Block 878939: Important News of the Week

2025 is starting out strong for Bitcoin and freedom tech, so here is our largest weekly digest report ever! Huge shoutout to all the developers, contributors, and everyone else making important things happen— a big part of our mission is to ensure your work doesn't go unnoticed.

We raised 36,346 sats (~$35) last week. Here's to our top supporters!

We aim to raise 1 million sats in January to make this effort financially sustainable. If you enjoy our coverage, consider making a donation here.

News

• US Court greenlights sale of $6.5B in seized Silk Road bitcoin. The U.S. government has received final approval from the Northern District Court of California to liquidate 69,370 BTC from federal seizure, ending a four-year legal battle tied to the Silk Road marketplace. Chief Judge Richard Seeborg denied a motion to block the forfeiture, allowing the DOJ to sell the assets valued at $6.5 billion, though immediate liquidation is not guaranteed due to administrative processes.
• Coinbase user sentenced to 2 years for Bitcoin tax fraud to surrender access to $124M bitcoin fortune. Frank Richard Ahlgren III now owes the government around $1 million in restitution from the criminal case and must provide any physical devices, along with any public keys, private keys, seed phrases or passphrases used to store the coins, ruled the U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman on Monday in federal court in Austin, Texas.
• AnchorWatch is now open for business in the United States. AnchorWatch offers insured self-custody services using its miniscript-based Trident Vault. It currently serves customers based in the United States who hold between $250K and $100M in bitcoin. You can learn more about its offerings here.

• U.S. Appeals court strikes down net neutrality rules. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the FCC cannot regulate wireless and home broadband services under traditional communication service rules. The three-judge panel cited the Supreme Court decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overturned Chevron deference, which required courts to defer to regulatory agencies on ambiguous laws.
• FDIC releases unredacted letters urging banks to avoid Bitcoin activities. Coinbase's Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, shared unredacted versions of documents related to Operation Chokepoint 2.0, obtained through a court-ordered Freedom of Information Act request. The letters reveal that the FDIC repeatedly urged banks to suspend crypto-related services and activities pending further regulatory reviews.

"It took a Court order but you can now read them for yourself below. They show a coordinated effort to stop a wide variety of crypto activity — everything from basic BTC transactions to more complex offerings," said Grewal.

• Bitcoin Policy UK released guidance and commentary to UK's The Crypto Asset Reporting Framework 2025. "What’s being proposed? Under the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework or CARF, it’s proposed that tax authorities worldwide will gather and have access to information on cryptocurrency transactions, allegedly to combat tax evasion and ensure compliance with tax laws," said the organization.
• UK judge dismisses $770M bitcoin landfill hard drive case. A UK judge has dismissed James Howells' legal case to recover a hard drive containing 8,000 BTC mined in 2009 from a landfill. Howells accidentally discarded the hard drive in 2013 when bitcoin was trading at only $13. The judge noted that there was no realistic chance of success and upheld the council's claim that it owned the hard drive, ruling that Howells was not entitled to attempt its retrieval.

• South Korea’s financial regulator plans to gradually permit institutional investment in cryptocurrencies, according to local media reports. Under the country’s act on financial information use, only retail traders verified with their government names can trade cryptocurrencies. While there is no formal ban on institutional investors, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) has advised banks to prevent institutions from opening accounts on exchanges, reports The Block.
• 'Bitcoin Freedom Act' introduced in Oklahoma. Sen. Dusty Deevers has proposed the Bitcoin Freedom Act, a legislative initiative to integrate Bitcoin into Oklahoma's economy. The bill, SB325, would allow employees to choose bitcoin as a payment option and enable vendors to accept bitcoin transactions. It guarantees that participation is voluntary, upholding free-market principles and empowering employees, employers, and businesses to select the payment methods that suit them best.

"In a time when inflation is eroding the purchasing power of hard-working Oklahomans, Bitcoin provides a unique opportunity to protect earnings and investments. As Bitcoin continues to rise and the value of the dollar continues to be printed away in Washington D.C., Oklahoma must act to protect our people," Deevers said.

