By EZ in Weekly Digest — Mar 23, 2025

Block 889101: Important News of the Week(s)

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

It's time to catch up with some of the key news and updates from the past few weeks—our largest issue of the weekly digest so far. Be sure to leave feedback or encourage us to improve here.

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News

Key dates set for Samourai wallet developers criminal trial. Industry journalists from Bitcoin Magazine and The Rage attended the fourth pre-trial hearing in the United States' case against the developers of Samourai Wallet. During the hearing, the prosecution and defense agreed on the following pre-trial motion schedule:
- After the hearing, the developers expressed gratitude to those who donated to the Peer-to-Peer Rights Fund, which supports their legal defense.
OpenSats has announced 10th wave of Bitcoin grants. The projects included in this wave are Bitcoin Safe, Stable Channels, Waye, Floresta, Krux, and Krux Installer.
- Additionally, OpenSats announced support for six non-profit organizations seeking to advance open-source Bitcoin development, including 2140, OpenCash, Bitshala, Summer of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Dev Launchpad, and The Foundation Formation Kit (FFK).
The recipients of the Btrust grants for Q1 2025 have been announced. Brandon Odiwuor and Itoro Ukpong received the Btrust Starter Grant, which allows them to work full-time on open-source Bitcoin projects and enhance their contributions to the ecosystem.
The U.S. House passed resolution to kill IRS's "DeFi broker rule." The US House of Representatives voted to nullify a rule requiring decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to report customer trade information to the IRS. The resolution must pass a Senate vote before being presented to President Donald Trump, who has indicated his support.
The U.S. SEC has issued a statement on proof-of-work mining activities. The agency clarified that proof-of-work mining activities are not considered the offer and sale of securities under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Exchange Act of 1934.
Tether is now the 7th largest holder of U.S. Treasuries. Tether, the issuer of USDT, the world's largest stablecoin, has become the seventh-largest buyer of U.S. Treasury securities, surpassing countries like Canada, Taiwan, Mexico, Norway, and Hong Kong, according to a March 20 post on X by Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether.

The United States officially established a Bitcoin Reserve. U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve and a separate digital assets stockpile. Initially, these funds will be capitalized with bitcoin and other crypto assets owned by the federal government, which have been seized through criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings.
U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis has reintroduced the BITCOIN Act. If passed, the bill would enable the U.S. government to acquire over 1 million BTC, funded by Federal Reserve net earnings and adjustments to Treasury certificates based on gold holdings.
Russian exchange Garantex seized by U.S. law enforcement operation. The U.S. Secret Service, in collaboration with international law enforcement agencies, dismantled and seized the website of Garantex, a Russian cryptocurrency exchange linked to darknet markets and ransomware hackers. Indian authorities arrested Aleksej Besciokov, co-founder and administrator of the platform, while he was vacationing in Varkala, India, with his family.
The U.S. Treasury has blacklisted 49 Bitcoin and Monero addresses linked to the Nemesis darknet marketplace. The US Department of the Treasury sanctioned Behrouz Parsarad, an Iranian national accused of managing the now-defunct Nemesis darknet marketplace. Authorities blacklisted 49 Bitcoin and Monero addresses linked to him as part of an international operation that dismantled Nemesis in early 2024, per the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
U.S. Senate Republicans move to effectively legalize debanking. They aim to repeal a rule from December issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which would allow payment apps like Venmo and PayPal to resume ideological debanking. The repeal will now be voted on by the House.
North Korea now holds 13,441 BTC. According to chain surveillance firm Arkham Intelligence, the country has become one of the top nation-state holders of BTC following the recent $1.4 billion Bybit hack. During this incident, the Lazarus Group exchanged a significant portion of the stolen ether for bitcoin.
Russia is reportedly using bitcoin and USDT in oil trade. According to Reuters, some Russian oil companies are using bitcoin, ether, and stablecoins like Tether to facilitate the conversion of Chinese yuan and Indian rupees into Russian rubles. This practice, according to unnamed sources, represents a small but increasing portion of Russia's overall oil trade.
Belarus is looking to mine Bitcoin. During a government meeting on March 4, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko directed the new Minister of Energy, Alexei Kushnarenko, to develop the Bitcoin mining industry in the country.
Pakistan plans to legalize bitcoin. After years of restrictions, the country plans to legalize Bitcoin and altcoins by establishing a regulatory framework to attract foreign investment and promote adoption.
Proposal to reduce the capital gains tax on digital assets from 55% to 20% in Japan. Japanese lawmakers aim to classify cryptocurrencies as a distinct asset class and propose a new law to tax cryptocurrency derivatives trading similarly to spot investments. Taxes on crypto-to-crypto swaps would be deferred until they are converted to fiat currency.
A bill to regulate Bitcoin salary payments has been introduced in Brazil. On March 14, politician Luiz Philippe of Orleans-Braganza submitted a proposal to the Brazilian National Congress to modify the salary payment system. The bill permits workers to receive up to 50% of their wages in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, with the remainder paid in Brazilian reais.
Argentina's Senate held its first-ever conference on Bitcoin regulation, organized by NGO Bitcoin Argentina. The event brought together key political advisors and department heads from multiple political blocs to discuss the potential impact of Bitcoin on the country's economy and regulatory environment.

