Foundry Launches Program Allowing Miners to Donate Mined Coins to Bitcoin Developers

Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm Foundry said in a Tuesday press release that it wants to support the development of the Bitcoin ecosystem with a new initiative

Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm Foundry announced Tuesday a new program that will allow miners in the U.S. to contribute a portion of their mined coins to Bitcoin developers.

Dubbed Foundry Donate, the initiative connects miners in Foundry USA Pool with trusted organizations approved by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as 501(c)(3) entities, enabling direct donations to core developers. The New York-headquartered firm said the system settles all the donations in an automated on-chain mode, facilitating recurring donations to vetted non-profits.

“This initiative aligns perfectly with Foundry’s mission to empower decentralized infrastructure,” said Foundry CEO Mike Colyer in the press release. “We are excited to launch this program and look forward to expanding the list of supported non-profits in the near future.”

To start with, the program will allow miners to choose from two non-profit organizations: Brink and OpenSats. Both organizations are dedicated to supporting the development of the Bitcoin network and its community.

Foundry said it has already committed 0.2 BTC from its own mining operations to each of these non-profits, while Bitcoin miner Core Scientific also donated 1 BTC. The donations will be used to support the valuable work of these organizations in the coming year.

“We are grateful for the continued support from the Bitcoin mining community,” said Brink in a statement. “These donations will go a long way in helping us further our mission of advancing Bitcoin development.”

“OpenSats is excited to partner with Foundry on this initiative and continue supporting Bitcoin core developers,” added OpenSats. “Recurring donations like these are crucial for enabling long-term planning and sustainability within the Bitcoin development community.”

In early 2024, crypto asset management firm Bitwise pledged to allocate 10% of its profits from the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (NYSE:BITI) to support Bitcoin open-source development. At the time, the company said the funds would go towards Brink, OpenSats, and the Human Rights Foundation in an effort to “express gratitude” to the Bitcoin network developers and researchers.

Meanwhile, investment firm VanEck earlier also pledged to allocate 5% of potential profits from its proposed spot Bitcoin ETF to support Bitcoin core developers at Brink.