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By EZ in Weekly Digest —

Block 874874: Important News of the Week

News. Updates. Research. Stats. Everything Important You Need to Know.

Block 874874: Important News of the Week
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News

  • OpenSats renews support for 9 Bitcoin projects. The non-profit announced a renewed commitment to nine projects, including BTCPay Server, Stratum V2, Raspiblitz, LNbits, Vexl, Blixt, Krux, Bitaxe, and Labelbase.
  • WabiSabi vulnerability allows malicious coordinators to deanonymize coinjoin users. A vulnerability in the WabiSabi protocol enables malicious coordinators to deanonymize users' coins and link inputs to outputs, compromising the privacy of CoinJoin participants.
    • This vulnerability affects Wasabi Wallet v2.2.1.0 or earlier, Ginger Wallet v2.0.13 or earlier, and the BTCPay CoinJoin plugin v1.0.101.0 or earlier. Users are urged to update their instances immediately.
  • Fran Finney joins Nostr, earns over 1 million sats. Fran Finney, the wife of Bitcoin legend Hal Finney—the first Bitcoin transaction recipient—has joined Nostr and earned over 1 million sats.
  • Vulnerability disclosure: Irrevocable fees on the Lightning network. Eclair v0.9.0 and older, LDK v0.0.122 and older, and LND v0.18.2-beta and older with default settings (and Core Lightning with non-default settings) would accept a series of operations that could allow a miner to steal up to 98% of a channel’s funds. Core Lightning remains vulnerable to the worst-case scenario if the --ignore-fee-limits configuration setting is enabled.
"Mitigations at the base-layer directly in the transaction-relay stack were not seriously considered during the embargo period. In my personal opinion, a robust mitigation against transaction-relay throughput attacks could be more efficient at the base-layer, rather than at the lightning / contracting protocols levels," said the developer.
  • Vulnerability disclosure: Transaction-relay jamming attack against off-chain protocols. Antoine Riard posted to the Bitcoin Dev mailing list to disclose a new transaction-relay jamming attack against off-chain protocols by exploiting the transaction selection, announcement, and propagation mechanisms of base-layer full nodes.
    • The vulnerability report recommends mitigation strategies such as randomized transaction rebroadcast and increased transaction-relay throughput. However, it underscores the need for a more comprehensive and robust solution integrated into Bitcoin's base protocol to effectively address the vulnerability.
  • El Salvador might have to strip Bitcoin of its legal tender status to secure a $1.3 billion IMF loan. A Financial Times report, citing 'people close to the talks,' states that a new lending package would be approved by the IMF board if El Salvador drops the legal requirement for businesses to accept bitcoin as payment, making it voluntary to do so. The final details of the agreement are expected to be revealed in the next two to three weeks.
  • El Salvador and Argentina partner to regulate 'crypto industry.' Juan Carlos Reyes, El Salvador’s chief crypto regulator and president of the Comisión Nacional de Activos Digitales (CNAD), along with Roberto Silva, president of Argentina's Comisión Nacional de Valores (CNV), signed an agreement to collaborate on cryptocurrency regulation.
  • Coinbase user gets 2 years in prison for filing false tax returns. Frank Richard Ahlgren III, a bitcoin investor since 2011 from Austin, Texas, has been sentenced to two years in prison for intentionally underreporting capital gains from the sale of $3.7 million worth of bitcoin.
"This case marks the first criminal tax evasion prosecution centered solely on cryptocurrency. As the prices for cryptocurrency are high, so is the temptation to not pay taxes on its sale. Avoid the temptation and avoid federal prison," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Lucy Tan of IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI)’s Houston Field Office.
  • More documents on Operation Chokepoint v2.0. According to Coinbase, recently revealed heavily redacted FDIC letters sent to banks in 2022 urged them to sever ties with crypto firms due to concerns about risk management, fraud, consumer protection, and financial stability, aiming to stifle the growth of digital assets.
  • Czech Republic eliminates capital gains tax for bitcoin held over 3 years. The country passed a law exempting Bitcoin holdings held for over three years from capital gains tax. This decision, unanimously approved by parliament on December 6, will take effect on January 1, 2025.
  • France debates tax on unrealized Bitcoin capital gains over €800,000. French Senator Sylvie Vermeillet proposed taxing Bitcoin and digital assets as "unproductive assets" similar to luxury items, with unrealized gains over €800,000 taxed. The Senate preliminarily approved the proposal, and Finance Minister Laurent Saint-Martin endorsed it.
  • Bitcoin Strategic Reserve bill in Texas. The Texas House introduced a bill to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve. The proposed bill would enable the state to accept taxes, fees, and donations in bitcoin, which must be held for at least five years.
  • Vancouver city to study Bitcoin integration. On December 11, Vancouver City Council approved a motion to study Bitcoin integration. Supported by Mayor Ken Sim, the initiative explores accepting bitcoin for taxes and services and possibly converting part of the city's reserves to bitcoin.
  • Australia: AMP becomes the first national pension fund to invest in bitcoin. The institution allocated $27 million back in May, when it traded at ~$60,000 per coin. The sum represents 0.05% of its $57 billion in assets under management.
  • Iran moves to regulate cryptocurrencies. The country's Economic Affairs and Finance Minister Abdolnaser Hemmati said Iran will aim to "minimize cryptocurrency's negative economic effects" and "maximize its benefits," with digital money regulated by the central bank.
  • Bitcoin reserve discussions reach Russia. A new proposal to add bitcoin to the country's national reserves was reportedly made by Anton Tkachev, a State Duma member from the New People party. According to RIA Novosti, this initiative aims to find alternatives to traditional financial systems amid increasing international pressures.
  • Ukraine bill seeks to legalize bitcoin by early 2025. Ukraine is drafting a bill to regulate bitcoin by early 2025, involving a parliamentary group, the National Bank, and the IMF, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
