Proof of Talent takes the 1% Pledge
The blockchain and cryptocurrency industry would not exist in its current form, if not for the efforts of the open-source developers behind Bitcoin. As an industry, we often preach the good word of decentralization and open-source software, but economic incentives typically make it difficult for developers to dedicate 100% of their time to development on Bitcoin without being subsidized.
Companies like Square Crypto and OKCoin have recently stepped up to the plate with grants for both individual Bitcoin developers as well as open-source projects like BTCPay Server. Additionally, BitMex Research recently published an excellent report detailing “Who funds Bitcoin Development”, discussing leading supporters of open-source development such as Chaincode Labs, MIT, Lightning Labs and Blockstream.
While Proof of Talent is not at the point financially where we can afford to sponsor salaries of individual developers (#soon, I hope), I believe it’s important for us to give back to those that develop and maintain the foundation of our industry.
Taking inspiration from Salesforce’s 1% Pledge, Proof of Talent will donate 1% of revenue to open-source development on a quarterly basis.
For Q3 2020, Proof of Talent will donate $2,910 to the Human Rights Foundation’s Bitcoin Development Fund. We’re excited to support the Bitcoin Development Fund’s goal,
“to support software developers who are making the Bitcoin network more private, decentralized, and resilient so that it can better serve as a financial tool for human rights activists, civil society organizations, and journalists around the world.”
While our small donation likely isn’t enough to change the game for the Bitcoin Development Fund, I believe it’s an important step in setting the tone for who we want to be and support at Proof of Talent.
Simply put, Proof of Talent would not exist as a company if it weren’t for Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency industry at large.
Our mission at Proof of Talent is to support the continued growth of the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry by bringing businesses and talent professionals together, one hire at a time. And while we do everything we can to support the hiring goals of over 20 companies in the industry and thousands of job seekers, it’s of utmost importance to support the independent open-source developers as well.
We look forward to growing our economic contributions to open-source development as we continue to scale our operations at Proof of Talent. We’ll continue to publish our quarterly donations from here on out, in continued efforts for transparency.
Onwards and upwards.
