Learning @ Chaincode Labs
Bitcoin and Lightning Protocol Development Education

About

Chaincode Labs is a Bitcoin research and development center based in Midtown Manhattan, New York. We are passionate about the development progress of the Bitcoin network and adjacent technologies. A critical part of our work is creating a space for those seeking a solid foundation with which to contribute to the Bitcoin and Lightning Network ecosystem.

Since 2016, our residency program has helped to train and develop the next generation of Bitcoin and Lightning protocol and application engineers. In 2020, we expanded our educational outreach to include online seminars. These groups utilize residency pre-work material and provide a space for collaboration between developers, designers, and other contributors across the world.

Online Seminars

Weekly video calls diving deep into security concerns, adversarial thinking, and approaches to Bitcoin and Lightning protocol design.

Residencies

In person programs designed to accelerate the learning of open-source contributors.

Once a week for 90 minutes, meet with fellow developers, challenge yourself, and receive guidance from current contributors. Weekly prep will take anywhere from 4-6 hours.

Groups will have anywhere from 10-25 participants with rotating discussion groups of 3-5. Participants share a dedicated channel on the Chaincode Learning Slack workspace and those who complete the program are invited to our seminar alum community.

Chaincode curates each cohort, arranges guest speakers, and provides ongoing support throughout the seminar. We do not provide moderators for small group discussions, but assign deputies to ensure an enriching experience. We expect everyone to attend every week. Participants are allotted one absence during the program. If you are absent a second time, we ask you withdraw from the group. We are happy to welcome you back in the future.

Bitcoin Protocol Development

A six week program. Prior to start, participants should read Mastering Bitcoin.

Week 1: Welcome to Bitcoin Protocol Development
Week 2: Segwit
Week 3: Mining & Network Block Propagation
Week 4: P2P
Week 5: Script & Wallets
Week 6: Bitcoin Philosophy Workshop

Lightning Network

A six week program (the sixth week is asynchronous). Prior to start, participants should read Mastering The Lightning Network.

Week 1: LN History, Payment Channels, and HTLCs
Week 2: How the Layers of Lightning Fit Together
Week 3: Lightning Routing
Week 4: Limitations
Week 5: The Future of Lightning Week 6: Asynchronous Coding Practical

Join Us

Apply to participate in our next seminar

We are looking for individuals interested in contributing to Bitcoin Core or The Lightning Network. We are open to all levels of experience but passion is a must.

  • Complete the application.
  • If you are a good fit for the program, we'll ask you to complete an exercise.
  • Once exercise is completed, you'll have a brief call with a Chaincode representative.
  • Acceptance to our seminars happen on a rolling basis and you'll be placed in an upcoming cohort.
Apply to ₿ Apply to LN

Others seem to like it

"It isn't often that one gets to chat with others in the space. This can often lead to information silo and echo chambers but The Chaincode LN seminar fixed this problem for me. Chatting with LN lovers every week made me second guess some of my assumptions and forced me to think more critically about some of the LN limitations. Being part of a set-curriculum seminar forced me to look into branches of Lightning I would otherwise not have. I would highly recommend this seminar to anyone passionate about Lightning, ready to be challenged and eager to meet and have debates with other Lighting lovers."
Elle

LN Seminar Alum
"Before the Chaincode seminar I was not very confident about my Bitcoin development knowledge. Fast forward a few months later, I've now made many friends with whom I share the love for tinkering with the Bitcoin protocol and I now have a dream role at Global Mesh Labs where I get to work on Bitcoin full-time. The team at Chaincode is super passionate and inspiring. I would recommend the seminar to anybody who's serious about deepening their protocol development knowledge and providing meaningful contributions to the Bitcoin ecosystem."
Fode

BPD Seminar Alum
"The seminar was a learning opportunity I'm glad I didn't miss! I enjoyed every single minute of it, I started barely knowing how the Bitcoin protocol works, but after a couple of weeks of studying I not only learned a lot but also met very clever and inspiring people. I can't thank enough the Chaincode team and the people in my group for making it possible."
Nelson

BPD Seminar Alum
"I was looking for an alternative to the traditional engineering space and wanted to start contributing to Bitcoin. My experience in the study group solidified this decision for me—the focused curriculum armed me with the conceptual knowledge needed to jump into the conversation. The continued support from the Chaincode Labs team has been invaluable in my journey."
Jarol

BPD Seminar Alum
"Continuing education is an important part of my professional development as a Bitcoin Core contributor. The BPD seminar with the Chaincode tutors and other participants provided a great means for that."
Hennadii

BPD Seminar Alum
"The accessibility of the material and of fellow participants allowed me to delve deeper into the details of the Lightning protocol, both theorectically and practically. I was exposed to a new community of ethusiastic people from diverse backgrounds who I'll communicate with even after the course ends, consult on issues related to the network and cooperate with the goal of helping blockchain adoption and safety. I thank the Chaincode team for the opportunity and for excellent organization of the seminar."
Ayelet

LN Seminar Alum

Resources

Self Paced Seminar

Our seminar materials are available for anyone to use with readings and discussion questions on various Bitcoin and Lightning topics

Bitcoin Protocol Development Curriculum

A comprehensive resource for Bitcoin protocol developers

Lightning Protocol Development Curriculum

A comprehensive resource for Lightning protocol developers