BR065 - Samurai Arrests, New Core BIP Editors, Block Template Centralisation, CATVM, Juice Jacking Attack, OpenJS takeover attempt, BadUSB vulnerabiity + MORE ft. Rob, Ben & Rijndael
I’m joined by guests Rob Hamilton, Ben Carman & Rijndael to go through the list.
Quote of the Day
“Privacy is not a crime.”
Housekeeping
00:01:16 Q shipping updates
00:02:29 OpenSats receives $1M donation from the Reynolds Foundation [Blog post]
00:02:57 Kanzure, Murch, Jonatack, Ruben, and Roasbeef added as BIP editors
00:12:33 CAT, txhash, (some other stuff???) given BIP number
00:12:01 We have an amazing newsletter on Substack
Vulnerability Disclosures
00:13:33 Juice jacking attack [Mobile Hacker]
Demonstration shows a juice jacking attack using a Flipper Zero device to execute a script on an Android smartphone, installing malware without user interaction.
Attack methods include screen mirroring, HID attacks, and USB debugging.
Demonstrations show how easily devices can be compromised, emphasizing the importance of using personal charging equipment and enabling security features.
00:15:32 BadUSB vulnerabiity [Hackaday]
Recent discovery highlights a new BadUSB attack vector using the Consumer Control specification of HID standard.
This attack method bypasses traditional defenses and has been tested on various devices, including ATMs.
Modern operating systems’ complexity and unused functionalities increase vulnerability to such attacks, underscoring the need for meticulous HID device filtering.
00:17:57 FixedFloat announces another exploit [Twitter post]
The service experienced a second attack on April 1st, from the same hackers responsible for the February 16 incident (~$26M).
A vulnerability in a third-party service used by the company is discovered and exploited by hackers, leading to a $2.8M loss in the service’s liquidity funds.
OpenJS Foundation targeted in JavaScript project takeover [The Hacker News]
Security researchers uncover a potential takeover attempt of the OpenJS Foundation, reminiscent of an incident with XZ Utils.
00:21:49 GitHub comments abused to push malware via Microsoft repo URLs [Bleeping Computer]
Files uploaded via GitHub comments retain their URLs, even if comments are deleted, making these links appear credible and connected to legitimate projects.
This security flaw is applicable to any public repository on GitHub.
00:23:01 Apple issues notifications to iPhone users in 92 countries about potential spyware attacks [TechCrunch]
Ledger CTO @P3b7_ questions Apple’s compromise detection mechanism implemented to warn users.
00:23:35 Braiins warns user not to update stock firmware to the latest version as Bitmain restricts installation of third-party firmwares [Notice]
00:24:59 El Salvador: hacker group CiberInteligenciaSV publishes Chivo wallet ATM code [Atlas21]
Part of the source code and VPN credentials for the Chivo wallet ATM network were disclosed on a Telegram channel.
00:25:26 Employees of telecommunications company T-Mobile, targeted by SIM swap scheme, receive text offers of $300 per SIM swap [The Mobile Report]
00:25:58 Various Mining Pools have exactly the same template and custom transaction prioritization as AntPool
“Looking at the merkle branches that mining pools send to miners as part of stratum jobs, it’s clear that the BTCcom pool, Binance pool, Poolin, EMCD, Rawpool, and possibly Braiins* have exactly the same template and custom transaction prioritization as AntPool.” 0xB10C
0xB10C observes that several mining pools, including BTCcom, Binance pool, Poolin, EMCD, Rawpool, and possibly Braiins, share the same block template and transaction prioritization method as AntPool.
These observations are based on the examination of merkle branches sent to miners in Stratum v1 jobs, which indicate uniformity across these pools in the construction of the merkle root.
0xB10C highlights that, typically, these pools include a manually prioritized transaction in the first position after the coinbase transaction, contrasting with other pools that prioritize transactions with the highest fee rate.
