El Salvador Begins Bitcoin & Lightning Dev Courses – Who Are the ‘Rock Star’ Teachers?

El Salvador’s government has announced that it has begun training Bitcoin (BTC) and Lightning Network developers as state-backed courses get underway.

In a tweet, the National Bitcoin Office (ONBTC), a government body that answers to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, explained that 54 students had “made the grade” for the inaugural course.

CUBO+ news 📰

Classes begin on Monday, 24 April and 54 students have made the grade

This preparatory phase of the program covers economics, monetary history, theory & more and will last until the end of June

The highlight will be an in person lecture from @saifedean

🇸🇻🚀 pic.twitter.com/xS2f8602Al

— The Bitcoin Office (@bitcoinofficesv) April 19, 2023

The course will begin with a “preparatory phase” that will “cover economics, monetary history, theory, and more.”

This, the ONBTC said, will “last until the end of June.”

The body added that the “highlight” of the “preparatory phase” would be an “in-person” lecture from Saifedean Ammous.

Ammous is an economist and the author of several books on BTC, including “The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking.”

The ONBTC claimed that after the preparatory phase of the program, the course would “then get intense and in-person.”

During this period in early July, students can expect “two weeks of round-the-clock coding boot camp.”

The body claimed that “rock star” Bitcoin and Lightning Network “teachers” would be on hand to share their expertise during these coding sessions.

This, the ONBTC stated, would be followed in turn by “the mentorship part of the program,” beginning in “August to October.”

Named CUBO+, the course was first announced in March of this year.

Who Can Take El Salvador’s BTC and Lightning Courses?

The ONBTC has previously explained that the course is targeted at university students in the nation.

The body said the course will include an “advanced Bitcoin engineering program that lasts several months.”

And, to incentivize the courses, the government has stated that it will “offer credit as well as placement for those who qualify” for an “inaugural fellowship.”

The courses are being backed by Tether, the company behind the USDT stablecoin.

Also funding CUBO+ is Fulgur Ventures, a BTC and Lightning Network-focused investment company.

The ONBTC wrote, back in March:

“The aim is excellence. And nothing less. […] Bitcoin is for everyone. And we will prove that.”