• Bhutan’s Gelephu Mindfulness City wants to integrate bitcoin and other digital assets into strategic reserves. Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) in Bhutan has announced plans to recognize digital assets like bitcoin, ether, and BNB as part of its strategic reserves. The inclusion of these assets aims to bolster the GMC's economic resilience and reflects an evolution in the region's involvement in Bitcoin mining.
• Pierre Poilievre leads Polymarket odds to become Canada's next prime minister. The pro-bitcoin politician and leader of Canada's Conservative Party is the frontrunner in Polymarket odds to replace Justin Trudeau as prime minister following Trudeau's resignation announcement on Monday, reports The Block.
• Governors of the Czech National Bank (CNB) are open to the idea of including Bitcoin in the country's foreign exchange reserves, though no concrete plans are in place yet. Currently, the CNB's diversification strategy aims to increase its gold holdings, targeting a gold share of about 5% of total assets by 2028. The investment in bitcoin would be minor for the bank and would need approval from its seven-member board.
• The Syrian Center for Economic Research proposes transitional government to legislate Bitcoin and digitize the Lira. Contrary to some reports from 'crypto' media, the transitional government has not approved or considered this proposal and is unlikely to do so in the near future due to more pressing issues at hand, said Bamskki.

• Thailand plans to trial KYC'ed bitcoin payments in Phuket for tourists. The country's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira announced a new initiative during a seminar organized by the Marketing Association of Thailand, reports Nation Thailand. Foreign tourists in the pilot program may be able to register their coin through a Thai exchange and verify their identities before using the coins to purchase goods and services. A clearing house would subsequently convert the coins into Thai baht.
• Thai police seizes 996 Bitcoin miners amid energy theft allegations. The Bankgkok Post reports that local police and electricity officials in Chon Buri's Phanat Nikhom district seized 996 Bitcoin mining machines from a company accused of illegally stealing large amounts of electricity to power the operations.
• Kazakhstan shut down 36 illegal cryptocurrency exchanges in 2024 as part of its efforts to combat money laundering. Licensed global exchanges, including Binance, Bybit, Upbit, and others, continue to operate legally in the country. Among the platforms that went offline, two were identified as operating pyramid schemes. So far, the Kazakh government has shut down over 3,500 unlicensed crypto exchanges in cooperation with government agencies.
• Russia is liquidating 1,032 BTC confiscated in a corruption case. The country's authorities have begun liquidating 1,032.1 BTC confiscated from Marat Tambiev, a former chief investigator for the Russian Investigative Committee, with Moscow initially selling nearly $10 million worth of BTC, reports Atlas21. Tambiev, a chief investigator in Moscow, was convicted of accepting a bitcoin bribe from the Infraud hacker group and aiding them in hiding $137 million in cryptocurrency.
• JAN3 raises $5m to accelerate AQUA wallet development. The $5 million seed round was led by Fulgur Ventures, with participation from Grupo Salinas, Tether, Lightning Ventures, East Ventures, Plan B Fund, Bitcoin Opportunity Fund, and NYDIG. The firm also announced the establishment of its Bitcoin treasury, stating that it now holds 12 BTC, acquired at an average cost of $83,333 per coin.
• Cypherpunk Nick Szabo joins Jan3 as Chief Scientist. "As Chief Scientist, Nick Szabo will spearhead our research initiatives to advance JAN3's mission of Accelerating Hyperbitcoinization. Nick will explore Bitcoin's implications on topics ranging from monetary policy to international trade, and financial sovereignty," the company announced in a blog post.
• Alpen Labs announces $8.5M strategic round to launch Strata. Strata is a programmable layer designed to maintain parity with bitcoin. The round was co-led by DBA and Cyber Fund.

• TimechainIndex.com is shutting down on January 10, 2025. It is a platform that monitors Bitcoin holdings across exchanges, funds, ETFs, and companies, providing real-time data and insights.

"This past year has been an incredible journey, and I am deeply grateful for your support and engagement. Whether you visited the site once or were a frequent user, I hope it made a difference for you in some way. Additionally, if the data from the website could be of use to anyone, it is available for sale. Please feel free to reach out to me through DM or at sani@timechainindex.com for inquiries," said the project's developer Sani.

