Block 863220: Important News of the Week

Hello, friend. It's the end of the month, so we're happy to share some of our fundraising results again. In September, we raised over 3 million sats from 137 contributors, which constitutes our best month since we launched our campaign on Geyser two years ago.

This is mostly thanks to a generous donor who contributed a record 1.7 million sats. Whoever you are, thank you for your support. Other donations amounted to approximately 1.3 million sats, meaning that we've surpassed the 1 million sats/month milestone for the first time since the campaign launch. Grateful for all the unwavering support.

We're still attempting to raise 1 BTC by the end of the year to expand and improve our operation so that we can push out more content and improve our site, so any further help will be greatly appreciated.

Speaking of last week, these are the individuals who contributed to No Bullshit Bitcoin the most. Every sat counts and keeps us going, so thank you.

Once freedom lights its beacon in a man's heart, all the darkness in the world is powerless to stop you. Have a wonderful weekend.

News

• BOLT12 is now a part of the official Lightning Specification. It is a significant enhancement to the Lightning Network, streamlining payments, improving privacy, and supporting new use cases like subscriptions and advanced payment conditions.

• Disclosure of memory DoS due to headers spam in Bitcoin Core v24.0.0 and older. Before Bitcoin Core v24.0.1, attackers could spam nodes with low-difficulty headers chains, which could be used to remotely crash peers. By February 2022, attack costs dropped to 14.73% of mining a block; by September 2024, it would be just 4.44% (1.07 BTC and 0.14 BTC, respectively). This issue is considered high severity, and users should upgrade their nodes.
• OpenSats announced seventh wave of Nostr grants. The five projects of this funding wave are Nostr Arduino, White Noise, futr, Notedeck, and Keystache.
• Seventh wave of OpenSats Bitcoin grants awared to eight bitcoin projects. Grantees include: Kyoto, Minibits, DLC Dev Kit, Cove, Nutmix, ASmap, Floresta and AssumeUTXO in Bitcoin Core App.
• OpenSats announces support for Jon Atack. As a BIPs editor and maintainer, Atack aims to ensure that important proposals, such as soft forks, are thoroughly reviewed to maintain Bitcoin's consensus rules and security.
  • Maelstrom, the family office of former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes, has also awarded Jon Atack a one-year Bitcoin developer grant, making him the second recipient of Maelstrom's grant program supporting open-source Bitcoin developers.
• Brink released its annual report. The non-profit organization supporting Bitcoin developers has raised approximately $2.4M in 2023 from over 500 different donors. Brink’s expenses were approximately $1.6M.
• First Ark transactions on the mainnet. Second, a company dedicated to scaling bitcoin through Ark and related second-layer technologies, demonstrated some of the first Ark transactions on the Bitcoin mainnet. You can find a full recap with links and other resources here.

• Tor Project responds to reports of German Police deanonymizing users. The project issued a response to a recent investigative news story looking into the de-anonymization of an Onion Service used by a Tor user. The user was utilizing an old version of the long-retired application Ricochet, and the deanonymization occurred through a targeted law-enforcement attack between 2019 and 2021. "For the great majority of users worldwide that need to protect their privacy while browsing the Internet, Tor is still the best solution for them," said the developers.

• The Tor Project merges with Tails. Tails will be integrated into the Tor Project, leading to easier collaboration, improved sustainability, reduced overhead, and expanded training and outreach programs to combat more digital threats.
• Tornado Cash case against Roman Storm proceeds to trial. Judge Katherine Polk Failla denied Storm's motion to dismiss the charges, finding the Department of Justice's allegations credible. She noted that Tornado Cash operates similarly to other financial institutions and is not simply a charitable project due to its venture capital funding, the relayer feature, and the use of TORN tokens as evidence.

"The Court finds that the government has a substantial interest in promoting a secure financial system by combating money laundering, by combating the operation of unregistered money transmitting services and by combating the evasion of sanctions. These interests are wholly unrelated to the suppression of free expression, and the applicability of these laws to destroy conduct does not burden substantially more speech than necessary," the judge said.

