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title: 'HRF Grant: Q1 2025'

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# HRF Application: Q1

> What is your project area of focus?

Bitcoin Core

> What is your project name?

2025 FROST Developer Support

> What is your name? 

Blockchain Commons

> Do you use/prefer a pseudonym? 

No


> Please provide a detailed project description.

This is a three-part project to continue and expand Blockchain Commons' support of FROST in 2025, something that we've been doing since 2023.

PHASE ONE: Developer Meetings

Blockchain Commons has to date held four FROST-related community meetings, the last two supported by HRF grant. The first phase of our 2025 work will be at least two more FROST meetings held over the course of the next year, which we will again document and publicize. In all likelihood this will be one more Implementers Round Table and one more Developers Meeting, though a more hands-on developers workshop is also a possibility, perhaps one that highlights the output of the other phases of this project.

PHASE TWO: FROST Signing Tool

The second phase of our project is a hands-on developer-focused FROST "signtool" CLI that will be a best-practices reference app that also demonstrates how FROST creation can be simple and accessible for users. 

The default mechanism will ensure simple sharing of keys, nonces, and signatures. If possible [time allowing], we will also enhance that with Gordian Sealed Transport Protocol (GSTP) to improve automation of the process. The command-line interface (CLI) will be fully functional for FROST signing.

PHASE THREE: Learning FROST from the Command Line

The final phase is a short course on using and testing FROST, in the same style as "Learning Bitcoin from the Command Line", with command-line usage and/or programming usage used as a framework to teach the concepts. It will also include an introduction to Schnorr-based signatures and discussion on the differences between FROST and the similar MuSig2, which is also based on Schnorr signing algorithms.

A tentative table of contents for the course includes four chapters: Introduction to FROST; signtool on the command-line; Programming with ZF FROST; and one other chapter on a programming library or a CLI tool (possibly the Dalek library).

Final deliverable is a 7,500-15,000 word course,, licensed under cc-by.


> Please provide a short project description in 1-2 sentences. (This will help us understand and explain your project in a concise manner)

The project will continue Blockchain Commons'  evangelization and backing for FROST by working to support engineers. This will include more developer and implementer meetings, which have been ongoing since 2023, but will also expand our work through the creation of concrete developer tools and tutorials.

> How does your project relate to HRF's mission? 

FROST is a innovative new technology that fundamentally improves an individual's ability to control their digital identity and their digital assets in a way that's self-sovereign, not beholden to a centralized authority. It strengthens multisig solutions through improved security (thanks to split keys that might never exist in the same place), strong privacy (thanks to aggregated signatures that don't reveal individual signers), and previously unheard of flexibility (thanks to the ability to recalculate thresholds after the fact). The result gives individuals much more independence, which is crucial if they're living somewhere that they can't trust the state.

> Why should HRF fund your project? 

Blockchain Commons has previously proven itself as a strong advocate of FROST through its four designer & developer meetings to date. These meetings have included attendance by numerous core FROST developers such as Chelsea Komlo, Jesse Posner, Tim Ruffing, Jonas Nick, and Luke Parker. We believe we've already made a difference over the last few years.

Our work developing a CLI and then a short course is a new addition to our FROST program, but we have experience here as well.

Our CLI signtool will be created by our Lead Researcher Wolf McNally, who has already created several CLIs for Blockchain Commons, including tools to generate seeds and keys and to demonstrate our privacy-preserving Envelope data format.

Finally, our course will be based on the strong success of our Learning Bitcoin from the Command Line course (https://github.com/BlockchainCommons/Learning-Bitcoin-from-the-Command-Line), which has generated over 3,000 stars on GitHub, has been translated into Spanish and Portuguese, and  has brought real engineers into the Bitcoin field (some of whom were Blockchain Commons interns in previous years).

Generally, we feel like we have strong connections and experience in all aspects of this project, and can excel with it as a result.

> How do you measure success of your project? 

For the meetings, we'll measure success based on the attendance of engineers central to the development and deployment of FROST and on our release of strong documentation on the meetings.

For the CLI signtool, we'll measure success based on having a tool that clearly demonstrates the usage of FROST to developers.

For the course, we'll ultimately watch if forks, stars, issues, and PRs grow over time, as they did with Learning Bitcoin. We'll also feel that we've hit a strong level of success if we start to see new FROST developers at our developer meetings whose interest originated with the course (as was the case for Learning Bitcoin).

> Please list your project Github, project social media accounts, and project websites if applicable 

https://developer.blockchaincommons.com/frost/

> Is the project Free and Open Source? 

Yes


> What is your annual project budget? 

$64,000

> How much funding are you hoping to secure with this BDF Grant?

$64,000

> Please describe what funding will be used towards. 

This budget is split as follows:

PHASE 1: MEETINGS ($10,000). Last year for our grant request just for the 2024 meetings, we specced out our costs at approximately $5,000 to coordinate, market, evangelize, hold, and document each meeting. That proved accurate, and so we're repeating it here.

PHASE 2: FROST SIGNTOOL ($24,000). This is specced out at approximately four full-time programmer-weeks to design, develop, test, and release the FROST-focused signtool. 

PHASE 3: LEARNING FROST FROM THE COMMAND LINE ($30,000). This is specced out at approximately six full-time tech-writer-weeks to research, write, and edit the new course. The first two chapters (intro & command line tool) are expected to run about a week each and the last two chapters (specific programming libraries) are expected to run about two weeks each.


> Has this project received any prior funding? If yes, please describe. 

HRF funded Blockchain Commons with $10,000 in 2024 to hold an implementers round table (https://developer.blockchaincommons.com/frost/meeting2/) and a developers meeting (https://developer.blockchaincommons.com/frost/developers2/). 

We have received no funding for 2025 work. In particular, the signtool and course will be entirely new work.

> What is your email? 

team@blockchaincommons.com


> What are your social media handles? 

@ChristopherA (Twitter, BlueSky)
christophera (LinkedIn)

> Please list the name + email of two references we can contact regarding your project. 

Jonas Nick <EMAIL>
Jesse Posner <EMAIL>