"In consultations with European experts and the IMF, we are taking a very cautious approach to using cryptocurrencies for tax exemptions, as it could potentially facilitate tax evasion in traditional markets," Danylo Hetmantsev, head of the Ukrainian Parliament's Committee on Finance, Tax, and Customs Policy told The Block.
  • The Kenya National Fire Brigades Association establishes Bitcoin reserve. Proof of Workforce, a U.S. nonprofit promoting Bitcoin adoption among unions and workers, facilitated a donation to strengthen Kenya’s firefighting services.
Source: Proof of Workforce.
  • MicroStrategy buys additional 21,550 BTC. The company has acquired 21,550 BTC for $2.1 billion at a price of ~$98,783 per coin and currently holds 423,650 BTC.
  • MicroStrategy may be added into NASDAQ-100 index. The company's inclusion in the index would mark a significant milestone and trigger passive capital inflows. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) would need to purchase an estimated $2.1 billion of MSTR shares to align with the index's weighting.
  • Riot Platforms buys additional 5117 BTC. The company bought 5117 bitcoin for $510 million, raising its total holdings to 16,728 BTC as of December 12.
  • MARA acquires 11,774 BTC for $1.1 billion. The company announced that it acquired additional bitcoin at an average price of $96,000 per coin, increasing its total holdings to 40,435 BTC as of December 9, valued at approximately $3.9 billion.
  • BlackRock recommends 2% bitcoin allocation in 60/40 portfolios. The world’s largest asset manager recommends a 1–2% bitcoin allocation in multi-asset portfolios, according to a December 12 paper.
  • Amazon shareholders pressure it to consider Bitcoin strategy. The company's shareholders advocate allocating at least 5% of company assets to Bitcoin via a proposal submitted by the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR).
  • Microsoft shareholders vote against Bitcoin treasury strategy. Microsoft's board opposed the proposal, citing volatility as a key concern and noting that management "already carefully considers this topic." The company reportedly holds $78.4 billion in cash and marketable securities.
  • Coincheck becomes second exchange to go public on Nasdaq. Coincheck, Japan's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, is set to list on NASDAQ today. The company will merge with Thunder Bridge Capital, making it the second cryptocurrency exchange to go public in the United States, reports The Block.
  • Relai raises $12 million series A funding round. The self-custodial app dedicated to buying and selling Bitcoin has secured $12 million in a Series A funding round led by Ego Death Capital. This investment elevates Relai's post-money valuation to $72 million, per the company's CEO Julian Liniger.
  • Lava closes $10 million Series A led by Khosla Ventures and Founders Fund. The New York-based Bitcoin lending platform will use the funds to develop additional services, including the ability to buy bitcoin as well as Bitcoin payment services.
  • Breez partners with Klever. The companies will work to integrate Lightning payments into the wallet using the Breez SDK. Klever is a self-custody multicoin wallet that reportedly has over 100,000 monthly active users.
  • Strike announces USDT deposits and withdrawals. The Lightning payments app now supports USDT deposits and withdrawals via the TRON network for eligible customers in Argentina, Brazil, El Salvador, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Togo, and Vietnam.
  • Bitmain launches U.S. Production line. The leading Bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer has launched a new production facility in the United States amid escalating trade tensions between the United States and China.
"This strategic move aims to provide faster response times and more efficient services to the North American customers. The first batch of ANTMINER S21 Pro units will be delivered this December, providing a significant boost to our partners' mining competitiveness," said the company.
  • MicroBT launches WhatsMiner M6XS++ series. Zuoxing Yang, MicroBT’s CEO, announced new additions to the WhatsMiner M60 product line, aiming for an efficiency of 15.5 J/TH.
  • Digital Currency Group is splitting Foundry's mining business into two entities. Digital Currency Group (DCG) is splitting Foundry’s mining operations into two separate entities, reports Blockspace Media. The newly formed Fortitude Mining will take over Foundry’s former self-mining operations and physical infrastructure, while Foundry will continue to manage its pool operations and other Bitcoin mining service lines.
  • Bitcoin ATM operator Byte Federal reports data breach affecting 58,000 users. The breach occurred on September 30 and was discovered by Byte Federal on November 18.
"Customer personal information that was subject to the attempt at unauthorized access includes name, birthdate, address, phone number, email address, government-issued ID, social security number, transaction activity, and photographs of users," said the company.
  • FinCEN appeals the Corporate Transparency Act ruling. The agency has filed a notice of appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit regarding a ruling on the Corporate Transparency Act. It also stated it will comply with the order from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas as long as it remains in effect, adding that reporting companies may continue to voluntarily submit beneficial ownership information reports.
  • Chainalysis claims cryptocurrency funds Syrian rebels. The blockchain surveillance firm reported that Syria's Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham used cryptocurrencies after overthrowing Assad on December 8th. It identified four donation addresses linked to campaigns and a sanctioned individual's address, but did not disclose transaction volumes, reports L0la L33tz for The Rage.
  • PlebLab announces season 2 of Top Builder 2025. Top Builder is a 3-month global competition for teams to create impactful Bitcoin solutions with mentorship, collaboration, and innovation. Apply and start building here.
  • Bitcoin Mena conference took place this week. Day 1 and day 2 talks are available on the Bitcoin Magazine YouTube channel. The agenda is available here.
  • Africa Bitcoin Conference 2024 recordings. The event took place on December 9-11 in Nairobi, Kenya. Full schedule for the talks is available here.