Despite a significant number of mining pools potentially sharing a single custodian for their coinbase transactions, F2Pool diverges by creating its own unique block templates.
SigmaPool and SecPool also appear to operate under a single entity but use a template distinct from that of AntPool.
0xB10C notes that some overlap in merkle branches among different pools is natural due to the inclusion of high-fee-rate transactions.
00:33:52 Samourai Wallet Founders Arrested and Charged With Money Laundering [Coindesk]
Prosecutors are alleging Samourai Wallet laundered over $100 million in criminal proceeds.
According to a press release issued Wednesday, the pair developed, marketed and operated the mixer, which “facilitated more than $100 million in money laundering transactions from illegal dark web markets.”
Samourai overall facilitated around $2 billion in “unlawful transactions” between 2015 and the present, the release alleged. An accompanying indictment said this figure was calculated by converting the value of bitcoin laundered through the funds to U.S. dollars, based on bitcoin’s price “at the time of each transaction.”
The pair are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years and five years, respectively.
Rodriguez was arrested on Wednesday morning and will be arraigned in Pennsylvania today or tomorrow, according to the press release. Hill, Samourai Wallet’s CTO, was arrested on Wednesday morning in Portugal and will be extradited to the U.S.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin Consensus Changes That Will Never Happen
00:56:32 CATVM childrens book released
Software Releases & Project Updates
1:13:01 Bitcoin Core v27.0
libbitcoinconsensus: deprecated library that will be removed for v28
mempool.dat compatibility: the
mempool.datfile created by -persistmempool or the savemempool RPC will be written in a new formatP2P and network changes:
BIP324 v2 transport now enabled by default
Manual connection options (
-connect,-addnodeand-seednode) will now follow-v2transportto connect with v2 by defaultNetwork-adjusted time has been removed from consensus code, now replaced with (unadjusted) system time
Mempool Policy Changes: Opt-in Topologically Restricted Until Confirmation (TRUC) Transactions policy is available for use on test networks when
-acceptnonstdtxn=1is setExternal Signing: Support for external signing on Windows has been (temporarily) disabled
Updated RPCs: the addnode RPC now follows the
-v2transportoption (now on by default, see above) for making connectionsBuild System:
C++20 capable compiler is now required to build Bitcoin Core
MacOS releases are configured to use the hardened runtime libraries
Wallet:
The CoinGrinder coin selection algorithm has been introduced to mitigate unnecessary large input sets and lower transaction costs at high feerates
The Branch And Bound coin selection algorithm will be disabled when the subtract fee from outputs feature is used
If the birth time of a descriptor is detected to be later than the first transaction involving that descriptor, the birth time will be reset to the earlier time
Pruning: When pruning during initial block download, more blocks will be pruned at each flush in order to speed up the syncing of such nodes
1:15:40 Sparrow Wallet
Improvements to the Search Wallet dialog:
Allow label editing
Add copy context menu to Date/Address/Output column
Support searching on multiple addresses, txids and UTXOs in a search phrase separated by spaces
Make the the dialog non-modal (can interact with wallet window) but allow only a single instance
Add a button to export the search results in a CSV
Add Show All Wallets Summary to show the balance of all open wallets, along with a combined balance chart
Add the Mix Selected button to the UTXOs tab of the Postmix account in desktop and terminal
Add wallet import for the Samourai backup export file
Implement the Samourai Whirlpool 1.0.6 client using the decentralized Soroban network
Add Restart in (different) Home Folder to the Tools menu
Indicate if disconnected on startup
Add New Wallet, Open Wallet and Import Wallet hyperlinks to the background text shown when no tabs are open
