Transforming Austin’s Bitcoin Startup Scene: How PlebLab is Paving the Way for Innovation

Bitcoin Magazine

How PlebLab is Shaping the Future of Bitcoin Startups in Austin

PlebLab.dev, a prominent entity in the Bitcoin startup community, emerged from Austin, Texas. Despite its recognition, many may not fully grasp the impact and achievements of this unique Bitcoin hub.

Initially established in 2021 as a coworking space in Capital Factory by a group of Bitcoin enthusiasts, PlebLab has evolved into a pivotal center of innovation for Bitcoin startups in the U.S. The facility regularly organizes diverse events and gatherings, serving as a dependable workspace for Bitcoin advocates, whether they are locals or visitors.

“In art school, we had a professor who encouraged us to pause after an hour of creation, wander around, and provide candid feedback on one another’s work. This fostered a collaborative environment that promoted collective growth. That experience really resonated with me,” shared Car González, CEO of PlebLab. “When I took charge of PlebLab, my question was: ‘How can we enhance collaboration? How can we make it more about community rather than just working side by side?’ Coworking alone sounds mundane—just people working in the same space. Where’s the fun in that?”

PlebLab has transcended the traditional concept of a coworking space, evolving into a “community accelerator for the Bitcoin era,” cultivating numerous successful Bitcoin startups and renowned developers since its inception.

Foundation

PlebLab was born from a vision to expand the Bitcoin ecosystem and foster local community connections, securing its first office within Capital Factory, a well-known tech coworking space in Austin, in 2021. Co-founders Car González, Keyan Kousha, and Kyle Murphy quickly initiated Bitcoin meetups that attracted over 200 attendees, leading to collaborations with several entrepreneurs and Bitcoin developers who sought the chance to cowork at Capital Factory.

As time passed, PlebLab expanded into different locations, now situated beside Unchained Capital and Bitcoin Park (previously Bitcoin Commons) in downtown Austin, located at the intersection of 6th Street and Congress Avenue. With increased space, talent, and expertise, PlebLab transformed over time from a coworking hub to a hybrid of a hacker garage and startup incubator.

Currently, PlebLab offers a range of membership options, mentorship opportunities, and extensive resources for startups. Importantly, this is not a conventional pay-to-play “Bitcoin We-work”—membership can be denied based on a project’s objectives and vision. It’s more accurately described as an exclusive Bitcoin club catering to builders and tech innovators.

“I genuinely believe we are accelerating the Bitcoin movement. Our approach is not about handing someone $500,000 right off the bat and giving them a strict three-month deadline. To me, that’s a fiat-based mindset,” added Car.

Key Events

PlebLab hosts significant events such as the Top Builder competition and Startup Day, which typically take place within a six-month timeframe.

“Top Builder is like the Top Chef for Bitcoin. We aim to identify emerging talent, assemble them, and challenge them to create a minimum viable product or something they can pitch,” Car described, explaining that the event functions as a condensed three-month hackathon, granting finalists exposure to venture capitalists and angel investors.

Conversely, Startup Day is a concise conference that allows Bitcoin startups to showcase their work, attract talent, and gain visibility within the Bitcoin ecosystem. Car notes that it is designed to “motivate individuals to shift from merely observing to launching their own ventures, seeing reflections of themselves in the speakers on stage.”

Evaluating Impact

PlebLab has hosted numerous prominent figures in the Bitcoin startup arena, yet Car is reluctant to claim credit for the achievements of others, emphasizing his admiration for the founders and leaders whose journeys he has observed.

“Witnessing someone’s evolution from an initial handshake to witnessing their success, seeing their rise in numbers and milestones like reaching significant funding stages—that’s rewarding for me,” said Car. “That milestone for me is simply, ‘Great, they accomplished it.’ Now, let’s assist someone else. What I cherish is the delivery of code, so to speak—we just strive to be good custodians of that.”

Nevertheless, the list of accomplishments is impressive. Here’s a quick summary of notable Bitcoin projects, companies, and developer luminaries closely affiliated with PlebLab:

Jippi – Winner of Top Builder 2025

Under the leadership of Oliver, Jippi.app is an engaging Bitcoin application tailored for Gen Z. Similar to the phenomenon of Pokemon Go, Jippi encourages users to explore their urban environments in search of Bitcoin Beasts—adorable 3D creatures existing in augmented reality, rewarding users with satoshis (sats).

After over a year in development, Jippi recently claimed the top prize in PlebLab’s Top Builder contest, impressing judges and audience members alike with a functioning app, on-site surveys, and university tests. The app, complemented by an insightful presentation of its vision, shows potential for virality in the U.S., potentially introducing a new generation to Bitcoin.