Updates and releases

  • Ashigaru v1.1.0 implements automatic updates of Tor onion services, removing all dependencies and reliance on DNS from the app, overhauls the Settings screen user interface, introduces new transaction alerts, and more.
  • Bitcoin Keeper v1.3.0 introduces Miniscript support for inheritance keys, new subscription tiers, key sharing and signing improvements, and more.
    • Keeper Desktop v0.1.4, a companion desktop app for Bitcoin Keeper users, now supports retrieving specific BIP44 accounts from a device, as well as the ability to add Taproot keys when obtaining device xPubs.
  • Wasabi Wallet v2.3.1 is a stability-focused release packed with critical bug fixes and preparatory changes for upcoming major features.
  • BTCPay Server v2.0.4 is a minor release shipping several new features, improvements, and bug fixes.
  • BlueWallet v7.0.6 is a bug fix release addressing a number of smaller issues.
  • Blockstream Green Android v4.1.0 has been released.
  • Labelbase v2.2.3, a tool for managing BIP-329 labels, comes with a new and improved UI/UX, testnet support, Samourai backup import, and more.
  • BDK v1.0.0-beta.6 is the final test release before bdk_wallet v1.0.0 release.
  • Core BDK Wallet is a proof-of-concept for a Rust wallet for Bitcoin Core using the chain IPC interface.
  • Saving Satoshi v1.10.3 is a hotfix release that addresses a Python indentation error, an issue with a missing translation key, and a regression on some chapter 7 buttons.
  • Zero fee playground by Super Testnet is a site for trying out zero fee Bitcoin transactions. Read more about it here.
  • Core Lightning v24.11 has been released. This version comes with the new XPAY plugin designed to optimize payments and improve routing accuracy, BOLT12 offers send and receive enabled by default, improvements to the autoclean plugin, cln-grpc plugin enabled by default, gossip enhancements for the network, and much more.
  • Zeus wallet v0.9.3 features enhancements and new functionality, including an improved channels UI with reserves, a new invoice setting to display requested amounts on the payment request view, and ZEUS Pay UX improvements.
  • Alby Hub v1.11.2 delivers many improvements to the privacy of app connections, relay connectivity, backups, open channel flows, receive page, isolated app connections, transaction lists, and more.
    • Alby Hub v1.11.3 hotfix disables auto-linking of Alby Account as part of the default onboarding experience.
  • Blitz Wallet v0.3.4-beta introduces support for Trampoline Payments, the ability to automatically rebalance channels, fixes fee calculation for Boltz payments, and more.
  • LNDg v1.9.1, a lite GUI web interface for LND data analysis and node management, adds a fix for properly handling new inbound fees when a new channel is not yet found on the graph.
  • Tando.me is a new Kenya-based payments app that allows users to spend their sats with merchants who don’t accept bitcoin. Learn more about it here.
  • Lightstack by massmux implemented the ability to add multiple stacks to the same server by using automagic automation.
  • Amboss launched Magma AI - the first machine learning-powered channel recommender. Learn more about it here.
  • Breez SDK Greenlight v0.6.6 fixes an issue with not automatically removing pre-payment pending payments.
  • Boltz Client v2.3.3 patch fixes an issue when creating swaps with invoices generated by another Boltz swap.
  • Ark v0.4.1 is a patch release that adds support for absolute locktimes encoded in the VTXO script with CLTV.
  • Fedi app v1.20.6 fixes a few bugs and makes it easier to press chat buttons and rename group chats.
  • GDK v0.74.1 pre-release is now available.
  • Nutstash v2.0.2 adds Cashu payment requests, improved wallet file export, mint and unit swaps, improved UX, and bug fixes.
  • Meme Amigo by lemon is a Gifbuddy.lol companion app (and PWA) that lets you create memes on the go and easily add them to notes on Nostr.
