---
# System prepended metadata

title: Letter to Exchanges
tags: [letters/fundraising]

---

---
title: Letter to Exchanges
tags: letters/fundraising
robots: noindex, nofollow
---

OKCoin - ops@okcoin.com

Paradigm (fund) - info@paradigm.xyz

Kraken - grants@kraken.com (Jesse)//

Gemini - opportunityfund@gemini.com

Square Crypto - grants@squarecrypto.org

Coinbase - Online Form (live atm https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSetlLv4Il7GiX0gwzWPk1-j-8jXQPKBn-MZXZ-ThtjHcxS3Lg/viewform)

BitMex - Online Form (inactive atm https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScbgRqn2_lXt6BOL7QCw_tdwIg5wlrtMPnOPdeTifNYH969fg/closedform)

## #4: Vinay Revision

Hi **[Boss @ Exchange, Investment Fund]**

I'm writing to you as the founder and Executive Director of Blockchain Commons, a mission driven community committed to developing better standards and interoperability for Bitcoin.

I am the co-author of SSL/TLS and co-inventor W3C DID standard, two standards the enable the web to operate in a secure and open manner. I founded Blockchain Commons to enable the same development and support for Bitcoin, by briding the gap between open-source development and secure open infrastructure.

Specifically, our role in the ecosystem is coordinate and support developers, and protoype world class architectures, specifications, and applications. 

Our signature project is the Gordian System, a suite of open-source tools that offer offer unmatched security for Bitcoin using Tor and QuickConnect QR Code.

**[X]** developers and **[Y]** interns contributed to Gordian in 2020, for the following components:
1. Airgapped wallets: Open source wallet architecture and standards, reference iOS/MacOS/Android applications, multisig research and a nascent Airgapped Wallet Community with **[Z]** commercial founding members
2. Seedtools: Hardware device prototype-LetheKit-that uses no WiFi or Bluetooth, and a secure iOS-based seed manager
3. Privacy projects: Torgap enabled price discovery, secure QR code generation, decentralized identifier (DID) security review, and advocacting legal protection for private keys.

**[Value proposition for grant giving org]**
I would really appreciate the opportunity to speak with you, specifically to share further details about our community and to explore how we can work together in driving forward best in class standards for Bitcoin.

Could I get 20 minutes of your time? Or can you introduce me to the right person at [insert grant org] to speak with?

**[Value proposition for exchanges]**
I would really appreciate the opportunity to speak with you, specifically to share further details about our community and to explore whether we can support your efforts as a leading exchange in driving forward best in class standards for Bitcoin.

Could I get 20 minutes of your time? Or can you introduce me to the right person at [insert exchange] to speak with?

**[Value proposition for investment fund]**
I would really appreciate the opportunity to speak with you, specifically to share further details about our community and to explore whether we can support your efforts as a leading crypto investment fund in driving forward best in class standards for Bitcoin.

Could I get 20 minutes of your time? Or can you introduce me to the right person at [insert fund] to speak with?

[@ChristopherA](https://twitter.com/ChristopherA?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor)

Founder Blockchain Commons
Co-author SSL/TLS
Co-inventor W3C DID standard

## #3: Intermediate Revision

Subject: A better way to support Bitcoin Core

Hi [Boss @ Exchange]

My name is Christopher Allen. I am the founder and Executive Director of Blockchain Commons, a not-for-profit committed to developing better standards and interoperability for Bitcoin. Our mission is to secure the world through open infrastructure. 

I wanted to speak with you about funding Blockchain Commons as a way to add value to Bitcoin and blockchain developer sponsorships.

 * Sponsoring individual developers is good. We've seen many exchanges do so in the last few years.
* Sponsoring developers through Blockchain Commons is great because we add value to Bitcoin and blockchain developer sponsorships with project management, concurrent design, scaling and substitution, and standards support.

My experience as the co-author of the TLS and DID standards speaks for itself. Now I am offering that same technological vision to the larger Bitcoin and blockchain community. Blockchain Commons has already made great advances on developing wallet specifications that are being accepted by third-party developers and on releasing a number of reference libraries and systems, as I discussed in my [Q3 report](https://www.blockchaincommons.com/quarterlies/2020-Q3-Report/). We'd like to do more, but need support to do so.

Could I get 20 minutes of your time to talk more about how sponsoring Blockchain Commons can benefit your customers?

