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By EZ in Weekly Digest —

Block 875753: Important News of the Week

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

Block 875753: Important News of the Week
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We have raised 118,970 sats from 23 contributors this week. We were also one of the recipients of the Human Rights Foundation's Bitcoin Development Fund grants, which will serve as a notable boost to our operations going into next year.

We'll continue our fundraising efforts, as one of our goals moving into next year is to grow this project in an organic and self-sustaining fashion. You can learn more about our fundraising campaign here.

Shoutout to our top contributors last week, and to everyone who continues to support our effort to cover the Bitcoin space without ads, sponsors, paywalls, or tracking.

News

  • Samourai Wallet pretrial hearing moved to March 12, trial set for November 3, 2025. The pretrial hearing was postponed due to an increased volume of discovery. According to the filing, an FBI team is reviewing a total of 45 devices seized from developers Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill for privileged material, aiming to release the remaining data by early 2025. To date, 17 TB of discovery—over half the total—has been shared, with additional data forthcoming before the trial.
    • Zack Cohen of The Bitcoin Policy Institute has also published a policy brief examining the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) alarming legal theory and its implications for Samourai Wallet and Bitcoin self-custody.
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  • Roman Storm, founder of Tornado Cash, argues that the Fifth Circuit's order warrants dismissal. The developer has renewed his bid to dismiss money laundering and sanctions violation charges, citing a recent Fifth Circuit decision that found the company's smart contracts were not sanctionable property.
  • El Salvador to scale back Bitcoin policies for $1.4 billion IMF loan deal. The country finalized a four-year $1.4bn IMF deal strained by its Bitcoin adoption. The agreement is set to make bitcoin use voluntary for the private sector, limits public sector bitcoin activities, and phases out government involvement in the Chivo wallet. It may also unlock extra $3.5bn in development bank funds.
"Taxes will only be paid in U.S. dollars and the government’s participation in the crypto e-wallet (Chivo) will be gradually unwound. Transparency, regulation, and supervision of digital assets will be enhanced to safeguard financial stability, consumer and investor protection, and financial integrity," said the IMF.
    • El Salvador will continue buying Bitcoin at an accelerated pace, said Stacy Herbert of the country's Bitcoin Office in response to the IMF's press release. She also posted a bullet-point list contradicting certain points outlined in the IMF's press release as El Salvador added 11 more Bitcoin to its strategic Bitcoin reserves the same day.
  • Btrust announces Q4 2024 grant recipients. LND and Polar developer Abdullahi Yunus has been awarded the Starter Grant, while LDK developer Enigbe Ochekliye and BTC Pay Server contributor Tobechi Chukwuleta will transition to the Btrust Open-Source Cohort, as announced in a blog post.
  • Apply for the Btrust Builders’ 2025 ₿OSS cohort. Btrust Builders, in partnership with Chaincode Labs, is inviting applications for the 2025 Builders January Cohort. This part-time, three-month, fully remote program aims to support passionate software developers in Africa to contribute to Bitcoin open-source software (₿OSS). Applications are open until December 27, 2024.
Source: Btrust blog.
  • The Human Rights Foundation grants 7 BTC to 20 bitcoin projects. The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) announced that its Bitcoin Development Fund is granting a total of 7 BTC to 20 global projects. These grants support technical education in authoritarian regimes, independent media, decentralized mining, and private financial solutions for human rights groups, with a focus on Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
  • OpenSats announces 9th Wave of Nostr grants. Projects included in this wave of funding are AlgoRelay, Pokey, Nostr Safebox, Persian NIPs, and LumiLumi.
  • Spiral has renewed its grant to BTCPay Server, a popular, free, and open-source Bitcoin payment processor that allows users to accept Bitcoin without extra fees or intermediaries.
  • Chaincode Labs awards scholarship to youngest ever Bitcoin Core contributor. Ishaana Misra, a 17-year-old student, was selected from 232 applicants worldwide for a scholarship that covers one year of her academic expenses. She has the opportunity to renew the scholarship each year, potentially funding her entire undergraduate education.
  • Apply for the Btrust Builders’ 2025 ₿OSS cohort. Btrust Builders, in partnership with Chaincode Labs, is inviting applications for the 2025 Builders January Cohort. This part-time, three-month, fully remote program aims to support passionate software developers in Africa to contribute to Bitcoin open-source software (₿OSS). Applications are open until December 27, 2024.
