Projects

Discover open-source projects and protocols powering the Bitcoin network, from core development and wallets to the Lightning Network and privacy tools.

Glossary

Featured Projects

Bitcoin Core

Reference implementation of the Bitcoin protocol, released by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009 and maintained by a global community of open-source developers.

open-sourceprotocolnodedevelopment

2009

Lightning Network

Layer 2 protocol built on Bitcoin enabling near-instant, low-cost transactions through bidirectional payment channels, proposed in 2015 by Poon and Dryja.

layer-2paymentsscalabilityprotocol

2015

BTCPay Server

Self-hosted Bitcoin payment processor built by Nicolas Dorier in 2017, giving merchants full sovereignty over payments with no fees or third parties.

paymentsopen-sourcemerchantself-hosted

2017

Mapping Bitcoin

Open-source directory mapping Bitcoin-accepting businesses globally, with multilingual support, merchant verification, and OpenStreetMap data integration.

mapsmerchant-adoptionopen-sourcedirectory

2024

Nostr Web of Trust

Open-source tool for exploring and visualizing trust networks on the Nostr protocol, enabling decentralized identity and reputation discovery.

nostrweb-of-trustidentityopen-source

2024

Silk Road

First modern darknet marketplace that ran from 2011 to 2013 using Bitcoin exclusively, proving Bitcoin viability as a medium of exchange at scale.

darknetmarketplacehistoryadoption

2011

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bitcoin Wiki is a curated knowledge base that maps the Bitcoin ecosystem across six categories: organizations, open-source projects, key people, essential books, communities, and events. It helps newcomers and researchers navigate the people and projects shaping Bitcoin.

The Organizations section covers companies and foundations building Bitcoin infrastructure — from Lightning Labs and Blockstream to exchanges like Coinbase and Bitstamp, and corporate adopters like Strategy. Each entry includes founding date, headquarters, key people, and relationships to other wiki entries.

The Projects section covers open-source software and protocols powering Bitcoin, including Bitcoin Core (the reference implementation), Lightning Network (layer-2 scaling), BTCPay Server (self-hosted payment processing), and more. Each entry links to repositories, contributors, and related organizations.

The People section profiles individuals who have shaped Bitcoin's history — from Satoshi Nakamoto and Hal Finney to developers like Adam Back and Nicolas Dorier, educators like Andreas Antonopoulos and Lyn Alden, and entrepreneurs like Jack Mallers and Elizabeth Stark.

The Books section features essential Bitcoin reading, including The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous, Mastering Bitcoin by Andreas Antonopoulos, The Blocksize War by Jonathan Bier, Broken Money by Lyn Alden, and the original Bitcoin Whitepaper by Satoshi Nakamoto.

The Communities section highlights Bitcoin meetups and local groups like La Crypta. The Events section covers major conferences including Bitcoin 2024, Baltic Honeybadger, and Adopting Bitcoin. Both sections help you find and connect with the Bitcoin community worldwide.

Yes! We welcome contributions from the Bitcoin community. You can suggest new articles, corrections, or improvements through our contact form or by contributing directly to our open-source repository on GitHub.