Our Mission
Build the Open-Source Bitcoin Mining Ecosystem
The 256 Foundation raises money to fund developers building open-source Bitcoin mining hardware and software solutions — dismantling the proprietary mining empire that has centralized Bitcoin mining around closed-source hardware and software.
All Bitcoin miners, large and small, have been negatively affected by one large antagonistic hardware company who has blocked innovation, denied collaboration, and taken majority control over the hardware and software that keeps Bitcoin running.
An open protocol should be accessible to anyone at all layers. The open-source Bitcoin mining stack we are building achieves this. We believe in free and open development and we pledge that every project from this foundation will always be made available through free and open-source contributions.
Our Vision
“An open protocol should be accessible to anyone at all layers — the open-source Bitcoin mining stack we are building achieves this.”
We provide the educational resources, tools, and support to demystify Bitcoin and freedom technology — empowering individuals to engage with and benefit from this revolutionary system.
We pledge that every project from this foundation will always be made available through free and open-source contributions, specifically by the OSI definition as it relates to software, or the OSHWA definition as it relates to hardware and other special-purpose applications.
Our Values
Principles We Build On
Free and Open Development
Every project funded by this foundation is made available under a recognized open-source license. No closed-source, no proprietary forks, no exceptions.
100% Passthrough
Every dollar donated goes directly to the developers and projects we fund. We take no percentage for overhead or administration.
Permissionless Innovation
Bitcoin is permissionless money. The infrastructure that secures it should be permissionless too. Anyone should be able to build on our open stack.
Community-First Governance
Decisions are made with the long-term health of the Bitcoin network and the open-source mining community in mind — not the interests of any single company or actor.
Founders
Who Started This
Bitkite
@bitkite
Co-Founder
Co-founder of Bitcoin Park — a community-supported campus in Nashville and Austin focused on grassroots freedom tech adoption — where he has spent years running world-class events at the intersection of Bitcoin, energy, and open-source technology. Bitkite brings a builder's conviction that Bitcoin's future depends on decentralized infrastructure accessible to everyone, not just institutions.
Econoalchemist
@econoalchemist
Co-Founder & Project Manager
Bitcoin educator, technical writer, and co-host of the POD256 podcast. Econoalchemist has spent years producing comprehensive, free guides on Bitcoin self-custody, privacy, home mining, and censorship resistance — bridging deep technical knowledge with practical accessibility. He brings the same conviction that Bitcoin infrastructure must be open and sovereign to everything the 256 Foundation builds.
Board
Board of Directors
Tyler Stevens
@tylerkstevens
Board Member
Mechanical engineer, founder of Exergy, and author of the industry reference guide on Bitcoin mining heat reuse. Tyler founded the Hashrate Heatpunks community and has spent his career at the intersection of Bitcoin and energy infrastructure — from thermal engineering on the Vulcan rocket program to building hashrate heating systems for homes and businesses.
Skot
@skot9000
Board Member & Lead Engineer, Ember One
Electrical engineer with years of embedded systems experience, Skot instigated the Bitaxe project — the first open-source Bitcoin ASIC miner — and serves as lead engineer on the Ember One hashboard. He is one of the most hands-on forces in open-source Bitcoin mining hardware.
Joe Wood
@JoeWoodCPA
Board Member
Licensed CPA with over sixteen years of experience across auditing, financial reporting, and accounting operations. Joe founded Satoshi Pacioli to bring that expertise to the Bitcoin industry, and serves as treasurer for both the Bitcoin Dev Kit Foundation and Bitcoin is Better. He brings rigorous financial oversight and deep Bitcoin conviction to the 256 Foundation board.