  • Foundation introduces Passport Prime personal security platform. The company has introduced its third-generation device, Passport Prime, which is a personal security platform and signing device aimed at both first-time and experienced users. It comes with a hardware wallet, a multi-factor authenticator, an encrypted flash drive, and a secure app platform.
  • Craig Wright has been handed a suspended one-year sentence in the UK for continuing to sue Bitcoin developers. The sentence is suspended for two years, meaning he will only serve time if he reoffends during that period. Justice Mellor also ordered Wright to drop his latest lawsuit against Square and Bitcoin developers. Additionally, the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) has secured reimbursement for legal expenses totaling £145,000, or roughly $181,500.
  • Jerome Powell: "We're not allowed to own bitcoin." During a December 19 press conference, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has rejected the idea of adding bitcoin to the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet, citing legal limitations under the Federal Reserve Act.
"We’re not allowed to own Bitcoin. The Federal Reserve Act says what we can own, and we’re not looking for a law change. That’s the kind of thing for Congress to consider, but we are not looking for a law change at the Fed," Powell said.
    • On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve also lowered interest rates by 25 basis points.
  • New FASB fair value accounting rules for Bitcoin are officially live. U.S.-based corporations are now permitted to value their bitcoin holdings at fair market price, allowing their balance sheets to accurately and promptly represent these assets and increasing trust and transparency for stakeholders.
  • ESMA releases last policy documents in preparation for MiCA. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) released the final set of reports containing regulatory technical standards and guidelines, paving the way for the full implementation of the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA).
  • The Bitcoin Policy Institute drafts a proposal for an executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in the United States. The draft mandates consolidating government-held bitcoin within seven days of signing, prohibits selling seized bitcoin and instead diverts it to the country's bitcoin reserve, and establishes a bitcoin acquisition program within 60 days to purchase at least $21 billion in bitcoin.
  • Coin Center's top policy priorities for 2025. The non-profit focused on policy issues facing cryptocurrencies presented its agenda to protect developers and users of open blockchains next year. Top policy issues include:
      1. Stop unjust prosecutions of non-custodial software developers.
      2. Stop the misuse of sanctions laws to block Americans from domestic transactions.
      3. Protect Americans holding their own crypto.
      4. Sensible tax reform for American crypto users.
      5. Equal tax treatment for block rewards.
      6. Repeal and fix harmful crypto tax requirements.
      7. Clarify securities and commodities law.
  • European MEP Sarah Knafo calls for strategic Bitcoin reserve. French Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Sarah Knafo proposed the establishment of a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the European Union. She also expressed opposition to the European Central Bank’s (ECB) digital euro project.
  • Ohio introduces a proposal to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve. State Representative Derek Merrin has introduced a bill titled the 'Ohio Bitcoin Reserve Act' HB 703, which aims to create a state-managed Bitcoin reserve.
  • Bitcoin Strategic Reserve discussions reach Japan. Japanese legislator Satoshi Hamada has urged the local authorities to investigate the integration of bitcoin into the nation's foreign exchange reserves.
  • Malaysian Ministry of Finance sees low instances of bitcoin use in money laundering. Lim Hui Ying, the country's Deputy Finance Minister, explained that this conclusion was based on the latest Virtual Assets Risk Assessment.
  • MicroStrategy acquires additional 15,350 BTC. The company bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin at ~$100,386 per coin and now lays claim to a total of 439,000 BTC.
  • MicroStrategy secures Nasdaq-100 inclusion. The company will be added to the Nasdaq-100 index on December 23, confirmed Nasdaq.
  • Semler Scientific added 211 BTC to its balance sheet. The healthcare technology firm acquired $21.5 million worth of coins at an average price of $101,890 per bitcoin and increased its holdings to 2,084 BTC.
  • LEEF Brands to integrate Bitcoin into its balance sheet. The California-based publicly traded cannabis company has partnered with Canaccord Genuity for a $5 million Bitcoin-backed debenture offering.
  • Jetking Infotrain becomes India's first publicly listed company to adopt bitcoin treasury strategy. The company purchased 12 BTC (26% of its market cap) on December 9, announced the firm's CEO Avinash Bharwani.
