to Silent Payments

[Beulah]

Beulah

Funded by Vora and Second to contribute to FROST

[Rita]

Rita

Funded by trust to contribute to LDK Node

[Janb84]

Janb84

Funded by OpenSats to contribute to Bitcoin Core

[Chuks]

Chuks

Funded by trust to contribute to LDK Node

[Elnosh]

Elnosh

Funded by OpenSats and Chaincode to contribute to LDK and Channel Jamming Research

[Martin]

Martin

Funded by Spiral to contribute to LDK

[Ram]

Ram

Funded by localhost to contribute to Bitcoin Core

2024

OSS Alumni

[Nick]

Nick

Funded by Spiral to contribute to Rust Bitcoin

[Rob]

Rob

Funded by BDK Foundation, OpenSats, and 2140 to contribute to BDK and kyoto

[David]

David

Funded by OpenSats and localhost to contribute to Bitcoin Core

[Rkrux]

Rkrux

Funded by Maelstrom to contribute to Bitcoin Core

[Hodlinator]

Hodlinator

Funded by OpenSats to contribute to Bitcoin Core

[Tdb3]

Tdb3

Funded by OpenSats to contribute to Bitcoin Core

[Spacebear]

Spacebear

Funded by Spiral to contribute to PayJoin

[Marco]

Marco

Funded by Brink to contribute to Bitcoin Core

Learning Resources

Free, world-class content to accelerate your Bitcoin journey

[Self Paced Seminars]

Self Paced Seminars

Materials are available for anyone to use with readings and discussion questions on various Bitcoin and Lightning topics.

Check it out

[Onboarding to Bitcoin Core]

Onboarding to Bitcoin Core

Covering both the technical components such as, architecture, consensus, validation, the wallet, P2P, and script, and also introduces the under-documented social aspects like PR etiquette and the decentralized development process.

Check it out

[Bitcoin Development Philosophy]

Bitcoin Development Philosophy

A guide for Bitcoin developers who already understand the basics of concepts and processes such as Proof-of-Work, block building, and the transaction life cycle, and who want to level up by gaining a deeper understanding of Bitcoin's design trade-offs and philosophy.

Check it out

[Rust for Bitcoiners]

Rust for Bitcoiners

Master the fundamentals of Rust and bitcoin. Start your journey to becoming a bitcoin rust contributor.

Check it out

About Chaincode

[Chaincode Labs]

Chaincode Labs is a Bitcoin research and development center based in New York City. We focus on the development of the bitcoin network and related technologies. A critical part of our work is creating a space for those seeking a solid foundation with which to contribute to the bitcoin ecosystem.

Since 2016, our residency program has helped to train and develop the next generation of Bitcoin and Lightning protocol and application engineers.

Learn.

Contribute.

Get Started.

consensus/amount.h

static constexpr CAmount COIN = 100000000;
static constexpr CAmount MAX_MONEY = 21000000 * COIN;

chainparams.cpp

const char* pszTimestamp = 
    "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink "
    "of second bailout for banks";
genesis = CreateGenesisBlock(1231006505, 2083236893, 
                             0x1d00ffff, 1, 50 * COIN);

pow.cpp

bool CheckProofOfWork(uint256 hash, unsigned int nBits) {
    bnTarget.SetCompact(nBits, &fNegative, &fOverflow);
    if (fNegative || bnTarget == 0 || fOverflow)
        return false;
    if (UintToArith256(hash) > bnTarget)
        return false;
    return true;
}

merkletree.cpp

uint256 ComputeMerkleRoot(
    const std::vector<uint256>& leaves,
    bool* mutated) {
    if (leaves.size() == 0) {
        return uint256();
    }
    return ComputeMerkleRootFromBranch(
        leaves, leaves.size(), 0);
}

2026 Chaincode Labs

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OSS Challenge