• Swan Bitcoin sues former employees over plans to steal mining business. The company has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, accusing former employees of stealing proprietary code, vendors, and business partners from Swan's Bitcoin mining monitoring software. The complaint alleges that these employees conspired to resign and form a competing company, Proton Management.
• Operation Final Exchange. German police seized 47 'unregulated' cryptocurrency exchange services hosted in the country. Authorities said they obtained extensive user and transaction data from the platforms, which are expected to aid in future investigations. No arrests have been reported yet, according to Bleeping Computer.
• The German Interior Ministry dodges questions on government use of chain surveillance software. In August, German party Die Linke questioned the government's use of blockchain analysis software and the risks of cryptocurrency mixers in criminal activity. The Interior Ministry avoided answering these questions, reports The Rage.
• Telegram to share user data with authorities. The popular messaging service has updated its privacy policy to state that it will provide user data, including IP addresses and phone numbers, to law enforcement agencies in response to a valid legal order.

"If Telegram receives a valid order from the relevant judicial authorities that confirms you're a suspect in a case involving criminal activities that violate the Telegram Terms of Service, we will perform a legal analysis of the request and may disclose your IP address and phone number to the relevant authorities," reads the new privacy policy. 

• 'Inside the Biden Admin’s Plot to Destroy Silvergate and Debank Cryptocurrency Industry.' Nic Carter wrote an investigative piece detailing how the Biden administration and Sen. Elizabeth Warren incited the 2023 regional banking crisis, which ultimately took down Signature, Silicon Valley Bank, and First Republic, in an attempt to deliberately kill off crypto-friendly banks.
• Gary Gensler to rule on SEC licensing requirements for "Communication Protocols." SEC Chair Gary Gensler aims to decide on amendments to rule 3b-16 of the Exchange Act by November. Critics argue these broad amendments could force software publishers to obtain SEC licenses, writes The Rage.
• Dutch parliament passes law to ban cash payments above €3,000. The House of Representatives has voted in favor of a ban on cash payments for goods above €3000 euros. The measure does not apply to transactions between individuals.
• Binance denies data breach concerning 13 million users. Daily Dark Web reported a potential data breach exposing personal details of nearly 13 million Binance users on the dark web. However, a Binance spokesperson denied this, stating their security team found no evidence of a data leak.
• German government plans expansion of bank account surveillance. A proposed "security package" aims to expand the German Federal Police's (BKA) surveillance capabilities over bank accounts flagged for suspicious activity and transaction reports, writes L0la L33tz for The Rage.

• Swedish Police labels 'crypto exchanges' as 'professional money launderers.' A report by the Swedish Police Authority classifies certain cryptocurrency exchanges and related services as 'professional money launderers (PMLs),' asserting that these platforms are frequently used by criminals to launder proceeds from various crimes.
• Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison sentenced to 24 months in prison. Despite Ellison's "remarkable" assistance to the government in the case against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, Judge Lewis Kaplan stated that this was still an "outrageous fraud."
• $243M heist targeting Genesis creditor. On August 19, a creditor of the now-bankrupt trading firm Genesis was deceived by a complex social engineering scam involving a fake Google support number, resulting in the loss of more than 4,100 BTC. The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Thursday that the investigation into the theft has resulted in two arrests.
• Forbes pulls article criticizing BBC's reporting on Bitcoin. The publication removed an article by Susie Violet Ward, published on September 4, 2024, that criticized the BBC's misleading coverage of Bitcoin's environmental impact, reports BTC Times. The report is still available via archive here.