Add a button to display the SeedQR for a seed on the seed display dialog
Support cookie authentication for Tor control port
Use UNIX sockets in Sparrow Home for instance checks and message passing
Set the default derivation for BIP39 and xprv imports to the current keystore derivation
Keep any existing seeds with matching fingerprints when changing a wallet’s output descriptor, rederiving the xpub if necessary
Supporting importing labels from an Electrum history CSV using the Import Wallet > Wallet Labels function
1:26:15 BDK v1.0.0-alpha.9
Update dependencies: rust-bitcoin to v0.31.0 and rust-miniscript to v11.0.0
Wrap transactions as
Arc<Transaction>inTxGraphIntroduce proptesting, starting with
CheckPoint::range
1:28:01 Umbrel v1.1.0
Terminal: Execute custom commands in umbrelOS or within an app from ‘Advanced settings’ in the Settings menu
umbrelOS Beta Program: Enroll to gain early access to new features
Start, stop, and troubleshoot apps directly from their right-click menu on the home screen
When an app is updating, its progress is now displayed within the app icon, making it easier to see update status at a glance
1:28:34 Raspiblitz v1.11.0
RaspberryPi5 tested & enabling NVMe PCIe Hats
BTCPay Server PostgreSQL database backup and restore options
Reset option for the self-signed TLS certificate
WebUI: Electrum Connect Screen
1:29:09 Bisq2 v2.0.3
Allow buyers who make their own offers to decide the trade price
Make the process more consistent for sellers to acquire reputation
Ability to add most-used market as favourite
1:29:12 Ledger app-bitcoin-new v2.2.2
Taproot miniscript: now recognizes if a key is provably unspendable, labeling it on-screen as ‘dummy’ during registration
Message signing: will now show the full text of the message, instead of its hash
1:30:27 COLDCARD Q and Mk4 codebases merged
1:31:34 Blockstream Green QT v2.0.4
BIP39 passphrase login
Handle external BIP21 payment on macOS and Windows
Support signing message with software wallet
1:31:51 Labelbase v2.1.0
New extension: Attachments
Attach files and images to your labels
Only available for self-hosted Labelbase instances
PDF and Image viewer
Show a “background task activity indicator” on labels while they are being verified using Electrum
Custom Electrum config for Testnet labelbases
1:32:15 Blue Wallet
1:32:42 Bitcoin Keeper v1.2.3
Fee Insights with detailed analysis
Multiple mediums possible for any signer
Ability to hide and delete wallets/vaults
1:32:54 Wasabi Wallet v2.0.7
New user interface
Trezor Safe 3 support
Full RBF detection
1:33:18 10101
1:33:26 AgoraDesk v1.1.34
Add ad filtering to the trader screen
Add an icon for recent notifications
1:33:31 SwissBitcoinPay v2.0.8
Allow to enter amount in sats and other currencies
Reduced QR size to M
Invoice’s QR to M
1:33:38 Plebwork Release
View transaction history from dashboard
Group invoices and receipts in one place
New account settings page
Link to view public profile
Reply to specific messages
1:33:40 Bull Bitcoin Fee Multiple [Blog post]
Technical indicator representing current bitcoin network fees in comparison to historical averages
1:33:51 Kraken Wallet [Announced]
Open-source, multi-chain wallet on iOS and Android with no client side tracking
Project spotlight
1:34:23 Safety Net by Wizard Sardines: An optional disaster recovery service for Liana [Announcement]
Last-resort security feature for the Liana wallet, adding a custodian key that activates only after all personal recovery options are exhausted.
Develops a marketplace for custodians to provide these keys.
1:37:54 Sentrum: rust Daemon that monitors watch-only bitcoin wallets [Github]
Sends notifications in different channels: ntfy push notifications, email, telegram, nostr, arbitrary command and more.
1:38:04 zkCoins: Novel blockchain design with strong privacy and scalability properties [Twitter post]
A payment system with strong privacy and scalability, combining a client-side validation protocol with validity proofs.
The system minimizes the blockchain’s role to a simple list of commitments (seals), moving most transaction verification processes off-chain.
Proposes an account-based model instead of the traditional UTXO system, reducing memory requirements.
