Developers and contributors working on Bitcoin, nostr, and adjacent freedom tech can apply for a grant at any time, and our board reviews proposals on a rolling basis.

Twice a year, in the spring and fall, we plan to highlight a focus area where we would like to see strong proposals. This spring, the focus is on privacy at Bitcoin's base layer.

Privacy on Bitcoin matters for the same reasons it matters anywhere else. People accepting bitcoin for their work, running a small business, donating to causes, or saving for the future reasonably expect the same kind of day-to-day financial privacy they would get from traditional banking tools. As Greg Maxwell put it back in 2013:

Traditional banking provides a fair amount of privacy by default. Your inlaws don't see that you're buying birth control that deprives them of grandchildren, your employer doesn't learn about the non-profits you support with money from your paycheck, and thieves don't see your latest purchases or how wealthy you are to help them target and scam you. Poor privacy in Bitcoin can be a major practical disadvantage for both individuals and businesses.

There are real privacy gaps on-chain today. Much of that sits in wallet behavior and transaction construction, which makes it a great area for open-source development to improve the experience for users.

...read more at opensats.org