• MicroStrategy gets additional 7,420 bitcoin. The latest purchase cost $489 million, bringing the company's total BTC holdings to 252,220 coins.
• SEC approves option trading on Blackrock's spot bitcoin ETF. The approved options on the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) will be physically settled, meaning Bitcoin will be delivered upon exercise of the option, reports BTC Times.
• Hut8 and Bitmain to launch of next-gen ASIC miner U3S21EXPH. According to the firm, U3S21EXPH can reach up to 860 TH/s with an efficiency of 13 J/TH. This model is the result of a partnership between Hut 8 and Bitmain, where Hut 8 supported both technical and commercial development.
• Hut 8 broadens its AI initiatives. The Bitcoin mining company revealed it has begun earning revenue from its new GPU-as-a-service product, hosted at a tier-three data center in Chicago. This service features several HPE Cray supercomputers equipped with 1,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs.
• Bitfarms and Riot Platforms have reached a settlement, potentially ending their takeover dispute. Under the agreement, Riot cannot acquire more than 20% of Bitfarms without board approval. Additionally, Bitfarms co-founder Andrés Finkielsztain resigned from the Board of Directors and was replaced by Amy Freedman, as requested by Riot.
• Bitdeer completes testing of its next ASIC SEAL02. The company announced that verification and prototype tests with its foundry partner TSMC showed that SEAL02 achieved an efficiency of 13.5 J/TH in "low voltage and ultra power-saving mode."
• Kraken has acquired Coin Meester as part of its European expansion. This acquisition allows Kraken to extend its Dutch presence and operate with a registered virtual asset service provider (VASP) license in France and Poland.
• BlackRock requests changes to custody agreement with Coinbase. On September 16, BlackRock asked the SEC to change bitcoin withdrawal procedures for its Bitcoin spot ETF (IBIT) due to concerns over Coinbase's custody practices. The request mandates bitcoin withdrawals be completed within 12 hours of receiving client instructions, reports Atlas21.
• Fold and BitGo partnership. "Our new partnership with BitGo is a significant step toward offering you the currency you prefer with the banking features you need, all while offering added redundancy to improve custody," was stated in a blog post.
• PayPal enables business U.S. business accounts to buy, hold, and sell bitcoin. "Business owners have increasingly expressed a desire for the same cryptocurrency capabilities available to consumers. We're excited to meet that demand by delivering this new offering, empowering them to engage with digital currencies effortlessly," was stated in the press release.
• Nostr Valley 2024 event is set to take place on October 12, 2024 in State College, Pennsylvania. You can register here. Moreover, Nostrville 2.0 will take place on November 6, 2024, at the Bitcoin Park in Nashville.
• Btrust Developer Day will take place on December 8, 2024, at the JW Marriott Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. The event is free and open to all. Register here to attend. The 2024 Africa Bitcoin Conference is set to take place from December 9 to 11th.
• Bridging Bitcoin conference in Belgrade, Serbia, is set to take place on October 16th. It will be the first Bitcoin-only conference in Serbia.

Updates and releases

• Wasabi Wallet v2.2.0 comes with new features such as Taproot receive addresses, faster transaction broadcasting, improved CPFP fee estimation, assistance with coordinator setup, the ability to use a pruned node in the backend, among other enhancements.
  • A significant change in this release is the discontinuation of paying fees to CoinJoin coordinators to avoid unknown incentives and limit user risk. Only fee-free coordinators are now supported.

• Wasabi Wallet v2.2.1.0 includes fixes for send workflow disruption and transaction details' fee rate failing to show.
• ASHIGARU v1.0.0 is a self-custodial, open-source and secure mobile Bitcoin wallet that is private by design. It has been forked and build upon Samourai Wallet Source Code, including all commits from Samourai Wallet's /master and /development branches up to 24th April 2024. Available on Android.
• Joinstr mobile app v0.1.0 pre-release is now available for testing. Download the Android APK here.
• Core Lightning v24.08.1 is a hotfix release that addresses several crash issues and other bugs.
• ESP-miner v2.2.2 is out, featuring a critical bug fix for Gamma machines, among other improvements and optimizations.
• kibo v0.4.0, a rebrand of Satonomics, is a free and open-source, Bitcoin-only, self-hostable alternative to Glassnode. Check it out at kibo.money and support the project here.
• Aqua Wallet v0.2.4 brings Ghost Transactions for sends and some receives, BTC Map integration, address history, and more.

• Krux v24.09.0 introduces support for the WonderMV device, expands language options with Korean and Simplified Chinese translations, enhances performance across several key features, and addresses minor bugs for a smoother user experience.
  • Krux v24.09.1 addresses a fix for an upside-down camera on the Maix Cube devices.
• BitBox02 firmware v9.21.0 adds support for sending to silent payment (BIP-352) addresses, support for Taproot wallet policies and Miniscript on Taproot (MiniTapscript), and support for regtest.
• Boltz BTCPay Plugin launched. It allows any merchant using BTCPay Server (even on a shared BTCPay instance) to accept Lightning payments without running a Lightning node and transfer these funds to the Liquid sidechain using Liquid Swaps.
• Blockstream Green Desktop v2.0.11 includes the option to verify addresses on Jade in the redeposit 2FA expired coins flow, a camera selector when scanning QR codes, and displays SPV status in the transaction details view.
  • Blockstream Green iOS v4.0.35 features hardware wallet address verification on expired 2FA reactivation, an improved QR code scanner, GDK v0.73.0, and more.
• Alby Go has been officially released. The app is now available on iOS and Android via official app stores. It allows users to send and receive bitcoin instantly over the Lightning Network on their mobile devices, directly from their own nodes.
• Alby Hub v1.9.0 improves Alby Go integration with Alby Hub, displays pending and failed transactions in the Alby Hub transaction list, saves static channel backups to the Alby Hub data directory for users who do not connect their Alby Account, and introduces a variety of bug fixes.
  • Alby Hub v1.10.1 introduces a redesigned Connect Alby Account page and improvements to the channel backup format.
• ShockWallet v0.0.12-beta includes several fixes.
• Live Wallet v0.8.0 now makes the app buildable on Linux, improves dynamic styles, and adds a logout button.
• Breez SDK Liquid v0.3.4 introduces lowball fees for direct Liquid transactions, support for 'send all funds' in pay_onchain, and updated default Electrum URLs.
  • Breez SDK Core (Greenlight) v0.6.1 updates Validating Lightning Signer (VLS) to v0.12.0.
• Kyoto v0.2.0 is out with support for a new silent payments feature-flag and other improvements for developers.
• nix-bitcoin v0.0.114 has been released with updates to CLN, Fulcrum, and HWI.
• StashPay Wallet is now available for testing. The latest version comes with ability to receive and send Lightning invoices (BOLT11) and recovery phrase backup and restore functionality.
• Citrea Public Testnet is now live on Bitcoin Testnet4.
• DLC Markets announced its successful transition to Bitcoin Mainnet. Check it out here.