1:38:11 ismyhc announces Basio, a free Bitcoin statistics app “themed in your favorite retro styled watch of the past” [Nostr note]
1:38:24 TxPusher, a conditional transaction broadcasting tool Website
Adds Bull Bitcoin Fee Multiple as one of the possible transaction trigger [Announcement]
1:38:37 Launch of Satoshi7B: “the world’s most ‘based’ LLM” [Announcement]
1:39:44 SafeMiner: hardware design project focused on enhancing safety for Bitcoin mining operations [Announcement]
“The Design incorporates fire detection and automatic shutdown to ensure the safety of miners” [Github]
Plans to adapt the design for popular Bitcoin miners (Antminer S19, S21 and T21)
Privacy Software
Software Releases & Project Updates
1:39:55 SimpleX
Quantum resistant encryption will be enabled in all direct chats by default
Sort group members list by role, with owners and admins first
forward messages to contacts and groups and save messages to Private notes
Better connectivity and reduced traffic on bad networks
Android, desktop: select sound source during the call
Desktop: use sound from system source when sharing screen in calls
Reduce battery usage when network is unavailable
Add call sounds when connecting audio and video calls
More reliable file delivery
Stabilise iOS notifications
Reduce memory usage
Lightning + L2+
Software Releases & Project Updates
1:40:00 Mutiny Node
Move device lock out of NodeManager
Stop NodeManager separately
Longer ping timeout fork of LDK
Use correct initial sync AtomicBool
Remove unused wasm functions
Move bitcoin price fetching to MutinyWallet
Update fedimint gateway cache before setting
Better setup for new profiles
More safely handle invalid NWC events
Update contact’s last_used when receiving dms
Use compute_opening_fee function from LSPS crate
Replace instant dependency with web-time
Implement deleting federation recommendations
Set min lightning amount to 1 if LSPS
Update LDK for to fix inflight updates issue
1:41:03 Mutiny StartOS
lnbits v0.12.5
Simplify description in i18n
feat: add
check_invalid_paymentscommandfeat: add commands
delete-wallet,delete-wallet-paymentandverboseoptionfeat: add
mark-payment-pendingcommandfeat: remove
--auto-fixoption fromcheck-paymentsfeat: improve on api structure, add openapi tags
1:41:51 Phoenix
1:42:06 Nutshell v0.15.3
Wallet:
Allow checking pending invoices
Restore wallet now restores tokens for all mint keysets
Request Mint Refactor
Mint:
Recover pending melts at startup
Refactor: remove output.id optional
Migrate duplicate keysets to db
1:42:13 Zeus
v0.9.0-alpha1 [Community sponsors announcement]
Watch-only account import (xpub)
HWW/Signing device support: Coldcard Q, SeedSigner, Passport Foundation, etc
Batch channel opens
Batch on-chain transactions
Close channels to external addresses
Ability to select wallet/node on start-up
Currency conversion: Silver (XAG) + Gold (XAU)
Password page: improve layout
Add ability to select node on start-up
LSP: ensure node is configured before attempting connection to LSP
1:42:40 Alby js-sdk v3.5.0
Subscribe to NIP-47 notifications
Add NWC sign message method
Read supported notification types from wallet service info notifications tag
1:42:44 Aqua Wallet v0.1.50
Rework send workflow
Add sending to LNURL Pay and Lightning addresses
Add support for BIP21 unified QR codes
Add automatic refund and claim transaction with submarine swaps using native rust library
USDt is still a default asset but removable in Settings
Improve restore wallet workflow
Add support for AQUA to AQUA lightning payments
Enable Biometrics for auth
1:42:47 eNuts v0.4.0-beta
Add support for bech32 lnurl encoding/decoding allowing to scan/paste lnurls
Add loading indicator while a mint is being added
Show pending lightning invoices in history
Improve android and ios conditional rendering
1:43:00 Fountain v1.0.12
Improved layout and larger font sizes
Total supporters added to show pages
Support value added to episode, track & album pages
Tap to see all supporters & filter by time range
Show notes or descriptions added to all pages
Clips tab added to show & episode pages
Sort & filter options to show pages
