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PlebDevs

A Bitcoin developer education initiative founded by Austin (@bitcoinplebdev) that teaches plebs to become technical builders on Bitcoin, Lightning, and Nostr. Operates out of PlebLab in Austin, TX.

Philosophy​

"A plebdev is a Bitcoin pleb turned technical"

PlebDevs embraces the learning journey. Being a beginner is celebrated over being a spectator.

"Plebdevs embrace the label of n00b, being a noob is 1000x better than being on the sidelines"

"Not everyone wants/needs to become a developer. But you can at least become a little dangerous!"

Evolution Path​

  1. The Pleb — Learns Bitcoin fundamentals, first rabbit hole
  2. The Bitcoin Pleb — Runs a node, writes first code
  3. The PlebDev — Writes functional code, understands Bitcoin from first principles, builds products

Offerings​

  • First PlebDevs Lightning development course
  • Regular in-person and virtual workshops
  • Public Discord community for learners and developers
  • Open-source curriculum and resources

Tools Taught​

  • Polar — Local Lightning network simulator
  • Replit — Cloud IDE for immediate development
  • WebLN — Browser API for Lightning payments
  • Alby — Lightning wallet and WebLN provider

Case Studies​

  • PlebPoet (plebpoet.com) — Writer/designer building her own website
  • BTCRetriever — Bootcamp grad breaking into Bitcoin dev
  • Bitdern — Writer aiming to land a job in Bitcoin

Presenter Background (Austin)​

  • Mostly self-taught + fullstack bootcamp + Base58 Bitcoin Transactions bootcamp
  • Active in Austin Bitcoin/Lightning developer scene
  • Co-created PlebDevs Lightning course
  • Career: Fold → PlebDevs
  • Lightning Network — Primary protocol taught
  • Polar — First tool in the PlebDevs Lightning stack
  • Alby — Wallet used in demo apps
  • Nostr — Also covered in PlebDevs curriculum
  • Bitcoin Education — Education concept hub
  • Base58 — Base58 protocol bootcamp Austin attended

Resources​