Despite an IMF deal, El Salvador continues to purchase Bitcoin. The IMF released a document outlining conditions for its extended fund facility with El Salvador, stating that future commitments would restrict government involvement in Bitcoin-related activities and transactions. Nonetheless, El Salvador's strategic reserve is growing, with the country currently holding more than 6,124 BTC.
The national library of El Salvador will operate a Bitcoin full node, managed by Salvadorian Bitcoin educator PupusasG. Additionally, the library’s Bitcoin section will offer a regular lecture series, featuring leading authors and builders in the Bitcoin space.
The Libertarian Party of Australia has unveiled its Bitcoin Policy Whitepaper, which outlines a strategy for incorporating Bitcoin into the country's financial and regulatory frameworks.
In Tennessee, the Bitcoin blockchain was used to verify local Republican elections. Simple Proof, a company that protects public documents via Bitcoin's distributed ledger, permanently recorded the voting results in block 886,370 using their "Immutable Proof" service and the OpenTimestamps protocol.
Bitcoin Strategic Reserve (BSR) in Texas. The Texas Senate has approved SB-21, a bill introduced by Senator Charles Schwertner to establish a state Bitcoin Strategic Reserve (BSR). The bill will now be voted on by the Texas House of Representatives.
- Additionally, a new BSR bill (HB 4258) has been proposed to allocate up to $250 million from the economic stabilization fund into bitcoin and other digital assets.

The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has authorized financial institutions to provide 'crypto' custody and stablecoin services. National banks and federal savings associations no longer need prior approval to offer custody services for bitcoin, digital assets, and stablecoins.
The European Central Bank (ECB) plans to complete its digital euro preparations by October. ECB President Christine Lagarde confirmed the launch of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) later this year, ensuring it will coexist with cash and offer privacy protections.
- In contrast to the United States, the European Central Bank (ECB) has not announced any plans or approvals for bitcoin-related reserves. ECB officials continue to caution that America's adoption of bitcoin and non-bank finance could jeopardize "Europe's monetary sovereignty" or potentially trigger the "next financial crisis."

At the same time, European citizens have shown little interest in adopting a central bank-issued digital currency (CBDC).

Policymakers in UK, Canada, South Korea and Switzerland not interested in holding bitcoin reserves:
- The UK Treasury has no plans to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve, citing the currency's volatility as unsuitable for the country.
- Canada's new prime minister-designate and former central banker, Mark Carney, is a known skeptic of Bitcoin.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) stated it is not considering incorporating bitcoin into its foreign exchange reserve.
The vice president of the Swiss Central Bank has ruled out the possibility of including bitcoin in its reserves.

Bills to 'End the Fed' reintroduced in the United States. Representative Thomas Massie reintroduced this legislation in the House, shortly followed by a similar bill in the Senate, introduced by Senator Mike Lee.
U.S. Treasury expands financial surveillance at the Southwest border. The Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has reduced the currency transaction report threshold from $10,000 to $200 for residents of 30 zip codes in California and Texas. This move aims to combat illicit activities and money laundering by Mexico-based cartels and other criminal actors.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced the suspension of the enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). As a result, domestic companies and their owners are not currently required to comply with the law, which would have mandated that approximately 32.5 million U.S. small business owners register with FinCEN.