• MicroStrategy has acquired 1,070 BTC for about $101 million, at an average price of $94,004 per bitcoin. The company now owns a total of 447,470 BTC, valued at over $44 billion.
• Kurl Technology Group has purchased an additional 213.4 BTC for $21 million, bringing its total holdings to approximately 430.58 BTC, acquired for a total of $42 million.
• El Salvador has added another 11 BTC to its Bitcoin reserves, bringing the total to more than 6,022 coins. The country has been acquiring bitcoin at an accelerated pace since December 19, following its loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• Fitch Ratings upgrades El Salvador's credit rating to B- following IMF loan agreement. "Fitch expects the program to support implementation of fiscal consolidation measures which... should reduce financing needs,” the agency stated. These efforts are expected to foster a more stable fiscal environment, potentially enabling future debt issuances, reports TFTC.
• Thumzup Media Corp adds 9.783 BTC to its reserves. The purchase cost approximately $1 million, at an average price of $102,220 per coin. The company's management is seeking approval from its Board of Directors to allocate up to 90% of its liquid assets for ongoing Bitcoin purchases as part of its Treasury Asset Strategy, as stated in a press release.
• Canaan introduces Avalon Mini 3 and Nano 3S Bitcoin home miners and heaters. Canaan unveiled the Avalon Mini 3 at CES 2025 in Las Vegas. This device is a 37.5 TH/s Bitcoin miner that also functions as a home heater.
  • The Avalon Nano 3S is an upgraded version of the well-received Avalon Nano 3, featuring a hashrate of 6 TH/s. This device is designed as an affordable, beginner-friendly Bitcoin mining option, complementing the Avalon Mini 3.
• Bitcoin miner CleanSpark increased its bitcoin stash to 9,952 coins. The company said it mined 668 BTC in December and 7,024 BTC for the entire year. The company's hashrate increased by 287.9 year over year.
• Bitcoin miner MARA lends 16% of its BTC reserves to generate yield. The company has deployed 16% of its BTC holdings, totaling 7,377 BTC valued at nearly $730 million, to undisclosed third parties in short-term loans to generate a "modest single-digit yield."
  • The company also announced that it surpassed its December hash rate target of 50 EH/s and increased its overall holdings to 44,893 BTC, including the loans.
• Core Scientific liquidated 79 of 291 mined BTC in December. This move potentially signals the miner's return to a 'partial hodl' strategy following two years of full liquidation, reports The Miner Mag.

• Ethiopia reaches 1.5% share of global Bitcoin hashrate. Chinese firm BIT Mining has expanded into Africa by acquiring a Bitcoin mining facility in Ethiopia for $14.28 million. Finalized on December 3, this strategic move positions Ethiopia as a significant contributor to the global Bitcoin network hash rate at 1.5%, comparable to Norway's importance, reports Atlas21.
• African Bitcoiners partners with Citrusrate. African Bitcoiners has announced a partnership with Citrusrate, aimed at bringing its Bitcoin for Beginners course to more people across Africa, empowering local communities with the tools for financial freedom.
• The Bitcoin Students Network launches Layer Zero program. The program provides students with a hands-on, all-expenses-paid 2.5-month experience, pairing them with entrepreneurs and builders in global communities. Participants will actively contribute to shaping the future of Bitcoin while promoting financial inclusion and economic empowerment.
  • Applications are now open for the Layer Zero program. You can apply here before the deadline on February 15.
• Bitcoin prediction market Predyx is back online following an attack that took the platform offline for a day. A root cause analysis (RCA) and the mitigation report are expected to be published soon.

"Recently, we experienced an attack that targeted a security vulnerability in our system. Thanks to our quick response, we were able to mitigate the attack within minutes. Unfortunately, the attacker did manage to drain some liquidity from our markets," said the platform.

• DivestOS shuts down following 10 years of development. DivestOS, a privacy and security-oriented mobile operating system that supports end-of-life devices, has announced its final update and the discontinuation of the open-source project.
  • Users looking for alternatives to DivestOS can explore options like GrapheneOS, CalyxOS, LineageOS, and some others.

• Latest ransom kidnappings in France, Canada, and Pakistan:
  • France: Le Mans police rescued a man discovered tied up in a car trunk. His captors had demanded a ransom from his son, a 'crypto' influencer residing in Dubai.
  • Canada: a volunteer moderator of a 'crypto' forum has gone into hiding with his family after kidnappers reportedly tried to abduct him to coerce him into surrendering his bitcoin.
  • Pakistan: a 'crypto' trader was kidnapped from Manghopir on December 25 and regained his freedom only after paying a $340,000 ransom in digital assets through his Binance account.
• UK authorities seize $4.3 million worth of bitcoin held in Coinbase Kenya account from a fugitive drug lord. A UK judge mandated the seizure after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) revealed that Surin had provided only two fake invoices and failed to explain his wealth following previous asset seizures. In an email, Surin claimed there was "no evidence" of his criminal involvement and that the coins were lawfully earned through gold bullion trading in Dubai.
• Telegram provided data on more than 2,200 users last year to U.S. authorities alone, reports 404 Media. This number does not account for data requests from other countries.
• The 5th Bitcoin Educators Unconference by Mi Primer Bitcoin will take place on April 10th in Bitcoin Park, Nashville. More details are coming soon.
• Bitcoin Diploma for Veterans by OPERATION BITCOIN. Pre-enrollment is now open for the January 2025 Cohort of the Bitcoin Diploma for Veterans. Enrollment closes January 20 and spaces are limited. This 10-week course is designed to equip attendees with the fundamental knowledge to confidently engage with Bitcoin. Enroll here.