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  • Primal, a Nostr client aimed at delivering seamless Nostr experience, announced the following updates:
  • Coracle v0.5.0, comes with reworked login and onboarding experience, performance improvements to feeds and relay-based feeds, undo option via delayed send, nostr-editor for smoother note/reply editing experience, and more.
  • YakiHonne v1.5.9 mobile app updates brings full compatibility with Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC) secrets, an option to scan invoice QR codes and pay them, fixes issues with video uploads, and more.
  • 0xChat v1.4.4 fixes the UI freezing issue, optimizes data storage performance for Cashu wallet, enables the opening of external images, adds Persian language support, and more.
  • Olas web v0.1, an Instagram-like Nostr client, is now available. It is currently view-only and supports NIP-07 login and NIP-22 comments.
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  • Mostr is a concept for a Nostr-powered collaborative task manager.
  • Notepush by Damus is a high-performance Nostr relay for sending out push notifications using the Apple Push Notification Service (APNS).
  • Zapstore v0.1.7 enables app downloads in the background, adds full-screen images for apps, displays non-updatable apps due to certificate mismatch issues, and more.
  • Nowser v0.0.3, a Nostr key management and signing app for iOS and Android, adds a built-in relay for remote signing, bookmarks support, and more.
  • Voyage v0.17.1, a lightweight Nostr client for Android, has been released.
  • Jumble.social, a Nostr client focused on browsing relay feeds, has been adapted for smaller screens.
  • Fountain v1.1.10 introduces payment UX improvements and faster boosts.
  • Citrine v0.5.8, a local Nostr relay for Android devices, fixes connection count issues, moves the database to a new screen, and implements performance improvements when deleting events.
  • Amber v3.0.2, a Nostr event signer for Android, delivers onboarding improvements along with UI enhancements for offline usage.
  • Noscrypt v0.1.6, a Nostr-specific cryptography library written in C, includes updated dependencies, extensive automated testing and memory leak checks, and some requirements and build changes.
  • Servus v0.1.4, a minimalist social media server, has been released with a theme switcher and improved Nostr filters.
  • BraiinsOS Bitcoin Dashboard v24.12 for Mini Miners introduces new scenes such as Information Overload, BTC Graph, and Network, adds a pickaxe mining indicator, and provides chip efficiency and consumption data.
  • Hashpool is an accountless mining pool that represents mining shares as ecash tokens. It is a fork of the Stratum V2 Reference Implementation (SRI) that replaces traditional share accounting with an ecash mint.
  • Casa introduced Praetorian, a purpose-built military-grade self-custody solution for nation-states aiming to build strategic Bitcoin reserves.
  • SATOSH.EE, a website offering customers gift cards, exclusive discounts, a lucrative Loyalty Program, added 'Loyalty' menu and updated its FAQ page.
  • KoinVote is a weighted voting platform using Bitcoin signatures as votes.
  • Voltz Tip Bot is an easy-to-use Lightning Network Telegram bot for tipping sats in Telegram groups.
  • Regulated Bitcoin and Lightning-payments startup Strike introduced multiple DCAs with different amounts along with bi-weekly buys.
  • Bitkey app v2024.74.1 has been released.
  • Zaprite rolled out integrations with Coinos and Lifpay, as well as cash payment invoices.
  • VPNSTR is a freshly launched, high-speed VPN-for-sats service.
  • SimpleX Chat v6.2.0 adds servers operated by Flux to improve metadata privacy in the SimpleX network, business chats, improved user experience of chats, as well as improved iOS push notifications.
  • GrapheneOS v2024121200 is the latest release of an open-source, privacy and security-focused mobile operating system based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP).
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Guides and research