Search your entire library and filter by content type
Set library as default primary tab (Premium only)
1:43:04 BoltzExchange
boltz-web-app
boltz-backend v3.5.0 - In Bloom
referral API v2
sanity check mpay invoice
address filter
batched normal swap claims
cooperative Submarine claim transactions
API V2 EVM contract data
get reverse swap lockup transaction endpoint
cooperative EVM refunds
magic BIP-21 routing hints
Liquid claim covenant
invoice expiry check
1:43:10 Loop v0.28.1
instantout:
add custom address to send funds to
add addr to send funds to
export value and expiry
swapclientserver: add listinstantouts
cmd: add listinstantouts cmd
loopdb: make sqlite sync for extra durability
Send loop out prepay over selected outgoing chan set
Project spotlight
1:43:17 lnaddrd: A self-hosted server to provide yourself with a Lightning Address [Github]
No third parties: generates invoices from a remote LND instance
1:43:22 Fewsats: monetize your files, data and APIs using the L402 protocol [Github]
Upload and host your files behind a paywall, making them globally accessible to anyone using an L402-compatible client.
1:43:26 pyl402: Python client and tools for the Lightning Network L402 protocol [Website]
Python package is designed to handle HTTP requests with integrated payment functionality, specifically focusing on the Lightning Network protocol L402.
Automatic handling of HTTP 402 Payment Required responses [Github]
1:45:00 Constellation, a Layer 3 protocol to enhance Lightning Network [Delving Bitcoin]
The protocol employs a federated security model supported by ROAST, a protocol enhancing FROST to generate Schnorr signatures compatible with BIP 340.
Nostr
Software Releases & Project Updates
Optimistic signature-verification
Web worker signature verification
Dexie cache adapter improvements
Thread rendering improvement
1:45:43 rust-nostr v0.30.0
Added:
Add support to
nostrdbstorage backendnostr: add NIP32 support
cli: add command to serve
Nostr Connectsigner
Changed:
Adapted NIP46 to last changes
nostr: allow to parse public key from NIP21 uri with
PublicKey::parsenostr: allow to parse event ID from NIP21 uri with
EventId::parsenostr: construct
GenericTagValuebased onSingleLetterTagindeserialize_generic_tagsnostr: set
UnsignedEventID as optionalsdk: improve proxy options
pool: allow to disable
RelayLimitssigner: re-work
nip46modulenwc: avoid to open and close subscription for every request
nwc: allow to customize requests timeout
1:45:46 Primal
1:47:34 Damus latest TestFlight for Purple members [Note]
Video player improvements: full-screen, seek and AirPlay support
Improve video cache
Add relay features
Improve switch between clients (Primal-Damus)
1:47:40 Amethyst
Enables Mutiny Wallet NWC
Removes the use of DM relays to find events due to private inbox settings
Adds vertical scrolling on the Zap page for collaborators
Avoids decrypting existing Nostr events just to add the relay into the relay list
Calculates hash in the IO thread from Compose’s scope
Migrates to the new, faster Markdown Parser
Adds Note previews on Markdown
Adds Custom hashtag icons to Markdown
Adds URL preview boxes to Markdown
Moves parsing and saving an embed event to the IO thread
Improves the secondary button design of the encrypted nsec backup page
1:47:41 Nostur v1.13.0
Bookmark color categories
Authenticate to relays (NIP-42)
Don’t autoload images if there is an NSFW tag
Login with nostr (NIP-97)
1:47:44 nos.social
Add support for uploading videos when composing a note
Update Discover tab navigation bar to match new design
Update dark theme colors for card backgrounds, primary texts, and secondary texts
Add new UI for replying to messages that allows attaching images and setting an expiration date
1:47:46 Gossip v0.10.0
Nostr Connect signer: gossip can now serve as your private key bunker using NIP-46
Whitelist support for relays: optionally gossip can refuse to connect or authenticate to relays until you approve (or deny) such connections
SpamSafe: when enabled, gossip will not fetch replies from people you don’t follow except from relays that you designate as SpamSafe