Stacker.news

Founded in 2021 by co-founder Keyan Kousha, Stacker.news has quickly established itself as a news hub for tech-savvy Bitcoin enthusiasts. Described as an open-source, Lightning-powered alternative to Reddit, the platform has attracted a dedicated and engaged community, allowing users to reward each other with satoshis for upvotes and frequently leads in integrating the latest innovations in Bitcoin and social media technology.

Zaprite

Founded at the end of 2021 by John Magill, Zaprite has swiftly evolved into a comprehensive payment processing solution catering to businesses, incorporating both Bitcoin and Lightning payment channels, with options to convert to fiat for merchants as needed. The platform also supports event ticketing, along with essential accounting and invoicing solutions for modern merchants.

In a notable turn, Zaprite made headlines when it was used by Donald J. Trump to purchase a burger with Bitcoin at NYC’s Pub Key.

(TRUMP PURCHASES BURGER WITH BITCOIN USING ZAPRITE – EMBED)

Mutiny Wallet

Introduced in early 2023 and spearheaded by notable Bitcoin developers Ben Carman and Tony Giorgio, Mutiny Wallet quickly resonated with Lightning users, providing a full-featured and innovative Bitcoin application. Its development emphasizes contemporary payment technologies, including e-cash payments and Nostr integration, all while showcasing its distinctive red and black design.

Following the arrest of Samourai Wallet developers, leading to reduced activity in Bitcoin self-custody wallet development, Mutiny Wallet announced it would cease operations while still leaving behind a sophisticated suite of open-source tools for the Lightning, Nostr, and e-cash ecosystem.

Nifty (Bitcoin++)

As a Bitcoin and Lightning developer, Nifty gained recognition through her educational initiatives via Base 58, her prestigious Bitcoin++ developer events, her relentless work ethic, and, of course, her charm, bridging Bitcoin developer communities globally multiple times a year.

Nifty has rapidly established herself as a significant figure within the Bitcoin startup scene, serving on the board of directors for Opensats, a nonprofit dedicated to funding various open-source Bitcoin initiatives, particularly focusing on Nostr—the Bitcoin-native social media protocol. Throughout her ascent, she spent considerable time at PlebLab and continues to be a familiar presence at Bitcoin events in Austin.

Nifty’s forthcoming Bitcoin++ event is slated for May 7-9 in Austin, TX, where the focus will be on the Bitcoin Mempool.

Supertestnet

A key figure within PlebLab and the Bitcoin Austin community, Supertestnet emerged in 2021, mastering the art of Bitcoin prototyping using JavaScript. His work has integrated innovative Bitcoin technologies like BitVM and saw him partaking in the first Ark mainnet pool, one of the few noncustodial solutions for Bitcoin layer-2 scaling. He is also an enthusiastic participant on platforms like X and Nostr.

Supertestnet’s extensive open-source projects, passion for Bitcoin, and unwavering integrity have earned him notable recognition within the Bitcoin startup ecosystem and a likely spot in Bitcoin history.

Cascdr

Led by AI engineer and fervent Bitcoin advocate Jim, Cascdr aims to merge the strengths of AI and Bitcoin while establishing robust privacy measures alongside an array of impressive AI applications and workflows. His latest creation, PullThatUpJamie.ai, is a podcast search engine that transcribes audio content to facilitate searchability and allows users to create shareable podcast snippets.

BRANTA

Headed by Keith, Branta specializes in cybersecurity, particularly in protecting Bitcoin payment infrastructures from man-in-the-middle attacks, preventing malicious address or invoice injections in merchant interfaces. Growing from the PlebLab accelerator, Branta has successfully secured pre-seed funding and was recognized as a top-five finalist in the Top Builder contest.

Topher

A celebrated Bitcoin developer and regular at PlebLab, Topher has delivered a variety of open-source Bitcoin tools, including Tapscript, which manages Taproot, Schnorr Signatures, and Bitcoin transactions. Among other initiatives, Topher and Austin (an app developer) are collaborating on Frostr, a solution for key management in private digital identities, addressing issues related to Nostr—the popular Bitcoin-connected social networking protocol. This technically intricate project holds significant importance, and I plan to explore it further in the near future.

Christopher David, Open Agents

Christopher, a veteran Bitcoin developer and entrepreneur, is currently developing Open Agents, an AI platform intimately integrated with Git processes, featuring a dark-cypherpunk aesthetic and a strong commitment to user privacy.

There are numerous other projects that have either been developed or nurtured through PlebLab over the years. For more information, you can visit PlebLab.dev.

As a parting gift, here’s a cool Bitcoin Magazine yoyo I stumbled upon at PlebLab.

This article How PlebLab is Shaping the Future of Bitcoin Startups in Austin was originally published on Bitcoin Magazine and authored by Juan Galt.