Executive Summary
The My First Bitcoin Education Network is changing how it organizes itself, and this article explains what is new and why it matters. The old system of light nodes and full nodes is gone: every member is now simply a community, equal in standing, connected through one shared set of principles.
A new public leaderboard lets each community build a portfolio of its work and earn reputation points for teaching, translating, onboarding merchants, publishing finances and more.
Instead of My First Bitcoin deciding who is doing good work, the work itself becomes visible to everyone.
The takeaway: Joining is open to anyone who signs the charter, growth has a clear roadmap, and the network becomes stronger the more communities give back to each other.
From a Node Network to an Education Network
For a long time, My First Bitcoin taught students directly in one country. Since then, the focus has shifted to empowering those that empower others: supporting independent educators who teach in their own communities with open-source resources.
What started as a handful of projects has grown into more than 90 communities in more than 40 countries.
As the network grew, the old structure stopped fitting. Members were called light nodes or full nodes, which confused many people because it had nothing to do with running Bitcoin node hardware or Lightning channels.
Full nodes carried extra responsibilities, including voting on new applicants, while dozens of light nodes were all treated the same, whether they had run one class or many.
It also created a harder problem. People regularly asked My First Bitcoin which projects were the best, which ones to recommend or support.
Answering that fairly is almost impossible from the outside. Contact with each community is never perfectly equal, and any judgment risks becoming subjective.
Who is My First Bitcoin to say what is best for a community on the other side of the world? The community leader who is trusted on the ground knows best.
So the structure has changed.
From now on there are no light nodes and no full nodes, only an Education Network made up of communities. Every community is equal in standing.
What sets them apart is the work they choose to do and show.
A Leaderboard Built on Proof of Work
Every community in the network now has a public profile on the leaderboard at leaderboard.myfirstbitcoin.org.
A profile works like a portfolio: social media links, a biography, team members, a Lightning address and fundraising links, alongside a record of what the community has done and how its reputation has grown over time.
Bitcoin Indonesia, for example, shows its Bitcoin Diploma cohorts, its contribution to the Bahasa Indonesia translation and its physical community space.
Reputation points come from a public rule book of 50 rules, 41 of them live today, all explained in the transparency tab of the leaderboard.
A few examples show the thinking behind it:
- Hosting an unconference is the biggest single item, because bringing people together at that scale is a major undertaking.
- Running a Bitcoin Diploma cohort in person earns more points than running it online (300 versus 175), to encourage communities to gather people in a physical place.
- A team member certified through the Educator Training Program adds points, as does every graduate of any program.
- Onboarding merchants on BTC Map earns points per merchant.
- Translating and proofreading the Bitcoin Diploma, Introduction to Bitcoin or Bitcoin for Juniors earns points, even when a community does not teach in that language itself.
- Publishing a budget, a forecast and accounting each count separately, because a solid nonprofit needs all three.
- Registering a physical community space and holding mentorship calls with other communities are rewarded too.
The points are not a verdict on quality. A community lower in the ranking is not a bad project, and a high score does not prove someone is a great teacher.
The leaderboard simply gives transparency and leaves the judgment to whoever is looking. Filters let anyone search by time period, by in-person teaching, by merchant onboarding and more.
There is a practical reason for this as well. Because every resource is open source, anyone can take it anywhere, and much of the impact has gone untracked.
That is a feature of a decentralized system, not a flaw.
The leaderboard offers an optional, structured way for communities to self-report, so the real reach of independent Bitcoin education becomes easier to see.
For new communities, the list doubles as a roadmap.
The first 100 points are simple: sign the charter, add a website, biography, social media, team members, a donation link and a logo.
From there, the rule book shows what to work on next as a community grows from a part-time volunteer effort into something larger.
Open to All, and Stronger Together
Applications are no longer voted on. Instead, every community that joins signs a charter committing to six principles:
- Independent
- Impartial
- Community-led
- Bitcoin only
- Focused on empowerment rather than profit
- Committed to quality
Anyone who signs is welcome, and the leaderboard shows how to grow from there.
How to Join the Education Network
Joining takes three steps:
- Sign the charter.
- Submit your community information, including your mission, team, logo and what you have already taught.
- Build your reputation and climb the ranks.
Free Resources and Growing Benefits
The core resources stay free and open source for everyone:
- Introduction to Bitcoin
- Bitcoin Diploma
- Bitcoin for Juniors
- Educator Training Program
- Mentorship calls
As communities grow, more perks unlock.
From 100 points, a community is listed on the leaderboard and can use network badges.
Further along come monthly general assemblies with other educators, chat groups (from 500 points), and introductions to volunteers who want to help.
Established communities can be featured in the newsletter and take a seat on the board of advisors.
A guide to running unconferences, built on this year’s lessons, is also being prepared for open release.
The Power of Collaboration
The biggest benefit may be collaboration.
Now that it is visible who is building what, communities can find each other.
One community strong in merchant onboarding can support another that excels at teaching the technical parts of the Bitcoin Diploma.
This has already happened in Colombia, where two communities were connected to help each other.
Educators who feel alone in their country can find peers, students can find teachers, volunteers can find projects, and supporters can find communities to donate to directly.
One network, many communities: more to give than to take.
