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Block 879835: Important News of the Week

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

Block 879835: Important News of the Week

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News

  • Pieter Wuille and Gregory Maxwell awarded The Finney Freedom Prize by the Human Rights Foundation for the 2012-2016 era, recognizing their contributions to Bitcoin's usability, scalability, and privacy. Learn more about the prize here.
  • Vinteum issues grant to plebhash for advancing the Stratum V2 protocol. The non-profit Bitcoin research and development center, dedicated to supporting Bitcoin developers in Brazil and the wider Latin America region, has announced its fourth grantee, plebhash, in acknowledgment of his significant contributions to the Stratum V2 protocol (SRI) and his initiatives to promote the decentralization of Bitcoin mining.
"Plebhash exemplifies the values we strive to promote at Vinteum: collaboration, innovation, and dedication to developing open-source solutions to strengthen the Bitcoin ecosystem. We are excited to support his work and look forward to the impact he will have on the community," said the organization.
  • John Galt joins the BDK Foundation as the latest grantee. "John will be working on developing our membership program, partnerships, and onboarding new members. Reach out at hello@bitcoindevkit.org," said the organization.
  • Donald Trump is set to sign a flurry of executive orders on January 20th. According to the Washington Post, the U.S. President-elect will issue a series of executive orders, some of which are intended to strengthen the cryptocurrency sector and modify existing banking policies.
  • Trump to designate cryptocurrency as a national priority. President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to issue an executive order to prioritize Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a key policy issue and include industry experts in his administration. The executive order, which could come as soon as Monday, is expected to designate cryptocurrencies as a national priority, directing government agencies to collaborate with the industry on policy issues and potentially pause ongoing litigation involving industry activities, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
  • Coin Center Fellow Michael Lewellen sues the DOJ over criminalization of software development. Michael Lewellen, a Coin Center Fellow and smart contract security expert, has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ) for their restrictive interpretation of unlicensed money transmission statutes.
"Michael should be free to build and publish the brilliant software he’s been working on—free from fear of unjust persecution. And the contrary position taken by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in the Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet prosecutions is unconstitutional and anti-innovation," said Coin Center in a blog post.
  • Senator Cynthia Lummis demands FDIC to halt destruction of Operation Chokepoint 2.0 materials. According to the Senator, whistleblowers from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) have raised concerns about the destruction of materials related to the agency's digital asset activities. They allege that management is closely monitoring staff access to these materials to prevent their disclosure to the Senate before they are destroyed. Furthermore, some employees have reportedly faced threats of legal action to deter them from speaking out.
"The FDIC’s alleged efforts to destroy and conceal materials from the U.S. Senate related to Operation Chokepoint 2.0 is not only unacceptable, it is illegal. If it is uncovered that anyone within the FDIC has knowingly destroyed materials or sought to obstruct the oversight functions of the Senate, it will result in swift criminal referrals to the U.S. Department of Justice," Lummis said in a public letter.
      • Lummis has also expressed urgent concern in a letter to the Director of the U.S. Marshals Service regarding their plan to dispose of nearly 70,000 BTC seized from the Silk Road case.
  • Tom Emmer has been appointed as vice chairman of the House Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence. "With President Trump in the White House and Gary Gensler confined to the waste bin of Washington, we have an excellent opportunity ensure that the future of digital assets is guided by Americans, with American values," said the Congressman on Tuesday.
  • BitMEX has been issued an additional $100 million fine for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act that occurred between 2015 and 2020.
"Whilst we are disappointed to learn of the imposition of an additional financial penalty, the amount is substantially less than what the Department of Justice have been pursuing us for over 3 years," the company said in a blog post.
  • Block Inc fined $80 million for insufficient money laundering controls in Cash App. Block Inc. has agreed to pay an $80 million fine to 48 state financial regulators for inadequate anti-money laundering protocols in Cash App. As part of the settlement, Block Inc. will hire an independent consultant to review and report on its Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering program. Additionally, the company has agreed to implement corrective actions internally, as announced by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.