Load More: add Load More button
Advertising your relay list now automatically selects relays to advertise to
Improve Onboarding Wizard
1:47:47 linktr-nostr v.0.1.6
Add nip-46 as login method
Connect using a trusted bunker
Ability to use both connection strings and nostr addresses with oauth flow
1:47:48 Mostro
Allow cross platform compilation
Add check on min sats allowed in a new order
Solvers should take disputes before operate
Admin add solver doc
Added custom expire time of orders
User rating ack message carries the rating back
Send solver pubkey to both parties
Limit size of messages
Changing routing fee rules
Allow admin actions to be done by solvers
Makers can’t take own orders
Project spotlight
1:47:56 Blossom: Blobs stored simply on mediaservers [Github]
“Blossom is a spec for a set of HTTP endpoints that allow users to store blobs of data on publicly accessible servers”
“Blossom uses nostr public/private keys for identities. Users are expected to sign authorization events to prove their identity when interacting with servers”
Boosts
1:51:21 Thanks to everyone who streamed sats, and shoutout to our top boosters:
[🏆 TOP BOOSTER] @vake (5,000 sats) “Bitcoin is boring and nothing happens.”
@qxotk (4,224 sats) “sleep walking on grass and listening to this pod”
@jcdenton (2,100 sats) “thanks for the signal, listened to the end 🫡”
@dubravko (1,630 sats) “This is my boost to celebrate still thinking 50 minutes in, making it to the software review. Also, big fan of Harry since 2020, keep on keepin’ on. 🤠 Yee haw.”
@cantillionaire (1,000 sats) “merge Fridge Apple!”
@michaelmatulef (210 sats) “Love the conversations you have on here. Thanks gentlemen 🍻”
Bitcoin Optech Newsletter
Weak blocks proof-of-concept implementation
Greg Sanders posted to Delving Bitcoin about using weak blocks to improve compact block relay, particularly in the presence of divergent policies for transaction relay and mining.
A weak block (or near block) is a block with insufficient proof-of-work to become the next block on the blockchain but which otherwise has a valid structure and set of valid transactions.
Sanders proposes using weak block relay, following Bitcoin Core’s compact block relay which reduces the bandwidth required to relay a block by over 99%.
BIP editors update: Bryan “Kanzure” Bishop, Jon Atack, Mark “Murch” Erhardt, Olaoluwa “Roasbeef” Osuntokun, and Ruben Somsen were added) as BIP editors
Analysis of cluster mempool’s performance in bitcoin transactions (2023), findings:
The cluster mempool node accepted 0.01% more transactions
RBF differences were negligible
Cluster mempool was just as good for miners as legacy transaction selection
DSL for experimenting with contracts
Kulpreet Singh is developing a domain-specific language (DSL) for Bitcoin, aiming to simplify specifying operations within contract protocols.
Updating BIP2
Discussion about resetting and modifying testnet
Previous testnet versions were restarted after testnet coins began to hold economic value, making them scarce for free testing.
Jameson Lopp cites evidence of similar problems reoccurring, including block flooding from exploitation of the difficulty adjustment algorithm.
Discussions occur regarding potential testnet modifications, though some see ongoing issues as beneficial for testing scenarios.
News & Noteworthy
Bitcoin
1:52:57 Nunchuk Announces Finney
Bitcoin wallet specifically for families
No third-party dependencies for holding backup keys
Usage Scenarios:
Individual control: One person, one key
Centralized control by a majority owner
Blind co-signer for private transaction approval
Observer role with view-only access
Features:
Multi-signature options: 2-of-3 or 3-of-5 configurations
Regular checks on key health to ensure functionality
Compatibility with over 10 types of hardware keys
Privacy features including disappearing messages for secure communications
1:53:31 LND node operators advised not to upgrade to bitcoind 27 [Roasbeef Twitter post]
Stricter validation rules in “sendrawtransaction” of Bitcoind 27 cause transaction broadcast failures when connected to an LND node.
