Foundry announces non-profit initiative to support Bitcoin developers

Foundry is launching a new program that allows miners to donate a portion of the money they earn through mining to Bitcoin developers.

Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm Foundry said in a press release on Tuesday that it wants to support the development of the Bitcoin ecosystem with a new initiative that allows miners in the United States to transfer a portion of the coins they earn by mining to blockchain developers.

The initiative, called Foundry Donate, connects miners in the Foundry USA Pool with trusted organizations that are approved by the IRS as 501(c)(3) organizations, allowing direct donations to core developers. The New York-based firm says the system resolves all donations in an automatic on-chain mode and allows for recurring donations to vetted nonprofits.

Foundry CEO Mike Colyer says the initiative aligns with the firm’s mission to “power decentralized infrastructure.” Initially, miners could only choose two nonprofits — Brink and OpenSats — but Foundry promises to expand the list in the near future. The firm says it has already donated 0.2 BTC from its own mining operations to each of these nonprofits, while Bitcoin miner Core Scientific donated 1 BTC.

In early 2024, crypto asset management firm Bitwise pledged to allocate 10% of profits from its Bitwise Bitcoin ETF to support Bitcoin open-source development. At the time, the company said the funds would go to Brink, OpenSats, and the Human Rights Foundation to “express their gratitude” to Bitcoin network developers and researchers. Investment firm VanEck previously pledged to allocate 5% of potential profits from its proposed spot Bitcoin ETF to support Bitcoin core developers on Brink.