"This is a victory for common sense," said U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.

India grants tax officials sweeping digital access powers. Starting April 2026, India’s income tax department will gain extensive digital access rights under a new income tax bill. This will allow tax officials to access citizens' social media accounts, emails, and other digital platforms, significantly expanding their search and seizure powers.
UK government scrubs encryption advice from government websites. According to Alec Muffett, the U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is no longer recommending high-risk individuals use encryption to protect sensitive information, following a legal challenge to Apple's iCloud encryption.
Meanwhile, Apple has sued the British government over a demand to create a "back door." The Investigatory Powers Tribunal will evaluate the legality of the UK's notice to Apple and may order it to be overturned if deemed unlawful.
Craig Wright ordered to pay $290,000 in legal costs over improper AI usage. A UK judge ordered Craig Wright, who most definitely did not invent Bitcoin, to pay £225,000 ($290,000) toward the Crypto Open Patent Alliance’s (COPA) legal costs after finding that Wright "improperly" used AI to file his appeal, which "risked significantly misleading the court."
Mozilla rewrites Firefox’s Terms of Use after user backlash. The maker of Firefox browser revised its policy to clarify issues with previously broad language that suggested it was acquiring rights to user data for potential sale to advertisers or AI companies. The company clarified that this was not the case and stated that the new terms do not change how the company uses data generated by its users.
Telegram's Pavel Durov allowed to leave France. Durov was barred from leaving France, but the Paris prosecutor's office announced that the investigative judges have lifted his travel restrictions from March 15 to April 7, after which he must return to France.
The EFF opposes the US STOP CSAM Act. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee opposing the Strengthening Transparency and Obligation to Protect Children Suffering from Abuse and Mistreatment Act (STOP CSAM Act).

"At its core, STOP CSAM endangers encrypted messages – jeopardizing the privacy, security, and free speech of every American and fundamentally altering our online communications. In the digital world, end-to-end encryption is our best chance to maintain both individual and national security," said the organization.

LND's Deadline-Aware Budget Sweeper. Starting with v0.18.0, LND includes a rewritten sweeper subsystem for transaction batching and fee bumping. It uses HTLC deadlines and fee budgets to create a fee rate curve, dynamically adjusting fees for urgent transactions. This strategy enhances security and is recommended for adoption by other Lightning implementations, writes Matt Morehouse.

Excessive Failback Exploit in LND v0.17.5 and older. LND versions 0.17.5 and earlier contain a bug in the on-chain resolution logic that could potentially lead to fund theft. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by forcing a node restart, possibly through a DoS vector. It is recommended to update to LND 0.18.0 or later to secure your node.
Trezor has disclosed a potential vulnerability in older Safe 3 models. Although the threat is primarily "theoretical," it could affect users who obtained their device third-hand. Discovered by Ledger Donjon team, the vulnerability allows an attacker to reprogram the microcontroller with malicious software, potentially exposing a wallet's seed phrase. This risk is present both if the device is currently accessed by a hacker or if it was tampered with prior to the victim's acquisition.
Undocumented commands have been discovered in the ESP32 microchip, manufactured by Espressif and used in over 1 billion devices as of 2023. These commands could be exploited to carry out attacks, enabling the spoofing of trusted devices, unauthorized data access, network pivoting, and potentially establishing long-term persistence.
Telegram's EvilLoader vulnerability allowed malicious APKs to be disguised as video files. The issue, which affects Telegram for Android, was patched on March 6. This marks the second occurrence of a similar vulnerability. The first, known as EvilVideo and tracked as CVE-2024-7014, was disclosed in July 2024.
Strategy has acquired 130 BTC, bringing its total holdings to 499,226 coins. Michael Saylor's company made a $10.7 million bitcoin purchase after announcing plans to issue up to $21 billion in preferred stock to acquire more bitcoin.
Rumble has purchased 188 BTC for its treasury. The video-sharing platform and cloud services provider announced a $17.1 million bitcoin purchase at approximately $91,000 per coin. The move aligns with its previously announced strategy to allocate up to $20 million to bitcoin.
Metaplanet has acquired additional 150 BTC, bringing its total holdings to 3,200 BTC, valued at approximately $266.2 million. Additionally, the company has appointed Eric Trump, the second son of the U.S. President, to its Strategic Board of Advisors.
Brazilian fintech Méliuz has allocated 10% of its cash reserves into bitcoin, investing $4.1 million to acquire 45.72 coins at an average price of $90,926 per BTC.
StarkWare has established a BTC reserve. The organization hasn't disclosed specifics about its bitcoin holdings or acquisition goals, but admitted that Bitcoin remains central to its operational strategy.