LND v0.17.5-beta has since been released to resolve this compatibility issue [PR #8664]
1:53:36 MiPrimerBitcoin launches the 2024 edition of their 10-week education program [Announcement]
1:53:42 Craig Wright Discontinues Tulip Trading Case in Major Win for Bitcoin Developers [Bitcoin Defense]
Lightning
1:54:02 Zaprite introduces the Mutiny connection [Blog post]
Mutiny+ users can generate invoices and payment links through Zaprite
1:54:05 Voltage integrates Mutinynet for enhanced Bitcoin application testing [Blog post]
The integration allows developers to easily configure and use Mutinynet within the Voltage platform, improving the transition from testing to production.
1:54:36 Braiins introduces Lightning payouts, instant daily payouts with no minimum or fees [Announcement]
1:54:43 Blockstream launches Liquid Wallet Kit (beta testing phase) [Blog post]
Aims to simplify the development of Liquid wallet applications [Github]
Business & Finance
Release of tbDEX v1.0, an open source liquidity and trust protocol [Blog post]
Offers features for financial institutions, wallet applications, and credential issuers, facilitating transactions and compliance with regulations.
Strike expands to Europe [Jack Mallers Announcement]
Hyperbitconization
Azteco vouchers now available in 190 countries [Bitcoin Magazine]
Block lets Square merchants convert a part of their daily sales to bitcoin
Block, the company behind Square, Cash App and other services, announced a new program today allowing merchants using Square’s solutions to convert a percentage of their daily sales to bitcoin.
The feature, rolling out in the U.S. starting today, will transfer 1-10% of Square sellers’ daily sales to their personal Cash App account. This amount will convert into bitcoin at the end of the day. Merchants will receive a confirmation of the conversion when the transaction is complete.
Block said that the bitcoin conversion feature will be available to all sole proprietors or single-member LLCs in the coming months. The company takes a 1% cut from every conversion made by the seller. Merchants can send bitcoin to other wallets or sell them at any time from their Cash App account.
Funding
1:55:09 OpenSats grants long-term support to three nostr developers:
Hrzd149 to enhance noStrudel with nostr nests support and expand Blossom with blossom-drive for file hosting. [Blog post]
Stuart Bowman to continue work on the Satelite Earth stack; enhancing community self-reliance, improving relay system diversity and functionality. [Blog post]
Pablof7z to work on niche relays, event database synchronization, localized flows and client discoverability, amongst other. [Blog post]
1:55:22 The Human Rights Foundation establishes the Finney Freedom Prize for the next 33 halving era [Blog post]
The prize recognizes individuals advancing Bitcoin and human rights, awarding a physical prize and 1 bitcoin per halving period.
1:55:26 Neutronpay secures $1.5 million in funding for Lightning Network expansion in Southeast Asia [Blog post]
Mining
Analysis of mining centralization in AntPool and Bitmain operations [Twitter post]
AntPool and Bitmain would operate as a “pool of pools,” contributing to mining centralization, as reported by 0xB10C.
The report reveals that several mining pools, including BTCcom pool, Binance pool, Poolin, EMCD, Rawpool, and possibly Braiins, use identical block templates and custom transaction prioritization as AntPool.
Block announces 3nm bitcoin mining chip [Announcement]
Reveals the completion of a 3nm Bitcoin mining chip and is nearing the full design tapeout with a major global semiconductor foundry.
The company is also developing a complete Bitcoin mining system, aiming to innovate and support new mining system form factors and use cases.