  • Iran's Central Bank blocks payment gateways to cryptocurrency exchanges amid currency crisis. The bank has unexpectedly blocked payment gateways for cryptocurrency exchanges, restricting citizens to the weakening national currency without prior notice or preparation. This action specifically targets the Iranian rial payment channels used by digital currency exchanges, although the ability to withdraw funds remains functional.
"These restrictive and destructive decisions in technology policymaking not only eliminate Iran's limited opportunity for economic growth through new technologies but also drive away the country's most important asset - its capable human capital," said the industry leaders in an open letter to President Masoud Pezeshkian.
  • Operators of Blender and Sinbad custodial Bitcoin mixers arrested and charged with money laundering. "By allegedly operating these mixers, the defendants made it easier for state-sponsored hacking groups and other cybercriminals to profit from offenses that jeopardized both public safety and national security," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent Wible.
  • New CFPB rulemaking makes no distinction between custodial and self-custody wallets. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to reinterpret the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) to include cryptocurrency activities. However, the proposal does not differentiate between cryptocurrency services offered by trusted intermediaries, which could be subject to consumer protection regulations, and software tools for self-securing digital assets, which are considered protected speech and should not be subject to regulatory permissions, writes Coin Center.
  • South African arrested for transferring $606 in BTC to an alleged terrorist-linked organization in 2017. According to the Hawks, a branch of the South African Police Service, the defendant was apprehended on January 3, 2025, after a multi-year investigation. During his bail hearing on January 10, 2025, he stated his intention to plead not guilty, asserting that the case against him had been exaggerated, reports BitcoinKE.
  • A new strategic Bitcoin reserve bill introduced in Texas Senate. The act creates a special fund to own and hold bitcoin, allowing the legislature to direct up to 1% of general revenue for bitcoin purchases. In December, Representative Giovanni Capriglione proposed a different Bitcoin strategic reserve proposal, HB 1598, in the House, which outlines a plan to establish a Bitcoin reserve within the state treasury.
"If passed and signed into law, [the Senate Bill SB 778] would make Texas the first state in the nation to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. This would position our state at the forefront of the digital economy, driving growth and securing economic freedom for our great state," said Texas state Senator Charles Schwertner.
  • Strategic Bitcoin Reserve legislation in New Hampshire and North Dakota. New Hampshire and North Dakota have introduced legislation to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, indicating a rising interest among state lawmakers in diversifying their state treasuries with bitcoin.
  • Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Act introduced in Oklahoma. Rep. Cody Maynard introduced the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act, aiming to make Oklahoma a leader in sound money principles and advanced fiscal policy. HB 1203 would permit Oklahoma’s state savings accounts and pension funds to invest in digital assets like bitcoin.
"Bitcoin represents freedom from bureaucrats printing away our purchasing power. As a decentralized form of money, Bitcoin cannot be manipulated or created by government entities. It is the ultimate store of value for those who believe in financial freedom and sound money principles," Maynard said.
  • Kenya is preparing to legalize cryptocurrencies, according to Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, indicating a shift in government stance. Although cryptocurrencies have been banned in the country, widespread public use has persisted underground, circumventing the restrictions.
"The Government of Kenya is committed to creating the necessary legal and regulatory framework in order to leverage opportunities presented by VAs and VASPs while managing the resultant risks," Mbadi said.
  • BlackRock has launched the iShares Bitcoin ETF in Canada. The ETF, trading under the ticker IBIT, replicates bitcoin's price performance by investing in the US-listed iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF. All of the bitcoin purchased via the ETF is held with Coinbase Prime.
  • Corporate Bitcoin purchases are set to grow exponentially in 2025, says Bitwise. Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise, shared an investor note predicting that over the next 12–18 months, hundreds of companies will include Bitcoin in their treasury reserves due to improved Bitcoin accounting standards.
  • The latest publicly announced bitcoin purchases include:
    • MicroStrategy, a Bitcoin development company, acquired another 2,530 BTC for $243 million. It currently holds 450,000 coins.
    • Semler Scientific bought 237 BTC and now holds 2321 coins on its balance sheet.
