When coin issuance becomes a production line, someone is paying Bitcoin developers.

Author: Cathy

Produced by: Biaohua Blockchain

A couple of days ago, the Bitcoin Ecosystem Research and Consulting Team 1A1z published an in-depth report on the builders of Bitcoin Core.

The article may seem like a simple interview with developers, but it uncovers a layer of reality in the crypto industry that is often overlooked: there is a group of people who stay away from the traffic centers, do not engage in storytelling or marketing, and work long-term to maintain the most fundamental and critical infrastructure of the industry.

In the list of sponsors supporting Bitcoin Core, OKX’s name does not stand out prominently. It is precisely because of this low profile that many people first realize: in this industry, there are still major platforms investing resources into “public R&D”—a short-term effort that rarely yields immediate returns but shapes the industry’s future in the long run.

After the article was published, OKX Star reposted and quoted a message from inside the team: “From the very beginning, we have insisted on contributing a modest amount of effort to the development of Bitcoin’s underlying layer. Over the past decade, we have never engaged in hype or promotion because we firmly believe in the future of blockchain.”

Such expressions are not uncommon in the industry. But when this statement is placed in the context of Bitcoin Core, its meaning shifts—it is not a marketing slogan, but a reflection of a value choice: whether or not to invest time, resources, and patience in areas that no one is paying attention to.

01. Who Pays the Salaries for Bitcoin’s “Operating System”

To understand the significance of this, we need to go back to a core question: What exactly is Bitcoin Core?

Simply put, Bitcoin Core is the “operating system” of Bitcoin. It is the software that runs full nodes, enforces network rules, verifies transactions, and is the foundation for maintaining Bitcoin’s security, network consistency, and resistance to censorship.

The familiar metrics like BTC price, block height, transaction confirmations, and network stability all depend on the correct operation of this codebase.

More importantly, Bitcoin Core has never been a commercial project since its inception. It has no CEO, no KPIs, no profit model, and no “investment return cycle.” It relies on contributions from volunteers around the world and long-term support from external sponsors.

Some developers focus on optimizing network performance, some research rule validation and security, some work on privacy improvements and user experience, and others do work that ordinary users will never see, but which the entire ecosystem depends on.

Because Bitcoin Core has no profit model and no company backing it, it requires external funding. The report by 1A1z shows that sponsors supporting Bitcoin Core include foundations, research institutions, infrastructure companies, and a few exchanges. These funds are mainly used for node performance optimization, security research, network synchronization, privacy enhancements, and code review.

It can be said that without these ongoing supports, Bitcoin Core would find it difficult to maintain stable development over more than a decade.

The report identifies 13 major sponsoring organizations: Blockstream, Chaincode Labs, MIT, Spiral (formerly Square Crypto), OKX, Human Rights Foundation, Brink, Btrust, OpenSats, Vinteum, Maelstrom, B4OS, and 2140.

Image: Major sponsors of Bitcoin Core, source: 1A1z

The criteria for making this core list are clear: long-term, stable, low-profile.

That’s also why, although exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini have historically had developer funding programs, they are not listed as core sponsors—according to the report, these projects are either inactive, infrequent, or no longer focus on Bitcoin development. In contrast, OKX’s funding program, which started in 2019 and continues to this day, is the only exchange among the 13 core sponsors.

Take Marco Falke, for example—he was one of only six global core maintainers authorized to approve or reject changes to Bitcoin’s underlying code (resigned in February 2023). His job is to rigorously review every proposal to the codebase to prevent malicious or flawed code from entering the Bitcoin protocol. This is a critical task for the entire crypto economy, but it is unpaid.

Since 2019, OKX (and its predecessor Okcoin) has continuously provided funding to Falke, ensuring he can dedicate himself full-time to this vital work for network security. Besides Falke, OKX has also sponsored Bitcoin Core developer Amiti Uttarwar, Lightning Network developer Antoine Riard, and non-profit organizations like Brink and Vinteum.

To date, OKX’s funding for these projects totals nearly $2 million. In fact, even before 2019, Okcoin had established an open-source developer support program.