Best,
Christopher Allen

Founder Blockchain Commons Co-author SSL/TLS
Co-inventor W3C DID standard


## #2: Sean's Short Letter

Subject: A better way to support Bitcoin Core

Hi [Boss @ Exchange]

My name is Christopher Allen. I am the founder and Executive Director of Blockchain Commons, a not-for-profit committed to developing better standards and interoperability for Bitcoin. Our mission is to secure the world through open infrastructure. Previously, I was Principal Architect at Blockstream. In that role it become painfully clear to me that what a business can safely do with Bitcoin Core is only a fraction of what is possible with the protocol. I founded Blockchain Commons to close that gap.

Could I get 20 minutes of your time to share how sponsoring Blockchain Commons can benefit your customers?

Best,
Christopher Allen

Founder Blockchain Commons Co-author SSL/TLS
Co-inventor W3C DID standard

## #1: Original Long Letter

Dear [Boss @ Exchange],

I wanted to speak with you about Blockchain Commons as an organization that can add value to Bitcoin and blockchain developer sponsorships by supporting their innovation and teambuilding.

Sponsoring individual developers is good. We've seen many exchanges do so in the last few years.

Sponsoring developers through Blockchain Commons is much better.

Why?

Blockchain Commons offers several advantages that you won't enjoy with the sponsorship of individual designers:

* **Project management.** Developers at Blockchain Commons are provided with targets and deadlines, ensuring known results rather than the free-wheeling, unknown outcomes of individual sponsorships.
* **Concurrent design.** Designs architected by Blockchain Commons create solutions to actual problems instead of just financing hours worked.
* **Scaling and substitution.** Individual expert developers tend to move onto other interesting projects in their own pace. By acting as team-building organization of developers, Blockchain Commons follows deliverables.
* **Standards support.** Not only does Blockchain Commons have experience with international standards, but we've also been authoring new blockchain specifications that are being adopted by independent wallet developers, enhancing the interoperability of blockchain vendors.

Many of these advantages come from the leadership of myself, Christopher Allen: I co-authored the IETF TLS & W3C DID standards and pioneered the idea of self-sovereign identity. Working with Blockchain Commons means that you get my future vision matched up with the reputation of Blockchain Commons and a team of expert developers; you still get the advantages of sponsoring expert blockchain developers, but Blockchain Commons worries about the strategic vision, the project management, the contract management, the quality control, the scaling, and more.

And, these advantages are proven: Blockchain Commons already has a solid track record of producing open infrastructure that has benefited the entire blockchain technology space. Our [Learning Bitcoin from the Command Line](https://github.com/BlockchainCommons/Learning-Bitcoin-from-the-Command-Line/blob/master/README.md) course has brought dozens of new developers into the industry, while our [Universal Resources specification](https://github.com/BlockchainCommons/Research/blob/master/papers/bcr-2020-005-ur.md) has already been adopted by companies such as Foundation Devices and Sparrow Wallet. Those are just the most successful of our projects, which also include an extensive set of [Crypto Commons reference libraries](https://github.com/BlockchainCommons/crypto-commons), the [Gordian](https://github.com/BlockchainCommons/Gordian) wallet system, and a new [Torgap](https://github.com/BlockchainCommons/torgap) architecture that improves security, privacy, and non-correlation for internet activities.

There are just three steps to becoming a Blockchain Commons sponsor:

1. Select an area of interest that you would like to sponsor.
2. Choose one or more experts designers who you’d like to sponsor, as your personal representatives. You'll be able to list their accomplishments and say you're sponsoring them personally, while leveraging your support through the entire Commons.
3. Have a say in our high-level priorities and in some of our deep and broad delivery goals.

Please drop me a line so that we can talk about your areas of interest, your priorities, and what sorts of designers you'd like to sponsor. By discussing your needs, we can determine how that can fit into the Blockchain Commons strategy.

Alternatively, if you're already sold on the importance (and utility) of our support of open blockchain infrastructure, you can instead choose to generally sponsor Blockchain Commons [through GitHub](https://github.com/sponsors/BlockchainCommons) or to [sponsor me directly](https://github.com/sponsors/ChristopherA) (allowing you to say that you're supporting the co-creator of TLS and DIDs).

Thank you for your consideration. I hope we can work together on the future of Bitcoin and blockchains, and that you're interested in supporting the teambuilding of a whole group of developers, who will be working together to create technology that we all can use.

Christopher Allen
Founder, Blockchain Commons