Pan-African payment infrastructure company Bitnob has wrapped up Code & Chain Dakar 2026, a two-day developer workshop and hackathon that brought 98 builders together in Senegal’s capital to build with Bitcoin and the Lightning Network.
The event, supported by Btrust, ended with 17 project demos and $5,000 in prize money shared among three winning teams. The top spot went to RAK TAK CASH, a tool that lets merchants accept Lightning payments.
Moving from talk to building
Held on 17 and 18 October at Orange Digital Center in Dakar, Code & Chain paired hands-on technical workshops with a build sprint. The goal was to get developers past the theory of what Bitcoin can do and into shipping working products.
Btrust, the non-profit that funds Bitcoin open-source development across Africa and the Global South, backed the event. Its support gave participants hands-on exposure to Bitcoin development tools as they worked on problems in commerce, public services and the digital economy.
The event also drew in local developer communities and ecosystem partners, including Women in Blockchain Africa, adding to the momentum in Senegal’s growing tech scene.
“Code & Chain is about moving beyond conversations about what Bitcoin can do and giving developers the skills, tools and opportunities to actually build with it,” said Damilola Robert, Head of Growth at Bitnob. “We’re grateful to Btrust for helping create an environment where builders can turn ideas into practical solutions for their communities.”
Two days, 17 projects
Day one was dedicated to technical training, walking participants through the fundamentals of building on Bitcoin and Lightning. On day two, teams put that training to work, building and pitching products aimed at local and regional problems.
The 17 projects presented covered payments, commerce, digital public services and the creator economy, showing how far Bitcoin-based infrastructure can stretch beyond trading and speculation.
The winners
Three teams split the $5,000 prize pool:
- RAK TAK CASH (first place) built a merchant-focused payment solution that lets businesses accept Lightning payments and secures transactions between buyers and sellers.
- DioteKo (second place) created a platform that simplifies how citizens request, pay for and verify administrative documents, using digital credentials and Lightning payments.
- BitBounty (third place) connects open-source developers to global bounty opportunities and pays them out in Bitcoin.
Building Africa’s Bitcoin developer pipeline
Code & Chain is Bitnob’s developer initiative, run through workshops, hackathons and partnerships with local tech communities. The Dakar edition is part of the company’s wider push to give African developers the training, tools and room to build real-world products on Bitcoin.
“Some of the most impactful innovations will come from developers who understand the challenges in their local markets and have the tools to solve them,” Damilola Robert added. “Our role is to help bridge the gap between that knowledge and the technology needed to bring ideas to life.”
Bitnob provides Bitcoin-powered payment infrastructure, offering APIs and business tools that help companies and developers move money, accept payments and build financial products. With 98 attendees and 17 working prototypes in two days, the Dakar turnout points to growing appetite for Bitcoin development in Francophone West Africa.
Also read: Bitnob Launches Enterprise: Non-Custodial Infrastructure for Institutions
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