• Version 0.4.3 of Fedimint protocol is out.
• Lipa Lightning library v0.64.0-beta has been released.
• Predyx Beta launched. You can test the Lightning-based prediction market here.
• Neutronpay has launched Payout Now service in Singapore, allowing businesses to seamlessly convert Lightning Payments to local currency.
• Strike introduced hide your balance feature. "Shake your phone to hide your balance, and shake again to reveal it," said the company.
• LuxOS is now fully integrated with Foreman mine management software.
• Libwally Core v1.3.1 has been released with several fixes and improvements.
• Hashrate Index v3.0 is the latest iteration of Hashrate Index Data dashboard. It comes with easier navigation, improved chart features, better shareability, and more streamlined REST API integration.
• LuxOS Commander v0.16.0 now allows users to configure their machines while installing LuxOS, and includes a new CSV import/export feature.
• stacker.news has implemented boost changes, increased the fee reward of territory founders to 70% (up from 50%) and raised the sybil fee on zaps to 30% (up from 10%).
• Swiss Bitcoin Pay App v2.1.4 has been released with several fixes and improvements.
• LNDg v1.9.0, an advanced web interface designed for analyzing LND data and automating node management tasks, brings a variety of new features, improvements, and bug fixes. Inbound fees can now be set from the advanced page, Docker and manual installer logs are now unified, a new consolidate UTXOs button has been added, and inbound flows are now written in green text, among other things.
• LNUnit v1.7.5 is a unit-testing framework for Bitcoin Lightning network systems. It provides an easy-to-use interface for developers to write tests that check the functionality and performance of their Lightning-based applications.
• Damus v1.10.1 introduces highlights (NIP-84), push notification support, profile edit safeguards, better friend filter for reducing spam, improved connect speed, support for Alby Hub zaps, and more.

• Primal iOS v1.9.90 resolves performance and connectivity issues reported by users.
  • "There are no new features in this release. We are preparing a massive upgrade with Primal 2.0 in October," said miljan.
• Yuki Kishimoto has released rust-nostr v0.35, which introduces support for the gossip model and negentropy v1, adds 'MockRelay' for local relay tests, enables usage of the embedded Tor client on mobile devices, and more.
• Notestack is a nostr long-form content client that is a complete rewrite of Blogstack. "Any feedback would be appreciated," said the developer.
• Daniele introduced Chronicle, a new Nostr personal relay that comes with the Outbox model and Web of Trust spam protections. It "stores complete conversations in which the owner has taken part and nothing else," said the developer.
• HAVEN is a new Nostr relay for storing and backing up sensitive notes like eCash, private chats and drafts. It includes features like Web of Trust, inbox relay, chat relay, outbox relay, cloud backups, Blastr, and the ability to import old notes.

"Amethyst users will love this relay because it gives you every relay you need to complete the relay configuration," said utxo.

• Haven relay v0.2.2 includes the ability to pick between Badger and LMDB databases, an Nginx/Certbot Docker Compose file, and a few fixes.
• Nostr client Coracle is now available on Android. Get the APK here.

• WoT Relay v0.1.12 adds the ability to disable archiving reactions, prune old notes, and includes various fixes and performance optimizations.
• Relay Wizard v0.2.0, a tool to install and manage Nostr relays, now lets you choose between multiple Nostr relay implementations, including a NIP-29 relay that supports groups.
• Yana v0.15, a multiplatform nostr client available on Android, iOS, and Linux, now includes wallet send and receive functionality, a list of transactions, NWC subscription notifications, and better handling of 'hell threads.'
• Robosats federation is now sending notes to clearnet relays.