  • Yellow Card partners with Lightspark. Africa’s largest fiat-to-crypto on and off-ramp provider and Lightning Network infrastructure solutions for enterprises provider have partnered to extend the UMA network to 20 African countries via Lightspark Extend.
  • Chinese automotive services company Cango Inc. emerges as one of the larger public miners. The company purchased 32 EH/s of Antminer ASICs from Bitmain for $256 million in cash back in November. Additionally, the firm has an outstanding contract for another 18 EH/s, which would bring its total operational hash rate to 50 EH/s, matching MARA's self-mining capacity, reports Blockspace Media. The company has already mined 363.9 BTC last month, all of which it currently holds.
  • MARA buys 15,574 bitcoin using proceeds of 0% convertible notes. The company invested ~$1.53 billion at ~$98,529 per coin, and currently holds 44,394 BTC.
  • Bitcoin miner Hut8 buys 990 bitcoin. The miner purchased approximately 990 BTC at an average price of $101,710 each, and now holds 10,096 BTC, valued around $1 billion.
  • Riot Platforms buys 667 BTC, increases net holdings to 17,429 BTC. The Bitcoin mining infrastructure developer used $67.5 million for the latest purchase, paying an average price of $101,135 per coin.
  • CleanSpark announced plans to raise $550 million through convertible notes. Unlike competing Bitcoin miners MARA and Riot, CleanSpark has not announced any intentions to use its proceeds to buy additional bitcoin. In November, the company sold 4.2% of its mined BTC after maintaining ownership of over 99% of its monthly bitcoin production since January, reports The Miner Mag.
  • e4pool is shutting down due to mining regulations in Russia. "To be a legitimate mining pool in Russia, you must register yourself in a special government list of 'mining operators.'" The team added, "Also, you must send all data about your 'clients' to the tax office. Our cypherpunk views can't match all this."
  • Greenpeace's Change The Code campaign has been suspended. Daniel Batten reports that there have been no related actions, posts, or media releases for six months, and the Change The Code campaign handle on X has been inactive since January 2024. The hostile Bitcoin mining misinformation campaign was launched on March 29, 2022, following a $5 million donation by Ripple's co-founder Chris Larsen. It resulted in some of the most 'metal' Bitcoin artwork to date.
  • Major transparency issues with blockchain surveillance firms. Investigative reporter L0la L33tz found that the address cited in Chainalysis's report on alleged Syrian rebels' crypto funding received a total of $807, while other participants had raised around $13,000 since November 27th via USDT. The report also incorrectly linked sanctioned Bitcoin addresses with Tron campaigns. Additionally, the sanctioned address had not transacted since August 2021, calling the report’s accuracy into question.
"If we want to have an honest discussion on terr*rist financing on bitcoin, blockchain surveillance firms need to be held to scientific standards and a minimum degree of transparency in their operations – otherwise, we run the risk of designing policy based on the claims of for-profit surveillance firms that can hardly be held accountable," said the reporter.
  • BlackRock's Bitcoin ad sparks controversy. In the December 17 video, BlackRock stated that Bitcoin's fixed 21 million supply "controls supply, purchasing power, and helps avoid currency misuse," while adding a legal disclaimer stating that "there is no guarantee that Bitcoin’s 21 million supply cap will not be changed," sparking some heated discussions.
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  • Weak randomness vulnerability in early preview version of Proton Wallet's mobile app. Zellic disclosed an encryption vulnerability in Proton Wallet that affected its wallet and backup mnemonic security. The bug only affected users who used the preview version of the Proton Wallet application, had early access to the Wallet application, and created their recovery phrases through that application.
  • New phishing campaign targeting Ledger users. The scam impersonates a data breach notification and prompts individuals to verify their recovery phrase. Once users provide their recovery phrase, the information is stolen and used to access and steal their cryptocurrency assets, reports Bleeping Computer.
  • Electric Capital released 2024 Crypto Developer report. According to the report, approximately 1,200 monthly active developers work in the Bitcoin ecosystem, with 501 (42%) of them focusing on Bitcoin scaling solutions. It also states that over 120 new developers explore the Bitcoin ecosystem every month and highlights significantly higher developer numbers in the Ethereum and Solana ecosystems.
    • The report also finds that the number of established Bitcoin developers is steadily increasing over time.
  • Awake Earth Festival in Costa Rica to feature a 1 day Bitcoin Freedom Experience. The event will take place from February 20-24. "You have the option of buying just a one-day pass on Feb. 24 to the Bitcoin day. Or, you can buy a full pass for the full event Feb. 20-24," said Bitcoin Jungle. Learn more about the event here.

