Share this article
Square Crypto’s New Grant Funds Popular Bitcoin Blockchain Explorer
This marks the 26th grant by the Cash App parent-company offshoot.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 12:37 p.m. Published Apr 7, 2021, 6:37 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
Square Crypto and Gemini have doled out yet another grant, this time to two pseudonymous developers who maintain one of the most popular Bitcoin block explorers.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Pseudonymous Bitcoiners Wiz and softsimon will receive $100,000 from Square Crypto and $25,000 from Gemini to continue their work on the website. The two-man team will take the one-year grant in bitcoin.
Read more: Summer 2020 Is Funding Season for Open-Source Bitcoin Development
Grants like these have become more ubiquitous over the past year as Bitcoin and crypto companies step up to the plate to fund projects that typically subsist on donations and volunteer work. In an open-source, distributed world like Bitcoin, these grants are becoming the lifeblood of many projects and initiatives.
“It's long been our dream to work directly for Bitcoin, and now with the recent generous donations from the community we're able to cover all operating expenses for The Mempool Open Source Project and also take a full salary. So we're living the dream!” Wiz told CoinDesk.
A block explorer is an online tool that allows users to query blockchain data like transaction IDs, wallet addresses and other block data. Avid bitcoiners are drawn to mempool.space because it clearly demonstrates the average fee per block to help Bitcoin users estimate an appropriate fee when sending transactions.
Funding Bitcoin open-source tools
Square Crypto has become a leader in the Bitcoin grants space, dishing out funding to Bitcoin Core contributors, open-source software and even user interface designers and Bitcoin educators.
Not even 2 weeks after announcing bitcoin denominated grants, we’re giving @wiz and @softsimon_’s @mempool 14,043,207 sats (or ~869 calzones) a month for 12 months.
— Square Crypto (@sqcrypto) April 7, 2021
Go explore: https://t.co/fyZfkesA19
(Stop asking if we’re serious about the calzones. We’re always serious.)
Before Square, Blockstream, BitMEX and others sponsored Bitcoin development, either indirectly through grants or through in-house hires.
Last year, many exchanges and Bitcoin companies began issuing open-source grants for anything from Bitcoin protocol development to wallet software.
More For You
Pudgy Penguins is building a multi-vertical consumer IP platform — combining phygital products, games, NFTs and PENGU to monetize culture at scale.
What to know:
Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token.
The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility.
More For You
Meta and Microsoft continue going big on AI Spending. Here's how bitcoin miners could benefit
In its fourth quarter earnings report, Meta said capital spending plans for 2026 should be in the range of $115-$135 billion, well ahead of consensus forecasts.
What to know:
- Fourth-quarter earnings results from Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta (META) suggested no slowdown in AI-related spending.
- Microsoft highlighted that AI is now one of its largest businesses and pointed to long-term growth.
- Meta projected sharply higher capital spending in 2026 to fund its Meta Super Intelligence Labs and core business.
Top Stories
