RGB Protocol
RGB Protocol Smart Contracts Masterclass 08 / 08

Federico Tenga

R&D Strategist at Bitfinex • RGB Developer • Bitcoin Educator

Biography

Federico Tenga is the R&D Strategist at Bitfinex, where he leads research and development efforts around RGB protocol integration. He is one of the key figures bringing client-side validated smart contracts to Bitcoin through practical, production-ready implementations.

Federico has one of the most remarkable and unconventional backgrounds in the Bitcoin space. In 2017, he traveled to North Korea to teach Bitcoin at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), making him one of the very few people to have introduced Bitcoin education inside the DPRK.

In Italy, Federico co-founded Chainside, one of the country's pioneering Bitcoin payment companies. He also served as an advisor to the Italian Ministry of Economic Development (MiSE) on blockchain technology policy, and founded BlockchainEdu, an educational initiative to bring blockchain literacy to Italian institutions.

At Bitfinex, Federico leads the development of rgb-lib, the Rust library that provides a high-level API for RGB protocol operations, and the Iris Wallet, a mobile wallet for RGB assets. His work bridges the gap between RGB's complex cryptographic underpinnings and practical developer tooling.

Technical Contributions

Federico's work focuses on making RGB accessible and production-ready:

  • rgb-lib: Led the development of the Rust library that provides a high-level API for RGB protocol operations, abstracting the complexity of client-side validation for application developers.
  • Iris Wallet: Developed an RGB-enabled mobile wallet that demonstrates how to issue, transfer, and receive RGB assets in a user-friendly interface.
  • rgb-lightning-node: Contributed to the integration of RGB assets with Lightning Network, enabling instant transfers of tokenized assets over payment channels.
  • Bitfinex RGB Integration: Leading the effort to bring RGB token support to one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, a critical milestone for RGB adoption.
  • Education & Advocacy: Extensive writing and speaking about RGB, client-side validation, and single-use seals, making these advanced concepts accessible to a broader developer audience.

Masterclass: RGB Protocol

This final masterclass covers RGB, a protocol for client-side validated smart contracts on Bitcoin. RGB represents the cutting edge of Bitcoin programmability — it enables smart contracts, token issuance, and complex state machines while keeping all data off-chain, anchored to Bitcoin only through single-use seals.

Client-Side Validated Smart Contracts
Smart Contracts • Mar 19, 2026

Topics likely covered include:

  • RGB fundamentals: client-side validation and single-use seals
  • How RGB differs from Ethereum-style smart contracts
  • Token issuance on Bitcoin: fungible and non-fungible assets
  • Using rgb-lib to build RGB applications in Rust
  • RGB over Lightning: instant asset transfers
  • The road to production: Bitfinex integration and ecosystem growth

Resources & Preparation

rgb-lib
High-level Rust library for RGB protocol operations. Federico's primary project.
RGB Protocol
Official RGB protocol website with technical overview and specifications.
Iris Wallet
RGB-enabled mobile wallet for issuing and transferring assets on Bitcoin.
RGB Lightning Node
Lightning node modified to support RGB asset transfers over payment channels.
RGB FAQ
Frequently asked questions about RGB with clear, developer-friendly answers.
RGB Blackpaper
Technical paper explaining RGB's design principles and architecture.
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