• Whereostr v1.2.2, a geo-social app built on the Nostr protocol, introduces support for geotags extracted from image metadata, video uploads, map markers, and ability to open shared locations in Google Maps.
• Nostur TestFlight update brings the ability to create Nostr Nests from within the app.
• Nos v0.1.27 adds note preview, localized follow notifications, the ability to share notes links, and many more fixes and improvements.
• Route 96 is a NIP-96 / Blossom server in Rust built by Kieran. An active instance can be found here.
• Grain v0.1.2, an open-source Nostr relay implementation written in Go, brings a blacklist implementation, event purging, better resource controls, NIP-42 auth relay implementation, and more.
• Relay Wizard v0.3.0-alpha 1 adds support for WoT relay, and updates Khatru Pyramid and strfry versions.
• khatru is a framework for making Nostr relays. Check it out here.

• JeffG updated listr.lol, a nostr-based client for managing lists and curate content. "Please let me know if you see anything broken or odd," said the developer.
• OpenVibe v1.3.4, a social app for browsing Nostr, Mastodon, Bluesky, Threads, and other social platforms, introduces support for Mastodon and BlueSky lists and feeds, alongside design updates and bug fixes.
• Mostro v0.12.5 brings privacy improvements for users, adds a token for disputes, improved documentation, and bug fixes.
  • Mostro-cli was also updated to version 0.10.3.
• DASHU is developing Nowser, a new Nostr signing app for iOS and Android.
• fiatjaf has made a simple CLI client for Blossom. Get it here.
• GrapheneOS v2024091900 is here.

"We need more people to use the Beta channel and quickly report regressions in the new releases before they reach Stable. If you're using the Alpha or Beta channels, please join the testing chat room on either Matrix, Discord or Telegram and report regressions in new releases," said the project maintainers.

• IVPN Desktop v3.14.17 and iOS v2.12.4 now hide the user's account ID in the app by default.
• OpenSSH v9.9 was released on September 19 with a number of new features and bug fixes.
• AirBTC, a bitcoin-based alternative to AirBNB, is now offering nostr identity verification as an alternative to traditional KYC. The project may implement Nostr-based login soon, too.
• Minestr is a multiplayer bitcoin mining simulator where nostr users can compete against each other for sats while learning about bitcoin and nostr and contributing to open-source software development.
• Tor Browser v13.5.5 is a minor desktop-only release containing primarily updated strings for users on legacy Windows and macOS.
• SimpleX Chat v6.0.5 adds support for generic SOCKS proxies, fixes calls stuck in the "connecting..." state, and more.
  • SimpleX Chat v6.1.0-beta is now available for testing.
• Keychat App v1.19.11 fixes a bug in the Nsec Import flow.

Guides and research

• Jonas Nick, Liam Eagen and Robin Linus co-authored a paper titled "Shielded CSV: Private and Efficient Client-Side Validation." Check it out here.
• Extreme Privacy: What It Takes to Disappear - 5th Edition (2024) by Michael Bazzell is now available as paperback and PDF.
• BTCPay Server released a case study analyzing bitcoin payments during Riga Bitcoin Week. There were 2,998 Lightning Network transactions worth approximately €27,582.

• Bitcoin: A Global Liquidity Barometer is a research piece about the correlation between measures of liquidity and the price of bitcoin.
• Privacy Index is 'a guide of guides for all things digital privacy.'
• NYDIG founder Ross Stevens presented his case on why Bitcoin is speech is therefore protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution. Read the full report here.
• The second FROST Round Table occurred on September 18, 2024. Check out the overview and new developer tools here.
• Users wishing to run RoninDojo Bitcoin node on a PC should check out this comprehensive guide.

• Bitcoin Optech #322 announces a fixed vulnerability affecting older versions of Bitcoin Core, provides an update on hybrid channel jamming mitigation, summarizes a paper about more efficient and private client-side validation, and announces a proposal to update the BIP process.

Mining stats

• Bitcoin mining difficulty decreased by 4.60% earlier this week, bringing the network's mining difficulty to 88.40T.
• The network's hashrate (7-day SMA) is currently at ~630 EH/s.

Lightning stats

• The amount of bitcoin on the Lightning Network surpassed ~5300 coins.

Nostr stats

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