    • Genius Group has purchased an additional $5 million worth of Bitcoin and currently holds 372 BTC acquired for approximately $35 million.
    • Remixpoint, a Tokyo-listed energy consulting firm, has announced a purchase of 33.34 BTC. The company now holds 333.19 coins.
    • Heritage Distilling adopts Bitcoin as a strategic asset. The company has released its Bitcoin Treasury Policy statement and said it will accept Bitcoin as a form of payment.
    • Italian Bank Intesa Sanpaolo has purchased 11 BTC for approximately €1 million.
Source: CoinDesk.
  • Komainu secured $75 million from Blockstream's venture arm in a Series B round. The UK-based, regulated digital assets services firm announced the completion of its Series B fundraising with a $75 million investment from Blockstream's venture arm, subject to regulatory approval. Blockstream's co-founder and CEO, Adam Back, director PeterPaul Pardi, and advisor Nicolas Brand will join Komainu's board as part of the deal.
"Having a closely-aligned technology partner like Blockstream, one of the original visionaries in the digital assets ecosystem, is testament to our determination to become the go-to provider of digital asset services for Bitcoin and the institutional market, as well as increasing institutional adoption," said Paul Frost-Smith, Co-CEO at Komainu.
  • Fulgar Ventures led a $58 million funding round for the crypto bank Sygnum. Sygnum, already licensed in Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Singapore, intends to use the new capital to expand further into the European market and establish a regulated presence in Hong Kong.
  • Tether sues Swan Bitcoin over mining venture dispute. The dispute centers around the 2022 Bitcoin mining joint venture, 2040 Energy. Tether is reported to have provided full funding and owns 80% of the venture, while Swan operated the international mining team and holds a 20% ownership stake. The case is now advancing in the High Court of England and Wales.
"Throughout our relationship with Swan, Tether has consistently acted in good faith, supported mutual business objectives, and adhered to all relevant agreements. Conversely, Swan has acted recklessly, and their actions have resulted in significant breaches by them of the agreements between us. Consequently, we have been compelled to take necessary measures to protect our investment," said Tether in a statement.
  • Coinbase unveils public beta of Onchain Reputation API. The public surveillance tool is meant to provide a 'reputation score' between -100 and +1000 for wallet addresses, ENS, and Basename IDs, offering a "directional indication of its reputation" to "evaluate transaction trustworthiness."
      • Coinbase has also announced the launch of "Bitcoin-backed loans" using its own shitcoin protocol, Base. "These loans are not backed by bitcoin, nor are they even on the Bitcoin blockchain," writes Guillaume Girard for Bitcoin Magazine.
  • White House issues an executive order to bolster federal cybersecurity. US President Joe Biden has signed a comprehensive cybersecurity directive aimed at enhancing the government's monitoring of networks, procurement of software, utilization of artificial intelligence (AI), and penalties for foreign hackers.
    • This 40-page executive order is the Biden administration's last push to leverage AI for security, introduce digital identities for US citizens, and address vulnerabilities that have allowed foreign actors to infiltrate US government systems.
    • It is unclear if President-elect Donald Trump will pursue these cybersecurity initiatives after taking office on Monday.
  • US Government to return over 94,000 BTC stolen in 2016 to Bitfinex. According to a court document filed this week, the U.S. government states that more than 94,000 bitcoins, stolen by Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan during the 2016 Bitfinex hack, should be returned to the exchange.
  • Turkish man attacked and forced to transfer $285k in cryptocurrency in Thailand. The victim was assaulted by a gang of three people who stole 9.9 baht (~$285,000) worth of cryptocurrency, as well as his laptop.
  • Singapore blocks access to Polymarket, following Taiwan and France. The country's Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) has directed local internet service providers to block access to the prediction market platform. The agency is yet to make a public announcement on the issue.
  • The UK government is proposing a ban on ransomware payouts. The plan aims to prohibit public sector bodies, including schools and the NHS, from making cryptocurrency ransomware payments. This proposal, part of a consultation launched by the Home Office, seeks to make these institutions less attractive targets for hackers.
  • In 2024, North Korea stole over $659 million worth of cryptocurrencies. According to a joint statement by Japan, South Korea, and the United States on Tuesday, North Korean-backed hackers stole at least $659 million through various cryptocurrency heists in 2024, and they also deployed IT workers to infiltrate blockchain companies as insider threats.
  • Applications to the Sovereign Engineering Cohort 4 (SEC-04) are now open. The fourth edition, titled 'Building it Right,' is set to take place from March 3 to April 11, 2025. Learn more about it here.