• Applications to Summer of Bitcoin 2025 to commence on February 1, 2025. Summer of Bitcoin is a global online internship program designed to introduce university students to Bitcoin open-source development and design. You can sign up for an application reminder here.
• Undermine 2025 - The Heatpunk Summit, a two-day conference dedicated to the emerging field of hashrate heating, is set to take place in Denver's Bitcoin hub on February 21 - February 22, 2025. Learn more about the event here.

• Mi Primer Bitcoin launched a community hub for independent Bitcoin educators. The project has launched a community hub that enables independent Bitcoin educators to begin teaching the open-source Bitcoin Diploma using various wikis It also facilitates connections among numerous educators involved in similar initiatives worldwide.
• The Bitcoin City hackathon by Bitcoin Indonesia. The event is set to take place online from January 10 to 31. Learn more about it here.
• Bitcoin Boma's exclusive course for learning Bitcoin in Malawi. Bitcoin Boma, a non-profit organization, has partnered with Mi Primer Bitcoin to launch a free Bitcoin education course in Malawi. Interested parties can apply here.
• The Cape Town Lightning Development Bootcamp set for January 20th - 23rd, 2025. Secure your spot here.
• Bitcoin Circular Economy Summit in El Zonte. The three-day event is scheduled for January 27-29th, right before the PlanB Forum: El Salvador.

Updates and releases

• Bitcoin Core v28.1 is now available. This maintenance release includes various bug fixes, performance improvements, and updated translations.
• Coinswap v0.1.0 is now live on Testnet4. It is a decentralized atomic swap protocol that facilitates trustless swaps of Bitcoin UTXOs through a decentralized, Sybil-resistant marketplace. This release represents a major milestone, featuring a fully functional implementation of the protocol, along with essential tools and documentation tailored for developers, testers, and early adopters.

"Calling all protocol developers and privacy researchers to test the apps, dig into the code, break it, spam it, and report bugs," said the developers.

• Jade Plus is Blockstream's latest signing device, featuring a larger display, intuitive controls, a durable casing, an improved camera, air-gapped firmware upgrades, and hardware authentication.
• Specter Desktop v2.1.1, a desktop GUI for Bitcoin Core optimized to work with hardware wallets, is a Docker-only release. It makes Specter compatible with Bitcoin Core v28.0, supports wallet export to Jade via QR code, and delivers multiple fixes and improvements.
• Blockstream Green Android v4.1.1 implements a Jade genuine check, fixes the Jade BIP39 passphrase input timeout, updates dependencies, and includes several additional enhancements.
  • Blockstream Green Android v4.1.2 bumps GDK version to 0.74.2.
• Bitcoin purchases are now live in the Blockstream Green wallet on both Android and iOS.

• Sentinel v5.1.1, a watch-only Bitcoin wallet tracker for managing multiple wallets and addresses, now allows users to fully spend a UTXO by tapping the available balance. It also enables scanning of BIP21 URIs, introduces a street mode to hide balances, and allows users to paste Dojo credentials with full JSON instead of just the API key and URL.
• Dojo Bay is a directory for available Dojo nodes, allowing users to select nodes based on their reputation and location for both Mainnet and Testnet.
• MyNode v0.3.32 adds NVMe support to the clone tool, disables UAS for Raspberry Pi 5 compatibility, and resolves issues with JAM and LNDg compatibility.
• Live Wallet v1.0.0, a desktop app that helps users understand the current and future fee burden of their UTXOs, introduced the ability to analyze user transactions to check for potential privacy heuristics used by chain analytics companies to cluster wallets, as well as basic transaction output labeling.