"We put our money where our mouths are. I believe every blockchain company should and will hold bitcoin, and we who are working on Bitcoin day in day out should lead by example," said StarkWare CEO and co-founder Eli Ben-Sasson.

Fold has added 475 BTC to its Bitcoin reserve through a convertible note offering. The firm's total holdings now exceed 1,485 coins.
Xapo Bank has launched bitcoin-backed loans. The company introduced USD loans backed by bitcoin, offering long-term holders liquidity without requiring them to sell their BTC.
Blockstream has secured a multibillion-dollar investment for its Bitcoin funds. As reported by Bloomberg, the company will launch three funds on April 1, with external investors able to join starting July 1:
- Blockstream Income Fund: Offers $100k to $5 million loans in USD, using bitcoin as collateral.
- Blockstream Alpha Fund: Portfolio growth via Lightning Network infrastructure.
- Blockstream Yield Fund: Lending BTC with USD deposits as collateral.
Bitwise debuts an ETF tracking companies holding bitcoin. The Bitcoin Standard Corporations ETF (OWNB) comprises stocks of companies that have over 1,000 bitcoin in their treasury.
Cantor Fitzgerald has chosen Anchorage Digital and Copper.co for 'crypto' custody services. Anchorage Digital's CEO, Nathan McCauley, stated that this partnership represents a significant advancement for the Bitcoin financing ecosystem, emphasizing the importance of safety and security through federally regulated digital asset custody.
Deutsche Börse to launch 'crypto' custody services via Clearstream. Clearstream, a subsidiary of Deutsche Börse, the third-largest stock exchange in Europe, plans to introduce 'crypto' custody services specifically for institutional clients.
Coinbase to launch 24/7 Bitcoin and Ethereum futures for US traders. The platform is set to introduce 24/7 trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum futures on its CFTC-regulated Coinbase Derivatives Exchange in the coming weeks.
Demand Pool has opened applications for its Stratum V2 mining pool. Miners can apply to become launch partners, with successful applicants benefiting from a 0% fee for the first two months and a special two-year founding miner agreement. Applications are open until March 28, 2025.
Bitdeer has launched new models in its SEALMINER A2 product line. The firm announced that the A2 Pro device is compatible with both hydro-cooling and air-cooling, achieving a power efficiency of 14.9 J/TH in each mode.

Additionally, Bitdeer has successfully tested its SEAL03 Bitcoin mining ASIC chip, which is reported to have achieved a power efficiency of 9.7 joules per terahash (J/TH).

Cango to become Bitcoin mining proxy for Bitmain. Cango, a Chinese automobile financing platform that recently shifted to Bitcoin mining, is poised to become an indirect hashing proxy for Bitmain through its financing arm, Antalpha, reports The Miner Mag.
Braiins has obtained its Bitcoin mining test chip. After 2.5 years of development, the test chip underscores a rising interest in creating independent Bitcoin mining ASICs and reduce reliance on Bitmain.
- Moreover, Braiins has committed to open-source their BCB 100 Control Board, along with its supporting software and additional features. The BCB 100 is designed to replace standard Antminer control boards.
Brains pool surpassed 1,000 daily Lightning payouts with Voltage. The milestone highlights the growing Lightning network's impact on Bitcoin mining by enabling miners to perform instant, cost-effective transactions, thereby lessening dependence on slow and costly on-chain payments.
Canaan has secured up to $200 million through a Series A-1 Preferred Shares financing. It will be used to support Canaan's research and development, production expansion, and investments in digital mining infrastructure in North America.
A solo Bitcoin miner has successfully mined block 887,212, reportedly using a Bitaxe machine with a performance of 480 gigahashes per second (GH/s).
SATS'N'FACTS Hackathon winners:
- The competition awarded first place to Toll Gate for its innovative approach to internet access through pay-as-you-go Wi-Fi powered by bitcoin, without requiring sign-ups or subscriptions, thus enabling borderless connectivity.
- Second place went to Bitcoin Safe for its focus on enhancing security and usability in self-custody solutions with outstanding UI/UX.
- Third place was awarded to LnwCash, which explores local advancements in Bitcoin and ecash privacy and accessibility.
MIT Bitcoin Hackathon 2025 on April 4th-6th. Participants can attend both in-person and online. Learn more about it here.
The CheatCode conference will occur on April 11-13, 2025, in Bedford, England. The event is organized by entrepreneur and journalist Peter McCormack.