Updates and releases

  • Wasabi Wallet v2.4.0 introduces support for sending to Silent Payment addresses, adds a donate button, implements Testnet 4 support, provides release notes in the client, and includes several bug fixes.
  • Bitcoin Safe v1.0, a free and open-source Bitcoin savings wallet designed for security and ease of use, is now available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It aims to simplify singlesig and multisig wallet management for non-technical users while retaining some power user features through an intuitive and attractive user interface.
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  • Liana wallet v9.0 is now available. This version adds several features and improvements, including CSV export of your transactions for accounting purposes, signed Windows binaries to remove warnings when launching the .exe, support for the Jade Plus device, improved handling of change and self-transfer UTXOs, a Taproot descriptor rescan fix, a more robust approach to receive address requests, performance boosts for home page display, and more.
  • BlueWallet v7.0.7 is now available. New features include importing used xpub as zpub/ypub, a new wallet export screen, display of Lightning details in the invoice view, the ability to set a preferred server from the menu, Android menu icons, and a variety of other bug fixes and improvements.
  • Blockstream Green Desktop v2.0.17 adds graphical assets for Jade Plus, supports video promos on Linux, and shows the total spent amount in transaction details. The default fee rate has been set to the 24 block fee rate estimate.
  • Blockstream Green iOS v4.1.3 updates Jade imagery and improves the UI for the 'buy bitcoin' feature.
  • Bitcoin Keeper v1.3.3 redesigns Electrum Server Management, adds remote signing support for Keystone devices, includes PDF export for individual wallet configuration files, and brings UI improvements along with general bug fixes.
  • Nunchuk Android v1.9.58 and iOS v1.9.68 deliver a revamped add key flow, introduce the Honey Badger Premier tier, and include multiple bug fixes and improvements.
  • Utrexxo v0.3.0, a hash-based dynamic accumulator based on a Merkle forest, has been released.
  • Stratum V2 Reference Implementation (SRI) v1.2.1 is a patch release for a bug on roles_logic_sv2 crate that manifested while mining on testnet4.
"Now, non-future jobs are always created by using the original timestamp defined by the Template Provider," said the developers.
  • AxeOS v2.5.0 includes a patch for a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability that allows a malicious website to replace a user's pool or wallet information. Bitaxe users are urged to upgrade as soon as possible
  • SoloSatoshi unveiled BitAxe Touch home miner. The device is powered by the Bitaxe 601 Gamma, which uses the BM1370 ASIC chip from the Bitmain S21 Pro, reaching a hash rate of up to 1.6 TH/s. It features an 800×480 pixel touchscreen LCD that serves as a personal command center for all Bitcoin-related activities.
Source: Solo Satoshi.
  • Mempal v1.4.3 has been released with an accrescent compatibility patch, minor optimizations, and bug fixes.
  • Bitcoin Fee Indicator is a system tray app that fetches and displays the current Bitcoin transaction fee rates. It runs on Linux with GTK 3 and AppIndicator support.
  • LDK v0.1 (rust-lightning), a highly performant and flexible implementation of the Lightning Network protocol, has been released.
"While there are certainly many important features which are still being built, the LDK project has come a long way, and the LDK project is happy with the quality of the features included in this release. Thus, the project will begin doing patch releases to fix bugs in prior versions as new features continue to ship in new minor versions," was stated in the release notes.
  • Minibits v0.1.11-beta, an Android ecash wallet with a focus on performance and usability, has been released.
"This is a maintenance release bundling all important fixes and stability improvements delivered through over-the-air releases in December - January. Functionally it is an equivalent to the version 0.1.10-beta.23," was stated in the release notes.
  • Nostur v1.17.0, aa Nostr client for iOS, now syncs already seen and read notes across multiple devices, supports the of Olas pictures (kind:20), implements support for Frost/multis login, and adds an undelete button for deleted posts, among many other improvements and bug fixes.
  • Olas v0.1.8, an Instagram-like client for Nostr, now shows reaction, comment, and zap counts on the content view.
  • The latest updates for Corny Chat, an open source audio space built on Jam that integrates Nostr and Lightning, limit image uploads to Nostr users, implement GIF search via GifBuddy.lol, and add multiple custom emoji and room chat improvements.
  • Amber v3.1.8, a Nostr signer for Android, includes a button to clear cached data in settings, displays relay status in notifications, and fixes an issue with multiple bunker requests not clearing when accepting or rejecting events.
  • Bostr2 v1.1.1, a Nostr relay bouncer designed to save users' mobile bandwidth, has been released with a client IP forwarder and fixes for the user agent changer.
  • Gifbuddy.lol, a web-based GIF tool for the Nostr protocol, now supports the ability to log in with one's pubkey, along with Collections and Favorites tabs.
  • Kanbanstr, a kanban board implementation over the Nostr protocol, now supports cloning of cards and tracking of cards.
  • verbiricha shipped a few improvements to image handling in chachi.chat.
  • River has launched ForceField, a new security feature designed to enhance user account protection. It restricts Bitcoin and cash withdrawals if a user's device is lost or stolen, if the user is targeted in a cyber or physical attack, or if account credentials are compromised. Learn more about it here.
  • Bitcoin Fax allows anyone to send fax messages all over the globe.
  • BTCMap Android v0.9.0, an app for easily finding places to spend sats anywhere, has made a switch to vector maps, fixed verification reports, and changed marker colors in Light mode.
  • Mullvad VPN's Split Tunneling is now available on macOS. It allows users to exclude specific apps from the VPN, enabling you to use services that don't work well with VPNs.
  • SimpleX Chat v6.2.4 is now available with multiple fixes and enhancements.
  • GrapheneOS v2025011500 is the latest update for the privacy and security-focused mobile OS.

