BitMEX’s Hayes announces grant program to support Bitcoin developers

The former chief executive of BitMEX Arthur Hayes is launching a new grant program for developers to enhance Bitcoin’s “resilience, scalability, and privacy characteristics.”

Arthur Hayes, a co-founder and former head of crypto exchange BitMEX and the chief investment officer at Maelstrom, has announced a new grant program to support blockchain developers in their efforts to solve scalability and privacy issues of the Bitcoin network.

The so-called “Bitcoin Grant Program” backed by Arthur Hayes’ Maelstrom fund is expected to help with the “technical development of Bitcoin,” the initiative’s description reads, adding that its mission is focused on enhancing the network’s “resilience, scalability, censorship resistance and privacy characteristics.”

“We have the capacity to support Bitcoin developers and are committed to an open and transparent grant process.”

Maelstrom

Applications for the program are open until Aug. 25, with grants available for a 12-month period. Payments will be made monthly in Bitcoin (BTC), USD Coin (USDC), and Tether (USDT), with grants ranging from a minimum of $50,000 to a maximum of $150,000 per developer. According to Maelstrom, grants are expected to be awarded in Q3 or Q4 2024, with candidates undergoing at least one interview with either Arthur Hayes or Jonathan Bier before receiving a grant.

The announcement comes less than a week after BitMEX pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act. According to Attorney Damian Williams, BitMEX intentionally failed to “establish, implement, and maintain an adequate anti-money laundering program.” Hayes, along with his colleagues Samuel Reed, Benjamin Delo, and Gregory Dwyer, had also pleaded guilty to a similar charge a few years ago.