Updates and releases

  • Bitcoin Core v28.1 release candidate 2 is now available for testing.
  • The Bitcoin Dev Kit team has released BDK Wallet v1.0.0, the final version of the bdk_wallet 1.0.0 series. This update includes minor improvements to the wallet's transaction functions and enhancements to the next_unused_address API documentation.
"Please thank all the contributors who made this first major release possible and who's continued effort make the BDK project so awesome," was stated in the release notes.
  • Mempal v1.4.0, a Bitcoin mempool monitoring and notification app for Android, has added major optimizations, ability to save multiple custom mempool servers, set notification intervals from minutes to seconds, and tap to refresh functionality.
  • BTClock firmware v3.2.19 update adds support for Noderunners mining pool, Printer Go₿rrr pool, Public pool, and Satoshi Radio pool. Users must update it manually via a web flasher here.
  • pqcBitcoin is a Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC)-enhanced fork of Bitcoin.
  • Trezor Suite v24.12.3 transactions now use nVersion=2, reducing fingerprinting for enhanced privacy, among other updates and improvements.
  • Nix-bitcoin v0.0.117 has been released with the latest updates for software packages.
  • P2PK Playground by Super Testnet is a site for creating P2PK outputs in Bitcoin and paying someone's raw key.
  • LND v0.18.4-beta is a minor release that includes the features required for building custom channels, along with the usual bug fixes and stability improvements. It also delivers the bitcoind v28.0 compatibility fix and an optimization for payment requests (invoices) that removes unnecessary size expansion.
  • Core Lightning v24.11.1 is a minor release aimed at Xpay plugin users and testers. Xpay is an experimental plugin built on Askerne that enables advanced payment routing.
  • Alby Hub v1.12.0 improves relay connectivity, increases support for paying BOLT-11 invoices, and introduces channel notifications for LND, along with some minor UI improvements.
  • Zeus wallet v0.9.4-beta1 is now available for testing. It updates LND to v0.18.4-beta for embedded node users, optimizes LND payment path calls after payments, adds several UI improvements, and more.
  • StashPay wallet v0.1.6 is now available for iOS and Android. It features redesigned home, send, and receive screens, implements Breez Liquid Electrum server for instant P2P payment notifications, and includes additional enhancements.
  • Satoshi v1.0 is a new Bitcoin, Lightning, and Liquid wallet. It comes with buy and sell Bitcoin functionality and lets its users earn satsback rewards.
  • Fedimint v0.5.0 has been released. More details will be available once the release notes are published.
  • Onyx v0.0.1 beta is now available for Android and iOS. It is a free and open-source personal AI agent with voice capabilities, powered by Llama v3.2, that runs privately on a user's phone. Upcoming updates will include the implementation of a Bitcoin wallet and Nostr client functionality, as well as enhancements to the chat experience on Android.
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  • Zapstore v0.1.8 fixes an issue with blocking relays, as well as an issue with unnecessary relay initialization.
  • noStrudel v0.42.0 brings support for Olas (Instagram-like) media posts, implements a simple GIF picker, adds a 'Top Supporters" view that displays top supporters and their custom messages, brings ability to favorite DVM feeds, and simpler tools menu under notes and threads, as well as ability to search local cache relay.
  • The latest YakiHonne web client updates resolve issues causing the article editor to appear malformed, enhance the messaging box to support long text writing, and add the ability to activate NIP-44 DMs.
  • Orange Pill App integrated Nostr Login support. "With Nostr Login and the option to pay for your membership in Bitcoin you can now Stack Friends who Stack Sats in the most private way possible," said the project.
  • OxChat Desktop v1.0.0-beta is the first desktop beta version for macOS, Linux, and Windows. Future updates include NIP-46 login support, optimized UI and UX, and performance improvements.
  • Nokakoi v0.6.2 is a grid-style live Nostr client for Windows.
  • OpenVibe v1.5.0, a single client for browsing multiple open social networks, now allows adding multiple accounts from the same network and organizing them into sets.
  • KeyChat app v1.24.1 fixes some bugs in MLS groups.
  • Nostr-zap view v1.3.0, a tool for viewing Nostr zaps 'from anywhere,' has been released with a faster initial display and fixed flickering of icons.
  • Nutjar v0.0.3, a web component for simplifying the integration of Lightning Donations into web pages, adds NIP-61 nutzap support, a reusable web component, and theming and customization options.
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  • Immortal v0.0.5 is a highly scalable Nostr relay implementation written in Golang.
  • Myriad is a simple personal Blossom server for managing your own files.
  • Nak v0.9.1, a command-line tool for all things Nostr, has been released.
  • Nostr-zap v1.1.1, a tool for enabling Nostr zaps anywhere, has been released.
  • nostr-nsec-seedphrase is a comprehensive TypeScript library for managing Nostr keys with seed phrases, including event signing, verification, and WebSocket utilities.
  • nostr-spring-boot-starter v0.0.4 is a kit for writing Nostr applications with Spring Boot.
  • Nostr-PHP v1.5.2 is the latest bug fix release for the Nostr PHP helper library.
  • Nostr Market plugin v1.0.0 by LNbits has been released.
  • ESP-miner v2.4.2, an open-source firmware for Bitaxe miners, has been released. The update adds uptime information to the home screen, changes the handling of Stratum URLs to host and Stratum fallback URLs, improves HTTP and system stability, and includes a variety of other goodies.
  • The latest stacker.news release improves the reward system, implements NIP-46 Nostr login, and fails unresponsive wallets faster.
    • The project also announced it is set to make a switch to non-custodial wallets on January 3, 2025.
  • THNDR Games added Blocks to its Clinch PvP wagering app. Blocks is a dynamic mashup of Tetris and Sudoku. Learn more about it here.
  • Geyser Guardians are now live. The aim of the program is to power the Geyser platform and grants going towards creators who are pushing grassroots Bitcoin adoption. Become a Geyser Guardian here.
  • Zaprite announced an integration with Orqestra. It allows merchants to automatically convert all incoming USD payments to BTC.
  • Unchained enhanced Connections feature for more flexibility and privacy, as well as redesigned the keys experience.
  • Debifi app v0.2.0, a non-custodial Bitcoin-backed lending platform, implements Coldcard Q integration and a variety of bug fixes, ensuring a smoother experience.
  • Proton Wallet has implemented Moonpay integration.
  • PKDNS v0.6.0, a DNS server resolving pkarr self-sovereign domains, comes with query rate limiting, simplified publish command, improved TTL caching, and more.
  • Sideband v1.2.0, a LXMF client for Android, Linux, and macOS that allows you to communicate with people or LXMF-compatible systems over Reticulum networks, includes a host of new functionalities, usability updates, and helpful tweaks.