• Fully Noded - Join Market v0.1.0 has been released on the App Store, bringing a notable upgrade to the Fidelity Bond UI/UX.
• Fully Noded Server v0.0.5-beta is now available on the iOS App Store. It serves as a one-click solution for Bitcoin Core, Core Lightning, and Join Market servers, allowing connections to Fully Noded apps. This version includes an improved Bitcoin Core view, and Bitcoin Core now defaults to v27.2.

"Installing, verifying, running AND USING YOUR NODE has never been easier on macOS," said the developer.

• Fully Noded - Bitcoin Core v1.1.3, an iOS app designed to simplify wallet usage via Bitcoin Core, adds a deep link for connecting to the Fully Noded Server locally, without sharing any sensitive information in the link.
• Doppler v0.4.0, a tool for building and managing bitcoind/lightning clusters in regtest or signet environments, now allows an Esplora instance to be attached to any Bitcoind setup in a simulation Doppler file.
• COLDCARD EDGE v6.3.4, an experimental COLDCARD signing device firmware for developers, is a bugfix release that addresses a potentially serious policy deserialization bug affecting versions 6.2.2X, 6.3.3X, and 6.3.3QX.
• BLOCKCLOCK firmware v1.2.3 has been released. It includes some "mime fun" features on the display page for MINI owners, reports external IP addresses into the log live for network debugging, and includes several bug fixes.
• BitAxeSupra 403 brings minor improvements to the BitAxeSupra 402 single BM1368 miner.
• AxeOS v2.4.4 (ESP-miner) is now available. ESP Miner is an open-source ESP32 firmware for BitAxe devices. The latest version includes bug fixes, new features, and more customization options for theme colors.
  • AxeOS v2.4.5 (ESP-miner) provides a critical fix for BitAxe devices without a PSRAM module, addressing issues for users who experienced a black screen when updating to the latest version. Also available on a web flasher.

• Kyoto v0.7.0, a simple, memory-conservative, and private Bitcoin client for developers to build wallet applications, has been released.
• Frostnap v0.0.0-alpha1 firmware has been released.
• The legacy BDK v0.30.1 crate release is a patch for a regression in Electrum syncing introduced in 0.30.0. "This release also officially deprecates the `bdk` crate, please migrate to the new `bdk_wallet` 1.0.0," said the Bitcoin Dev Kit team. The project will continue to publish bdk 0.30.x bug fix releases as needed, but only for a limited time.
• testnet4.info is a faucet for Bitcoin testnet4 coins, written in C# using ASP.Net Razor Pages and NBitcoin. The project's repository is available here.
• Liana wallet v9.0rc1 is now available for testing.

• Alby Hub v1.13.0 brings "some cool new apps to the app store, an auto-unlock feature for self-hosted hubs, extra information about pending closed channels, and some security improvements for isolated apps and budgeting."
• Boltz Web App v1.6.1 ships a redesigned refund page, fixes browser language detection, and several improvements for Boltz Pro.
• Bitkit wallet v1.0.8 introduces a new liquidity management policy for "flexible and optimized Lightning channel management," along with various fixes and enhancements.
• Blitz Wallet v0.3.7-beta allows on-chain payments from Lightning or Liquid balances, removes requirement for a Lightning node connection when Lightning is disabled, introduces weekly rotation of Liquid addresses for accounts and monthly for contacts, enables automatic recovery of unclaimed ecash transactions, includes bug fixes for stability, and enables manual channel rebalancing.
• BitBanana v0.8.9, a native Android app for Lightning node operators, brings Payment Path view for LND nodes, implements "Enable Offer" command for Core Lightning >=24.11, adds description and payer note for paid bolt12 offers in transaction history, enables offers without description, and more.
• LNp2pbot v0.12.0, a peer-to-peer Lightning network trading bot on Telegram, introduces an important security improvement that prevents imposters from impersonating the bot and sending fake invoices.
• Clams Remote v2.5.4, a tool for controlling Core Lightning nodes via web-enabled devices, has been released.

"Treat as experimental. Please do not use with more than ~$1 of bitcoin," said the developer. The full list of caveats is available here.

• Onyx v0.1.0, a personal AI agent on mobile that responds to voice commands, adds a basic Bitcoin/Lightning wallet for sending, receiving, and backup/restore functionality via the Lightning/Liquid SDK by Breez.