PlebLab Startup School: Summer Edition is an intensive hybrid program intended to assist early-stage startups in validating their ideas, building traction, and preparing for fundraising. Apply here.
bitcoin++ scaling edition is planned to be held in Istanbul, Turkey, in September 2025. Get your conference tickets here.
Africa Bitcoin Conference 2025. The event is set to take place on December 3-5 in Port Louis, Mauritius. Get your tickets with a 30% discount here.

Updates and releases

Bitcoin Core v29.0rc2 is now available for testing. The Bitcoin Core Release Candidate Testing Guide provides guidance for testing the release candidate.
Bitcoin Knots v28.1 has been released. It comes with support for Testnet4, UNIX domain sockets for proxy connections, BIP137, BIP322, and Electrum signed messages, and JSON-RPC 2.0 support, among other changes.
- Mempool policy changes include allowing Topologically Restricted Until Confirmation (TRUC) parents below the mininum relay feerate, Pay To Anchor (P2A) standard witness outputs for spending, and enabling limited package RBF. There's also a notable GUI change concerning confirmed bitcoin transactions, which have been extended from 6 to 16 blocks:

"Transactions no longer show as confirmed after a mere 6 blocks. Instead, the confirmation period has been extended to 16 blocks, which is a safer duration given the current problematic state of mining centralisation. Note that if you wish to be secure against China/Bitmain, you should consider transactions unconfirmed for a full week," was stated in the release notes.

Core Lightning v25.02 is out. The highlights of this release include channel backups for penalty transaction generation, more stable XPAY plugin integration, the addressing of blinded paths on BOLT12 invoices, and enhancements to gRPC and REST access with onion messages and channel state change notifications, among other improvements.
Eclair v0.12.0 is now available. This release includes RPCs to create and manage BOLT12 offers, supports new channel closing protocol option_simple_close that supports RBF and option_provide_storage for storing small amounts of (encrypted) data of peers. This version also starts using Java 21 and updates dependency on Bitcoin Core to v28.1 to benefit from package relay.

"We've also made more progress on splicing, which is getting into the final stage of cross-compatibility tests. This cannot be used yet with other implementations, but will likely be available in the next release," said the project.

Zeus wallet v0.10.0 introduces channel lease renewals, support for multiple embedded wallets, Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC) client support, and additional goodies.

BTCPay Server v2.0.7 now displays fiat amount previews on the Transaction Details page, adds an endpoint in Greenfield for setting server email settings, along with other improvements and bug fixes.
RoninDojo v2.2.0 streamlines data backups during 1TB drive upgrades, ensuring a smoother experience in system management and uptime maintenance.
Krux v25.03.0, an open-source firmware for building DIY Bitcoin signing devices using off-the-shelf parts, now comes with Taproot and WSH Miniscript support.
Alby Hub v1.15.0 adds '1 Tap connections' for easily connecting other apps to one's personal hub using Alby Go.
Alby Go v1.11.0 implements support for NWC deep linking and NWA, fixes iOS camera crashes and backgrounding errors, and more.
Alby Lite is a minimal Lightning address server powered by Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC).
Bull Bitcoin wallet v0.4.3 fixes a bug that prevented bitcoin on-chain sends, makes use of public/price endpoints for bitcoin price, implements discount confidential transactions for Liquid transfers, and resolves various UI bugs.
Blockstream Green Desktop v2.0.21 introduces crash reporting, prevents invalid transaction creation under slow networking conditions, and displays the available amount following manual coin selection.
Blitz wallet v0.4.2-beta brings an 'ecash revamp' for enhanced flexibility and user security. Ecash proofs are now linked to the user's seed phrase, allowing for effortless wallet recovery. Users can upload and migrate ecash proofs between compatible wallets, and the wallet now utilizes a local SQL database. The update also includes various point-of-sale enhancements, UI adjustments, bug fixes, and performance improvements.
BitBanana v0.9.2 fixes an issue with Core Lightning failing to load wallet.
Nix Bitcoin v0.0.120 is now available with the latest package updates.
Explora is a visual transaction explorer tool for following a chain of transactions. It uses the APIs of mempool.space and ankr.com.