Guides and research

  • Bitcoin Diploma 2025 by Mi Primer Bitcoin is a flagship, free, and open-source 10-week program worldwide, offering an in-depth exploration of Bitcoin's history, technology, and global impact.
  • Bitcoin Optech #337 covers ongoing discussions about rewarding pool miners with tradeable ecash shares and introduces a new proposal for off-chain resolution of Discreet Log Contracts (DLCs).
  • The HRF's Financial Freedom Report #57 is now available on Nostr.
  • b10c published an analysis of fifteen OFAC-sanctioned transactions missing from Bitcoin blocks.
"While all transactions were picked up in the following blocks, it seems like F2Pool started to filter them (again)," said the developer.
  • Awesome Privacy is a curated list of free, open-source, and privacy-respecting services.
  • Lightning.news is a new website dedicated to news about the Lightning Network.
  • Bitsbetrippin shared a review of two Auradine AT2880 miners, which achieved an efficiency of approximately 17 J/TH after two days of testing.
  • Frank Corva wrote an article on how Nostr has become the world's largest Bitcoin circular economy.
  • Lightning Dev Kit has published a case study featuring LQWD, a Lightning liquidity provider.
BIPs #1687 merges BIP375 to specify sending silent payments using PSBTs.
  • TheBullishBitcoiner has put together a guide on how to set up BOLT12 Lightning payouts for OCEAN pool with Coinos.io.
  • NunyaBidness shared an article discussing the concept of a Forest Walker and how forest management could leverage Bitcoin mining to help reduce the risk of forest fires.
  • BTC Sessions made a new tutorial about Bitcoin home mining on your own mining pool with FutureBit's Apollo II full node and Bitcoin miner.

Mining stats

  • Bitcoin mining difficulty has hit a new high of 110.45T at block height 878976, marking the eighth consecutive upward adjustment.
  • The hashrate of the Bitcoin network (7-day simple moving average) is currently at ~781 EH/s.

Lightning stats

  • The capacity of the Lightning network has increased by 15 BTC over the last 7 days, per amboss.space stats.

Nostr stats

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