• ln-opr is a fast, scalable protocol for resolving Lightning payments.
• L404 middleware Ruby library is available here.
• Swiss Bitcoin Pay app v2.3.1 has been release with several fixes.
• Nutshell v0.16.4, a Chaumian Ecash wallet and mint for Bitcoin Lightning based on the Cashu protocol, brings two new protocol spec updates: NUT-19: Cached Responses and NUT-20: Signature on Mint Quote. It also includes a new HTTP compression middleware and several bug fixes.
• Amethyst v0.94.3 introduces encrypted media uploads for direct message (NIP-17 DMs) chats, enables multi-image or video uploads, adds a command to link custom emojis in new posts and chats, fixes a couple of Tor leaks, and implements iMeta tags for GIF URLs to optimize GIF previews.
• Zapstore v0.2.0 introduces the ability to sign in with NIP-55 (Amber), as well as Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC) zaps along with zap receipts. Zap the devs!
• Primal Android v2.0.35 brings Highlights in Reads, Blossom support when rendering images in feeds, stability fixes, and more.
  • Primal Android v2.0.36 removes trailing empty spaces from tags in Nostr events and prevents crashes when returning to the home screen and then tapping the home icon too quickly.
• Wavlake, a value-for-value music streaming platform that allows fans to directly support artists by sending micro-payments as music is consumed, has released its mobile app v1.1.2, which is now available on iOS and Android app stores.
• Daniele released Nstart, a new user onboarding tool for the Nostr protocol. Check it out here.

"Nstart aims to guide new users to Nostr offering a easy and no-nonsense onboarding wizard, with useful hints about the protocol and some really exclusive features," said the developer.

• Flotilla v0.2.1, a Discord/Slack-like Nostr client for relay-based communities, delivers multiple performance improvements and bug fixes.
• Whereostr v1.3.3, a geo-social app built on the Nostr protocol, implements several bug fixes, resolves a file upload error, and increases geohash precision.
• Nos.social v1.1 implements compatibility with Nostr lists. "You can create a list in another app like listr.lol and then view the feed for that list in Nos," said the project.
• Feeder v2.8.0, an RSS reader app on Android, added support for Nostr feeds (NIP-23 long-form articles).
• LumiLumi is a lightweight, web-based client for the Nostr protocol.
• Mostro CLI v0.11.0, a command-line tool for interacting with the Mostro P2P exchange platform, includes a core update to v0.6.11, SQLite support, key management implementation, and direct message functionality.
  • A super early version of a mobile client for the Mostro P2P platform is available here.
• Kanbanstr, a kanban board implementation built on the Nostr protocol, now supports zaps on cards.

• Citrine v0.7.0, a local Nostr relay for Android devices, updates dependencies, adds a back button in the events screen, and implements several bug fixes.
• Amber v3.1.0, a Nostr event signer for Android, has been released.
• Nostr-zap v1.2.0, a tool for zapping any Nostr npub or note from anywhere, updates the default zap receipt relays.
• Qoinstr, developed by pythcoiner, is a WIP GUI for rust-joinstr.
• Tides v1.1.2, a Nostr messenger browser extension for Chromium-based browsers, adds previews for several Blossom servers and the ability to view both personal and other user profiles.
• Granary v8.0 has been released. It allows users to convert Nostr content into formats such as Atom, HTML, RSS, and JSON. It also integrates with platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and IndieWeb through web and REST APIs.
• Algo relay v0.1.3, an algorithmic relay for Nostr, now saves every user's social graph, creates a fresh feed each time you refresh, and allows the purging of older notes to enable the algorithm to evolve faster.
• Web-of-Trust (WoT) relay v0.1.16 introduces a 'Retard List', allowing users to ignore follow lists of people who follow spammers.
• Decentralized Game Mods (DEG Mods) is a Nostr-based platform for mod creators, allowing them to thrive without the fear of censorship bans, or losing their connection with fans.
• Nostr Spring Boot Starter v0.1.0 is a new tool for writing Nostr applications using Spring Boot.
• Bouquet is a web tool designed for syncing blobs between Blossom servers.
• CVS Importer is a Nostr uploader that facilitates the bulk publishing of events via CSV.

• Voyage v0.17.2, a lightweight Nostr client for Android, now enforces NIP-22 usage for replies with 6 or fewer characters and uses v2 replies by default for all new installations.

"This release is packed with major upgrades and brand-new features designed to make the server smoother, more powerful, and more customizable than ever before," announced Quentin.

