Open-source Bitcoin development funded mainly by Blockstream and Lightning Labs

Bitcoin has today become synonymous with cryptocurrencies and decentralization. What started off as project popular only among a certain group of tech enthusiasts and cryptographers has now become one of the most radical innovations in the world of finance and technology.

While Bitcoin was initially considered to revolutionize everyday payments, during the course of the last decade Bitcoin has found its niche as a store of value. In terms of developing Bitcoin as tomorrow’s currency, there are many entities involved. A recent BitMEX report tries to understand which entities contribute to the open-source Bitcoin development and the Bitcoin Core project.

Source: BitMEX

Based on BitMEX’s data, blockchain technology company, Blockstream and Lightning Labs were found to be the largest contributors to open source development in the space. In terms of the Bitcoin Core project, the report highlighted,

“We looked at the Bitcoin Core project and identified the top 33 contributors by all-time number of commits and then attempted to establish the current funding source for each developer. This chart shows that Chaincode Labs is the most prolific financial supporter of Bitcoin development.”

Source: BitMEX

Highlighting the overall health of the ecosystem and the transparency, the report pointed out that,

“Although the funding situation could improve, in our view the data indicates that the ecosystem is in a reasonably strong situation with respect to developer funding, based on metrics such as the distribution of funders and transparency.”

The report further added that in terms of funding distribution of Bitcoin Core while Chaincode Labs is a clear leader, progress can be made in terms of achieving a more distributed funding landscape. In the past, particularly during the timeframe from 2012-2014, the Bitcoin foundation was the primary source of funds, the report highlighted that in comparison to that era, the current situation has a more distributed spread regarding funding sources.

Highlighting some of the challenges faced in terms of funding, BitMEX’s report highlighted some of the major concerns. It noted,

“More sustainable developer financing, including a large share of funding coming from retained earnings from businesses with different business models, and ensuring developers effectively collaborate while receiving independent funding sources.”