It’s worth noting that this kind of investment was almost never publicly promoted for a long time. Only after the recent release of the 1A1z report did many realize how many organizations and companies are quietly supporting Bitcoin’s core development.

In this industry, most companies chase hot trends and craft narratives. But these sponsors choose to fund those “things that must be done but no one is obligated to do.”

02. Not Just the Foundation, But the “Last Mile”

Support for the underlying protocol is just one aspect. Even more overlooked are the foundational infrastructures that may not seem “glamorous,” but determine whether users can truly utilize the system.

User-Side Barriers

For example, OKX Wallet has become a starting point for many entering Web3. Supporting hundreds of chains, multiple account modes, self-custody and MPC technology, ecosystem integration speed, compliant chain support—these may sound like “product details,” but fundamentally they are “user-side infrastructure.”

For an industry to achieve large-scale adoption, these details are crucial for the last mile.

Ordinary users do not care what consensus algorithm you use or how advanced your Layer 2 solutions are. They care about: can I use it easily? Will I lose my funds? Are the fees affordable?

CeDeFi’s design aims to solve these issues—combining the advantages of centralized and decentralized exchanges. Users can access over 100 decentralized liquidity pools without leaving the platform, with the system automatically finding the best prices. More importantly, no mnemonic words to remember (using Passkey authentication), no cross-chain bridges (direct routing within the platform), solving the two biggest headaches for DeFi users: losing funds and hacking.

These features may seem unsexy, but for mass adoption, they are more important than the technology itself.

Long-Term Developer Ecosystem

Beyond the user side, OKX has continued to invest in developer ecosystems, test networks, cross-chain infrastructure, hackathons, research collaborations, and auditing systems over the years.

These investments may be far from the hot topics but are crucial for the industry’s healthy development.

Hackathons do not generate direct users; testnets do not produce transaction volume; auditing systems do not make headlines. But without them, the developer ecosystem cannot grow, security incidents will become frequent, and trust in the industry will erode.

To some extent, the driving force behind the crypto industry is not just trading volume or new narratives appearing weekly, but those who write code, run nodes, test protocols, and fund infrastructure.

03. The Value of Long-Termism

“Ten years of diligent effort” sounds like marketing buzz in the crypto industry. But looking at the numbers, some things are indeed happening.

Consider the state of the industry in 2025:

• Token count exploded from hundreds of thousands in 2021 to tens of millions (over 50 million) in 2025
• Token issuance cycles shrank from two years to 3-6 months
• Less than 20% of the money spent on projects actually goes into technology; the rest is spent on listing fees, market making, KOLs, and media promotion (ICODA DeFi Marketing Budget Guide)

In such an environment, allocating resources to the “invisible” areas like underlying protocols, developer ecosystems, and user infrastructure involves a challenge: no immediate returns, but long-term vital importance.

This sustained investment ultimately translates into competitive advantage:

Technical efficiency creates cost advantages. When your system’s processing speed is fast and costs are low, there’s naturally room to offer better prices to users. This is not a price war; it’s a technological dividend.

User experience determines large-scale adoption. No mnemonic words to remember, no worries about cross-chain hacks, systems automatically find the best prices—these address real pain points. Doing these details well encourages users to stay.

Infrastructure building determines future capacity. When in 2030 the RWA market truly reaches a scale of $600 billion (as predicted by BCG), the infrastructure capable of handling these assets will become the most scarce resource. Those who laid out early will have the greatest first-mover advantage.

That is the value of long-termism: laying the foundation when others chase hot trends; building tall skyscrapers by the time others realize.

04. Summary

Industry hotspots have cycles, but Bitcoin’s construction does not.

Market hype can rise and fall, but the underlying infrastructure requires a decade or two of consistent building and maintenance. Perhaps this is the industry’s most difficult but most important task.

In this sense, why participants like OKX are worth paying attention to is not because of publicity, but because they choose to do some “things that must be done in the industry” but “no one is obligated to do.”

Builders may not need applause, but they deserve to be seen.

Ultimately, where the crypto industry goes depends largely on these unseen choices.