  • Bitcoin Optech #333 covers vulnerabilities in old LN implementations and Wasabi, discusses LN channel depletion, includes a poll on covenant proposals, describes two incentive-based pseudo-covenants, and summarizes the latest Bitcoin Core developer meeting.
  • The Fishcake published a post recapping one year of experiences operating a Lightning node using Eclair.
  • Atlas21 has authored a straightforward guide for using a Bitcoin desktop wallet.
  • Athena Alpha wrote a simple guide to Bitcoin Minsicript.
  • WantClue published a new video on how to set up Public Pool on startOS.
  • Financial Freedom Report #53 by The Human Rights foundation is available here.
  • Stacker.news user nout wrote a tutorial for Nostr zaps using Coinos.io, Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC), and Amethyst.
  • The Bitcoin Design Community added sections on ecash (Cashu & Fedimint) and an inheritance wallet reference design for changes in existing wallet setups.
  • Mullvad VPN published its 2024 security audit of the app.
  • 'Biggest Heist Ever' – a movie about the 2016 Bitfinex hack – is now available on Netflix.
  • The Pubky project shared an article explaining eclipse attacks and the censorship-resistance features of Mainline DHT.
  • Ungovernable Misfits released the first-ever interview with the team behind Ashigaru Wallet.
  • What Bitcoin Did aired an episode discussing the Samourai Wallet case, featuring Roger Burlingame, the defense attorney for William Hill, and Zack Shapiro of the Bitcoin Policy Institute.

Mining stats

  • Hashrate of the Bitcoin network (7-day SMA) is currently at ~780 EH/s.
  • The next difficulty adjustment is expected in ~11 hours.

Lightning stats

Nostr stats

  • The Nostr protocol has surpassed the 4 million zaps milestone this week.
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