We just concluded week 6 of the Mastering Bitcoin live cohort. 📚
This week focused on understanding how the Bitcoin blockchain works and how new blocks are created through mining and consensus.
Participants explored the structure of the blockchain, including how blocks store transaction data, how blocks are linked together using cryptographic hashes, and how the block header contains the key information used to secure and validate each block.
The cohort also examined Merkle trees and how they efficiently organize transactions inside a block, allowing nodes to verify transactions without needing to download the entire blockchain.
In addition, we studied the mining process and Bitcoin’s Proof‑of‑Work consensus mechanism, learning how miners compete to solve cryptographic puzzles, how difficulty adjustments keep block production consistent, and how block rewards and transaction fees incentivize miners to secure the network.
We also discussed how consensus emerges across the distributed network, ensuring that all nodes agree on the valid chain while maintaining Bitcoin’s decentralized and trustless design.
Throughout the week, participants reviewed the assigned materials, collaborated with their partners, and worked through discussion questions to deepen their understanding.
During the live session, participants shared insights with the group and the faculty led the discussion on key ideas from the readings.
Meet @Zealsham, one of the 2025 BOSS alumni, a passionate software engineer from Port Harcourt, Nigeria 🇳🇬, who has steadily grown into an active Bitcoin open‑source contributor.
Shammah’s journey began long before joining the BOSS program. With a background in security engineering and years of experience in backend systems, he discovered his true calling in Bitcoin open‑source development.
Through the program, he deepened his work in Rust‑Payjoin, a privacy‑enhancing Bitcoin project focused on improving transaction privacy and disrupting common input ownership heuristics.
Today, Shammah continues to contribute full‑time to Bitcoin open-source. His work on Rust‑Payjoin includes major improvements like metrics collection for adoption tracking, caching mechanisms for performance, and better code structure for maintainability, all critical to strengthening Bitcoin’s privacy layer and reliability.
Shammah’s ongoing impact as a @btrustteam‑funded grantee reflects what’s possible for African developers who take that first step into the ₿OSS ecosystem.
Ready to start your own Bitcoin open‑source journey? Applications are now open for the 2026 ₿OSS Challenge, in partnership with @ChaincodeLabs.
This is your chance to gain hands‑on experience, mentorship, and a pathway into the global Bitcoin open‑source community, just like Shammah did.
🔗 Learn more about the program: https://t.co/m7Z5WnZh9w
📝 Apply for the 2026 cohort: https://t.co/GpYgAXjpGy
Today was the perfect way to end an incredible week. The entire day was dedicated to the hackathon, and the creativity that came out of Uyo was on another level. Teams built projects that were practical, thoughtful, and truly innovative. You could feel the hunger to create real tools for the Bitcoin and Lightning ecosystem.
From simple payment integrations to more advanced Lightning ideas, every group pushed themselves and delivered something unique. It was inspiring to watch developers who only started on Monday stand up today and present projects that showed real potential. This is what growth looks like.
We cannot wait to share these projects with everyone. Uyo showed up, learned fast, built with confidence, and proved that talent is everywhere when you create the right environment.
A heartfelt thank you to our instructors, @Extheo and @_AlexLewin, and to our team members @IamWhiteSarah, @_Satoshee, and @megasley, as well as the @BitDevsUyo team, @BitDevsPH team, @BitcoinAnambra team, @Bitcoin_Pidgin team, @mavapay, @Ipointhubict, who helped make this bootcamp possible.
And a very special thank you to our sponsors whose support made this entire experience a reality. Thank you @btrustteam, @OpenSats, @Tether_Africa, @afribitcoiners, @planb_network, @fedimint, and every partner who believed in this vision.
Uyo has set a new standard. The builders are ready. The future is bright. ⚡️
We're excited to share that we’ve partnered with @useclooza, our official ticketing and attendee management platform, to make your registration smooth and seamless. 🚀
Clooza connects you to experiences that matter, and we're especially proud of this collaboration as the platform was founded by @raphael_eyerin, a member of the genesis @btrust_builders cohort.
Register for the Btrust Developer Day here: https://t.co/eD9Eolxgq6
Want to learn more about our Clooza? Explore the platform here: https://t.co/JMGaoJ4II9