• Nostrss v1.1.0, a program that provides a lightweight and flexible bridge between RSS feeds and the Nostr protocol, comes with dependency updates and makes the feed cache optional.
• Nostrcheck server v0.6.0, a comprehensive solution for managing and offering services within the Nostr ecosystem with a focus on data sovereignty, is now available.
• Tando v1.1.9, a Bitcoin payments app that allows merchants to accept KYC-free bitcoin payments in Kenya via M-Pesa, introduces improvements to the payment confirmation screen, fixes a time zone bug, adds a new Orange-Pill graphic, and enhances the app's layout, among other updates.
• OpenSecret (ex-Mutiny) is looking for private beta testers for its upcoming private and end-to-end encrypted Maple AI chat.

• Zaprite, a Bitcoin invoicing platform for businesses and entrepreneurs, has added a Speed Wallet integration using Lightning Address, and updated styling on Square credit card form payments.
• Stacker.news is now non-custodial and prioritizes using 'cowboy credits' for users without attached external wallets. Learn more about the difference between reward sats and 'cowboy credits' here.
  • Stacker.news user supratic shared a collection of resources on how to connect a personal wallet to stacker.news.
  • The latest Stacker.news release implements fixes for iOS push notifications.
• Superbacked is a "secret management platform used to back up and pass on sensitive data from one generation to the next." Learn more about it here.

• Keet v3.17.0, a peer-to-peer chat app built with the Holepunch protocol, has been released for both mobile and desktop platforms. The mobile apps introduce express profile setup, support for SVG and HEIC image files, and an audio tab in the Media & File section. The desktop app includes express ID setup, a notification badge display on the dock, and many other improvements and fixes.
• Mullvad VPN v2025.2 for desktop enables quantum-resistant WireGuard tunnels by default on Windows, making it the default setting for all desktop releases.
• Tails v6.11 fixes several critical security vulnerabilities identified during an external audit by Radical Open Security. Users are urged to update to the latest version as soon as possible.
• Arti v1.3.2, a next-generation Tor client written in Rust, includes preparatory work for relay support and service-side onion service denial-of-service resistance.
• Tor Browser v14.0.4 has been released.
• GrapheneOS v2025010700 is a January 2025 security patch release.

Guides and research

• Jameson Lopp has published the Bitcoin 2024 Annual Review.
• Bitcoin Optech Newsletter #336 outlines a potential change to Bitcoin Core that could impact miners. It summarizes discussions on creating contract-level relative timelocks and discusses a proposal for an LN-Symmetry variant with optional penalties.
• Nostr weekly review #5 by Nomishka Dilshan is available here.
• The latest Nostr Biweekly Review report is available here.
• Hashrate Index has published a list of the top 10 bitcoin mining countries.

• The Bitcoin Manual has written a guide on how to earn fees as a Boltz liquidity provider.
• Stacker.news user Scoresby has written an explainer on the importance of running an economic Bitcoin node.
• An explainer on Pay To Public Key Hash (P2PKH) by The Bitcoin Dev Project is available here.
• Nadav Ivgi has written a delegated vault proof-of-concept using CTV, CSFS, PAIRCOMMIT, and IK.
• César Rodas demonstrates how to embed an experimental Cashu wallet in a browser, effectively making it accessible from any website.

• The Bitcoin Course by Anil is a free, educational 2-hour course designed for Bitcoin beginners.
• PlebBook.com, a community resource for aspiring Bitcoin developers and builders, is looking for passionate individuals who would like to contribute to the project.
• Susie Violet Ward discusses how the EU's implementation of The Travel Rule endangers digital asset users in Europe.
• Hashteroids is a browser-based game that combines elements of the classic Asteroid arcade gameplay with the concepts of Bitcoin mining.
• Bitvocation has released its Bitcoin job market report for 2024. Find the latest insights here.

• Denis Rusinovich, a partner at the Cryptocurrency Mining Group, explains the Bitcoin mining situation and regulations in Russia in the latest episode of The Miner Pod.
• BTC Sessions has created a step-by-step tutorial for Bitkey wallet users.

Mining stats

• The network's hashrate (7-day SMA) is currently at ~ 788 EH/s.
• The next mining difficulty adjustment is expected in about 6 hours.

Lightning stats

• The capacity of the Lightning network increased by 52 BTC last week, according to stats from amboss.space.

Nostr stats

• The Nostr protocol gained over 10,000 new users last week, according to stats from primal.net.

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