PlebLab

builders

>This past weekend, the Lightning Bounties team returned to the MIT Bitcoin Hackathon — not as participants, but as mentors. Just one year after winning Track 1 with our GitHub-Bitcoin payment integration, we found ourselves guiding 510 hackers through the challenges we had faced ourselves. This full-circle journey from competitors to coaches at the “Freedom Tech” hackathon highlighted not only Bitcoin’s growing ecosystem but also the powerful community knowledge transfer that drives innovation forward. Here’s our story of mentorship, technical challenges, and the incredible projects that emerged over those intensive 30 hours.

>The Birth of Lightning Bounties
Last spring, we huddled around a table at MIT, frantically debugging Lightning Network connections as the final minutes of the 2024 hackathon ticked down. Our project — a system to automatically reward open-source contributors on GitHub with Bitcoin — was held together with equal parts code, grit, and Red Bull.

![](https://m.stacker.news/87320) 

![](https://m.stacker.news/87321)

![](https://m.stacker.news/87322)

>Lightning Bounties 2024 MIT Bitcoin Hackathon
When Lightning Bounties was announced as the Track 1 winner we experienced that rare moment of validation every builder craves. The enthusiastic response from judges and fellow participants confirmed we’d identified a genuine problem worth solving in open-source development.

>That single weekend transformed our trajectory entirely. Within a year, we evolved from a hackathon project to a vibrant startup featured in Bitcoin News and selected as a finalist in PlebLab’s Top Builder competition

>Why We Returned as Mentors
We chose to mentor at this year’s hackathon because Lightning Bounties is living proof that a weekend project built on grit can evolve into something meaningful. The doors that opened for us — media exposure, accelerator programs, industry connections — are waiting for the next wave of builders too.

Lightning Bounties: Mentoring MIT Bitcoin Hackathon 2025

🎥 Startup Day content is rolling out all week — and next up: Austin Kelsay, Founder of PlebDevs.

Austin shares the journey of building PlebDevs from the ground up — the growth, the vision, and what’s coming next... including some exciting new features launching soon. 🚀

Learn More about PlebDevs: https://plebdevs.com/
Follow him on SN: @bitcoinplebdev

PlebDevs Announcement by Austin Kelsay

🎥 Startup Day content is rolling out all week — and next up: a special announcement from Stephen Delorme, Co-Founder of ATL BitLab.

ATL BitLab has been a home for builders, hackers, and freedom tech in Atlanta — and Stephen shares what’s next for the space, the mission, and a big event coming this summer. ⚡️

Learn More about ATL BitLab: https://atlbitlab.com

ATL BitLab Announcement by Stephen Delorme

🎥 Startup Day content is rolling out this week — and next up: Francisco Chavarria, Co-Founder & CEO of Yopaki.

Francisco unveils the Lightning Payments Tour — a mission to show how Lightning works in the wild, through direct merchant onboarding and real-world use cases. ⚡️

Startup Day Speaker: @FranciscoBTC Founder & CEO of Yopaki

More about the presentation:
Follow Yopaki on X: https://x.com/yopaki_
Learn More about Yopaki: https://yopaki.com


Lightning Payments Tour by Yopaki

openagents

🎥 Startup Day content is rolling out this week — and next up: The AIs Are Coming: OpenAgents V2 Has Arrived.

Christopher David, Founder & CEO of OpenAgents, shares a bold vision for a decentralized, AI-centric web — powered by Bitcoin.

More about the presentation:
Follow Christopher David on SN: @AtlantisPleb
Learn More about OpenAgents: https://openagents.com

The AI's Are Coming: OpenAgents V2 Has Arrived

🎥 Startup Day content is rolling out this week — and next up, we’re diving into the frontier of AI and Bitcoin.

Jim Carucci, Founder & CEO of CASCDR, explores the new paradigm: The Bitcoin & AI-Centric Internet — and what it means for builders entering this next wave. 🌊

More about the presentater:
Follow Jim on SN: @cascdr
Learn More about CASCDR: https://cascdr.xyz
Learn More about Pull That Up Jamie: https://www.pullthatupjamie.ai

The New Frontier: Entering the Bitcoin & AI-Centric Internet

🎥 Startup Day content is rolling out this week — and we’re kicking things off with some real wisdom.

2025 Keynote Speaker Joe Kelly, Co-Founder & CEO of Unchained, gets real about the peaks, valleys, and hard-earned lessons of building a Bitcoin company — and the values that carry you through. 💫

More about the presenter:
Follow Joe Kelly on Twitter: https://x.com/josephkelly
Learn More about Unchained: https://www.unchained.com

Joe Kelly Co-Founder & CEO of Unchained Keynote for Startup Day 2025

🎥 Startup Day content is rolling out all week — starting with a message for the builders.

First up: @Car, Co-Founder & CEO of PlebLab, shares a quick update on what we’re building and a key announcement for the startup community. 👀

✨ Huge thanks to our sponsors — and to Timestamp for powering Season 2 of Top Builder!

Watch Car’s announcement below! (ff to 4:51 for SNL shout out)




Welcome & Introductory Remarks by Car - Startup Day 2025

🎥 This week, we’re rolling out the Final Round of Top Builder videos from Startup Day!

Next up: http://SATS.GG — the ultimate sats-for-content platform. Monetize your posts with Bitcoin, anywhere. 

