NYDIG Announces Lightning Accelerator Project – Bitcoin Magazine
On August 26, 2022, Ross Stevens, CEO of Stone Ridge Holdings Group and CEO of subsidiary New York Digital Investments Group (NYDIG), made an impromptu appearance at BitBlockBoom in Austin, Texas, for a special announcement.
Stevens has long been a proponent of Bitcoin through his Stone Ridge shareholder letter, his co-authored article, “On Impossible Things Before Breakfast,” participation in the MicroStrategy corporate strategy program, and interview with famed bitcoin advocate, Michael Saylor.
“I want to live in a world of rules, not governed by rulers.” -Ross Stevens
NYDIG has made a number of investments and loans in the Bitcoin industry, and in particular had 26,200 miners return to them to pay off some debts. The company also recently made headlines when it partnered with the New York Yankees to allow its employees to convert their wages into bitcoin.
Unsurprisingly, Stevens shared what many Bitcoiners believe, “The technology behind shitcoins is crazy,” and assured the audience that his companies “will always remain bitcoin.” From his paper with Allen Farrington, he shared his underlying mission. “The concept of decentralized finance is powerful, noble and worthy of a lifetime of focused effort.”
Speaking from Bitcoin Commons, Stevens shared that NYDIG will launch a Lightning accelerator project. “The reality is that this year the progress in Bitcoin and Lightning is staggering. Month after month after month, the nodes on Lightning are growing.”
The accelerator is aimed at individual founders and small teams, developers working with Lightning, Taro and covenants, and pre-seed, seed, Series A companies. Transportation and lodging will be provided for participants from anywhere in the world.
The program will be run in eight-week cohorts. There will be 8-12 layers per litter. World-class mentors with office hours. The cohorts will be exclusively non-distant. There will be significant initial capital for each team with already recruited investors and full-time internal expertise.
This news is not necessarily surprising, but the timing during the bear market created an extraordinary buzz and excitement not felt since the 2021 bull run. It will be interesting to see how this news will affect the bitcoin price and widespread adoption at a time when positive news reports seem few and far between.
Individuals interested can apply at [email protected].
Steven ended his speech with “We’re coming for you fiat. Let us work tirelessly to make finance decentralized. Let’s work tirelessly to make money decentralized.”
