How I got into Summer of Bitcoin 2025

I’m halfway through my Summer of Bitcoin 2025 internship, working with Alby on some interesting Bitcoin projects. The program runs from May 15 to August 15. This is my first time in the program. I applied last year in 2024 and got rejected. That one stung. But looking back, I can see why. I wasn’t ready. That rejection pushed me to try again and do it properly this time.

If you’re a student thinking about Summer of Bitcoin 2026, maybe my experience can help you out. Here’s how it went.

How I Got Here

Summer of Bitcoin is a remote internship where students work on open-source Bitcoin projects. You either work on design or development. The goal is to contribute to Bitcoin’s ecosystem, learn from mentors, and build real skills while doing it.

The application process is simple, but it filters hard.

You start with a basic profile. Developers submit their GitHub or LeetCode. Designers submit a Figma portfolio. I’m a designer, so I spent a few months working on my portfolio. I made sure it had real work in it, not just random mockups. If you’re applying in the future and don’t have a portfolio yet, just start. Small things add up. Even one or two solid projects help.

If your profile gets shortlisted, you enter the bootcamp. That’s where the actual work starts. Every week, there are assignments on GitHub Classroom. Devs get coding tasks. Designers get UI/UX exercises. You need to submit all of them on time and properly to move forward. I was also dealing with college exams during this, so time management was everything. I blocked out time daily and stuck to it as best as I could. Not perfect, but enough to get through.

After the bootcamp, you choose a project and write a proposal. There’s a list of organizations and projects on the Summer of Bitcoin website. You’re supposed to write about what you’ll do during the internship. But writing is only part of it. You also need to show proof of work. That just means showing you’ve actually tried to do the work already.

I picked Alby. They work on tools for the Lightning Network, and their projects felt interesting. I was planning to write proposals for two projects, but I barely had time, so I focused on one called Pkgzap. I designed some early UI design for it in Figma before even submitting the proposal. That helped. It showed I wasn’t just interested in the idea, I had already done some of the work.

If you’re curious, you can read my actual Summer of Bitcoin proposal here. It might help give you an idea of what a simple, focused submission can look like.

Then came the waiting. This part sucks. You keep checking your inbox, second-guessing everything. I remembered how the rejection email looked last year. So when I saw a notification from Summer of Bitcoin, I braced for the worst. But I opened it and saw I got in. No interview, which was unexpected. Most people go through an org-level interview. I guess the proposal was clear enough.

Program Timeline

What the Internship Has Been Like

It started with some onboarding. You get introduced to your org and mentor. I’m working with the Alby team, and my mentor is Jakub Szwedo. He’s been really helpful. He gives you space to figure things out but steps in when you need it. I’ve learned a lot just from how he gives feedback. The whole team is chill and easy to reach out to.

My first project was the same one I proposed, Pkgzap. It’s a tool to make Bitcoin transactions easier. My task was to design the landing page for it. My mentor asked me to build the design in Framer, which I hadn’t used before. So I had to learn it from scratch. Watched a lot of tutorials. Tried a bunch of stuff. Broke things. Fixed them. Eventually, I shipped the design.

It wasn’t perfect, but it worked. Seeing something go from Figma to Framer to a real build felt nice. I’m starting my next project now, and I’ll probably write about that later.

For Anyone Planning to Apply in 2026

Some things that helped me and might help you too.

1. Start Now
   If you’re a dev, make small GitHub contributions. If you’re a designer, pick real-world problems and redesign them in Figma. Doesn’t need to be perfect or flashy. Just start building a body of work.

2. Learn a Bit About Bitcoin
   You don’t need to be an expert, but understand what Bitcoin is and how it works. Look into the Lightning Network. Read the basics.
   summerofbitcoin.org has a Learn section, and bitcoin.design is a great place for designers to get a feel for the design side of the ecosystem.

3. Bootcamp Is Important
   The assignments are the biggest filter. Take them seriously. Plan your time. Do the work properly. Ask for help on Discord if you’re stuck. Everyone’s pretty helpful there.
   You can also check out my weekly assignment submissions here for reference.

4. Proposal Needs Proof of Work
   Don’t just say what you want to do. Try doing it already and include that in your proposal. That made a big difference for me. I didn’t just say I would design something, I designed it before applying. Again, here’s my proposal in case you want to see what that looked like.

5. Reach Out to Orgs If You Can
   If you have questions about a project, reach out on GitHub or X. Ask clear and specific questions. It shows interest, and it helps you write a better proposal.

6. Don’t Worry About Rejection Too Much
   My 2024 application didn’t make it. But it taught me what I needed to work on. Rejections aren’t the end. They’re just feedback.

7. Plan Around Your College Schedule
   The bootcamp and proposal phase might overlap with exams or other stuff. Plan accordingly. Even blocking 2 hours a day to work on assignments made a big difference for me.

8. Stay Busy While You Wait
   After submitting your proposal, there’s a long silence. Don’t sit around thinking about it too much. Do something else. Read, code, design, chill, whatever works.

That’s all for now. I’ll share more once my second project is underway.

If you’re planning to apply next year and don’t know where to start, feel free to reach out.

Good luck.