Chad’s pitch at Startup Day during SXSW had the whole room fired up. 🔥

✨Huge thanks to all our sponsors and to Timestamp for partnering with us on Season 2!

🚀 Top Builder Team: SATS.GG

🔗 Connect with SATS.GG
Use SATS.GG: https://sats.gg

Watch Chad’s pitch below!








SATS.GG | Post Content. Get Paid - Final Round of Top Builder S2

Stacker Saloon

saloon

🎥 This week, we’re dropping the Final Round of Top Builder videos from Startup Day!

Second up: Cal from Shopstr – a permissionless marketplace revolutionizing Bitcoin commerce. 🛒⚡️

From merchants to shoppers, Shopstr is redefining how people transact in a truly Bitcoin-native economy.

✨Huge thanks to all our sponsors and to Timestamp for partnering with us on Season 2!


🔗 Connect with Shopstr

Use Shopstr: https://shopstr.store

Learn more about Cal: https://calva.dev

Shopstr on X: https://x.com/_shopstr

Subscribe to Cal on SN: @calvadev

Shopstr | Revolutionizing Bitcoin Commerce - Final Round of Top Builder S2

🟠 Nummus Newsletter #3: Quick Progress Update

ChatGPT 4o Studio Ghibli image generation throwdown

k00b

![](https://m.stacker.news/84069)

E A R L Y  D A Y S  with Alex

In this episode of Early Days, Car sits down with Alex from Heatbit who shares his entrepreneurial journey, detailing the inception of Heatbit during the COVID-19 lockdown, the challenges faced in product development, and the importance of market validation.

Catch it on here on Stacker News, Spotify, YT and PlebTV.
https://streamable.com/l/ux4w8m/mp4.mp4

🟢Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3g0NnWLasxdAaYgfJTw4Fm?si=UWrg0xagSEasJN9BgYSc6w
🔴YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3VgqmNjp3s
🟠PlebTV: https://www.plebtv.com/PLvxf1TpXqCAID5M_k5VkwrURU2M8YYGpZ/m3VgqmNjp3s

He Created a Heater That Mines Bitcoin | HeatBit Founder Alex

![](https://m.stacker.news/82011)

📚⚡️We just announced Startup School today

✌️Apply today

PlebLab Startup School: Summer Edition

🚨 LIVE at 5PM CST ! Major Pull That Up Jamie update—Tune in! 🎥🔥

cascdr

https://youtube.com/live/QvhaN7Yv-AA?feature=share

![](https://m.stacker.news/78363)

We just launched a Breez channel & dropped a full course:

"How to Add Bitcoin Payments to Any App with the Breez SDK"

Start building with seamless Bitcoin integration today! 

*Also should mention plebtv still requires to signup via github for now. Will open up later this year to everyone to access. For people already signed up enjoy!

N O D E L E S S E R I E S How to Add Bitcoin Payments to Any App with Breez SDK

![](https://m.stacker.news/78361)

E A R L Y   D A Y S

21M Comms by Phil

https://streamable.com/l/ivs876/mp4-mobile.mp4

@Car talks with Phil, the Founder and CEO of 21M Communications, to discuss his journey in the Bitcoin space and the unique PR strategies he employs for Bitcoin only companies.

Catch it on here on Stacker News, Spotify, and PlebTV.

🟢Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2SWKYfEqhZZadZkLXiM9aA
🟠PlebTV: https://plebtv.com/PLvxf1TpXqCAID5M_k5VkwrURU2M8YYGpZ/u2vmnmy3HgI





E A R L Y    D A Y S - 21M Comms by Phil

>Breez and 1A1z have unveiled a new report, Bitcoin Payments: From Digital Gold to Everyday Currency, exploring how bitcoin has evolved from a store of value into an everyday medium of exchange. The report examines real-world adoption, revealing over 650 million people now have access to bitcoin payments, with case studies from global businesses like Pick n Pay (Africa), Mercari (Japan), and Mondo Convenienza (Italy).

Here is a link to view the pdf online: 

https://jmp.sh/s/7ivBNPIwuw8vwzEY5u2w

Particular interesting page.

![](https://m.stacker.news/77526)

Breez | Report - Is Bitcoin “Just” Digital Gold?

Inside Austin's Bitcoin Hackerspace - Car Gonzalez - Business Bitcoinization pod

AGORA

# Assist with PlebBook.com

![](https://m.stacker.news/71293)

We're on the hunt for more talented individuals to help us refresh the content on **PlebBook.com**! It’s been a while since our last update in **March 2024**, and we’re eager to bring PlebBook up to speed with the latest information. 

## Background
We started PlebBook in 2023 and have continued to update the project yearly. Any help would be appreciated. 

## Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate will:

- Have a solid understanding of the **Bitcoin builder ecosystem** and add correct information.  
- Possess a sharp eye for detail to organize information accurately across our predefined categories.
- Make suggestions or alternatives when appropriate.
- Use/maintain Alphabetical order when adding information.

## Project Collaboration

Our project is hosted on **GitHub**, making contributions and updates is a seamless process. https://github.com/PlebLab/PlebBook

## Provide Value

If you’re passionate about **Bitcoin** and have the skills to help us enhance **PlebBook.com**, we’d love the help to provide this valuable resource to the **builder community**.

> **Note:** Please make updates in Github and report back here, that way will be sure to zap you accordingly for your contribution. CC @Car if its been a few days.