1:55:34 Ocean announces the whitepaper of their TIDES payout system [Announcement]
“This can be implemented by any pool and sets a new standard for transparency and fidelity for miners wishing to verify their rewards.”
Riot Platforms energizes new Corsicana facility, in Navarro County, Texas [Announcement]
The facility aims to become the world’s largest Bitcoin mining facility with a total capacity of 1 GW upon full development.
Bitcoin ASIC manufacturer Auradine completes $80M Series B funding [Press release]
Privacy
DuckDuckGo launches a new 3-in-1 subscription service called ‘Privacy Pro’ [Announcement]
The service includes a VPN, a personal data removal service and an identity theft restoration solution.
Proton launches Dark Web Monitoring [Blog post]
Service scanning for credential leaks on the dark web, for paid subscribers
US internal revenue services (IRS) issues a draft form for cryptocurrency brokers to report information about their clients and transactions on their platforms [Twitter post]
US Senate reauthorizes FISA surveillance program, avoiding expiration [The Guardian]
US court rules suspects can be compelled to unlock phones with biometrics [Arstechnica]
The court compares the compelled use of a biometric to unlock a phone to non-testimonial procedures like blood draws or fingerprinting during booking, requiring no “cognitive exertion.”
Personal data of 5 million Salvadoran citizens exposed [Daily Dark Web]
“the leaked data consists of 5,129,518 high-definition photos without watermarks, each labeled with the individual’s “DUI” identification number… names, last names, dates of birth, telephone numbers, email addresses, and residential addresses.”
World-Check database leak: 5.3 million KYC records to be released [Tech Crunch]
The database is used for “know your customer” checks to screen potential clients for financial risks and criminal ties.
The data breach occurred at a Singapore-based firm with access to the database, not directly from the London Stock Exchange Group which owns World-Check.
Protocol
Bitcoin Core #29850 [merged]
Limits the maximum number of IP addresses accepted from an individual DNS seed to 32 per query
Aims to prevent a scenario where a new node might connect primarily to peers from a single, potentially malicious seed, which could isolate it from the honest network.
By equalizing the number of IP addresses received from each seed, the update enhances network diversity and reduces vulnerability to eclipse attacks.
Government & Political
1:58:00 FBI probed Atlanta 2022 CoreDev event linked to Luke Dashjr’s BTC hack [The Block]
Mike Schmidt, co-founder at Brink and organiser of the event, announced that he had received a subpoena from the FBI
Publicly available information was provided, including GitHub usernames, public first and last names and email addresses
Norwegian government to further regulate data center operation [Coin Desk]
The proposed telecoms act mandates registration for data center operators to provide detailed information about their operations
Paraguay reconsiders mining ban [No Bullshit Bitcoin]
Lawmakers are exploring the possibility of selling surplus energy to bitcoin miners instead of to neighboring countries [Twitter post]
Swiss activists push for Bitcoin inclusion in national reserves [Market Watch]
Yves Bennaïm initiates a campaign to amend the Swiss constitution, aiming to mandate the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to hold part of its reserves in bitcoin
Events
“The most important Bitcoin gathering of builders, innovators, and businesses in the Indian Subcontinent.”
September 20-22, 2024 in Goa, India
“Designing Africa of Tomorrow”
December 9-11, 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya
Aims to foster innovation through intensive two-month sessions of hacking, building, and mentorship, focused on creating applications and services for a self-sovereign future.
SEC-02: May 6 to June 28 2024 in Madeira, Portugal
Reads
Here’s a list of our top recently published reads:
Stop calling it MEV by Matt Corallo [Blog post]
Team slow and steady by Anthony Towns [Blog post]
DOGMA KILLS BRAIN CELLS by Shinobi
Episode submission ideas
We’re looking for ideas for interesting panel conversations. To send Bitcoin related questions, just go to bitcoin.review and follow the contact links at the bottom of the page.
Get in touch with the pod
Nostr & LN ⚡nvk@nvk.org (not an email!)