Guides and research

  • Bitcoin Optech #334: The seventh annual Bitcoin Optech Year-in-Review special summarizes notable developments in Bitcoin during all of 2024. It’s the sequel to our summaries from 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
  • The Financial Freedom report #54 by the Human Rights Foundation is now available.
  • Bitcoin Design Newsletter #69 is available here.
  • Nomishka Dilshan put together the latest Nostr Weekly recap.
  • BTC Sessions made a tutorial on how to set up and use Bitcoin Keeper wallet with Tapsigners to create an inheritance plan.
  • Surveillance Self-Defense by EFF is a directory for tips, tools and how-to's for safer online communications.
  • Entropy by D++ is a collection of open-source Bitcoin workshops, projects, hackathons, and software.
  • Atlas21 wrote a guide for how to start using a Lightning network wallet.
  • Athena Alpha wrote a beginner's guide to setting up a Bitcoin Lightning node.
  • OpenCash Foundation has launched a redesigned website. Check it out here.
  • Awesome Liquid offers a curated list of Liquid Network resources, libraries, tools, and applications.
  • Alpen Labs introduced the Strata bridge—a programmable layer that ensures 1:1 parity with bitcoin.
  • Braiins shared a post explaining that Bitcoin mining is not "solving complex math problems."
  • Susie Violet Ward wrote an article on how Bitcoin mining is helping Europe's energy transition during a crisis.
  • Acea Spades and Coinduit BTC shared an analysis of the benefits and shortcomings of e-commerce on Nostr.
  • miljan shared his thoughts on building Primal Premium service and how to establish an ethical business on an open protocol.
  • Pierre Rochard makes a case for Bitcoin-backed collateralized debt obligations (CDOs).

Mining stats

  • Bitcoin mining difficulty has reached 108.52T, marking a 4.43% increase on block 874,944 and setting a new all-time high.
  • The current network hashrate (7-day SMA) is approximately 777 exahashes per second (EH/s). The next difficulty adjustment is expected in about eight days.

Lightning stats

  • The Lightning Network capacity changed by 0.99% in the past week, adding approximately 51 BTC, according to Amboss.space stats.

Nostr stats

  • There are currently nearly 20,000 active daily and over 43,000 active weekly trusted pubkeys on the Nostr network, according to nostr.band stats.
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