Libwally Core v1.4.0 adds Taproot support, support for deriving BIP85 RSA keys, along with additional PSBT and descriptor features.
Phoenix Wallet v2.5.1 addresses several bugs introduced in v2.5.0, including an issue related to the display of stuck outgoing payments to 'hodl invoices,' incorrect storage of payment metadata, and a deserialization crash during data migration on iOS.
Bitcoin Keeper v2.1.0 update includes a range of improvements across all tiers to refine user experience, boost security, and make self-custody easier. This includes custom spending limits and security delays for Server Key, ability to send batch transactions to multiple recipients, single key support for Portal signer by TwentyTwo devices, and improved wallet migration upon changes of keys. The service now also supports subscription payments in Bitcoin, powered by BTCPay Server.
Fully Noded - Server v0.1.0-beta, a one-click server to connect to Fully Noded apps, is now available. This version removes all functionality related to Lightning and Bitcoin Knots, as "the focus for the first proper release is going to be on Bitcoin Core and Join Market only." Other improvements include a better UI and handling of JoinMarket RPC credentials, the ability to leave the app running in "incognito mode" as a server icon in the menu bar, and the capability to download JoinMarket via master.
Fully Noded v1.3.2, an iOS and macOS Bitcoin wallet designed for use with a personal Bitcoin node, fixes a bug that prevented UR strings from displaying on the wallet and signer details view.
DATUM Gateway v0.3.1beta is now available. It introduces support for editing the config file (to an extent) via the web dashboard, binding Stratum and/or API to a specific host IP, and other improvements.
Grid is a new interactive block visualization tool by OrangeSurf.

Tribe RGB v0.3.0, a mobile wallet for managing Bitcoin and RGB assets, is now available. It delivers several enhancements, bug fixes, and improvements.
Kaleidoswap Alpha v0.1 is now publicly available. It is a desktop app designed for the trustless trading of digital assets over the Bitcoin Lightning Network using the RGB protocol.
BitBox 03.2025 Arni update includes several improvements and bug fixes:
- BitBox02 firmware v9.22.0 addresses a backup bug that occurred when an SD card is re-inserted and enables the identification of outputs belonging to different accounts on the same keystore.
- BitBox App v4.47.0 integrates a buy bitcoin option via BTC Direct (alongside Pocket Bitcoin and MoonPay), adds option to restart the app in Testnet mode via advanced settings, enables simple Xpub sharing with exchanges and other external services via the AOP protocol, and some other miscellaneous improvements.
- BitBox App v4.47.2 is a patch release for Linux users that addresses compatibility issues with some versions of Mesa.
Bitcoin Safe v1.1.0 is now available. This version adds support for the Jade Plus signing device, enables Xpub import from USB signers for different accounts, and includes a Debian build.
Ashigaru wallet v1.1.1 is now available. This update allows users to rename and reorder account names in Wallet Address Calculator tools, fixes app crashes on startup when launching in offline mode, resolves issues with copying xpubs, and introduces reproducibility enhancements based on user feedback.
Lightning Dev Kit team announced Versioned Storage Service (VSS). It is a server-side storage solution for non-custodial wallets that simplifies wallet development by securely managing state data for Lightning Network and Bitcoin applications.

Scure-btc-signer v1.7.0, an audited and minimal library for creating, signing, and decoding Bitcoin transactions, implements MuSig2 from BIP327 and introduces support for unknown PSBT keypairs.
Fuzzamoto by Niklas Gögge provides a framework for coverage-guided fuzzing of Bitcoin full node implementations in a comprehensive manner.
Utrexxo v0.4.0 is now available.
Aqua Wallet v0.2.10 fixes the amount display for USDT when it includes commas, disables Sideshift TON send/receive due to a bug in the swap order flow, and fixes a bug in Internal Send where the minimum value was not respected.
BlueWallet v7.1.4 is a bug fix release that addresses issues with the navigation architecture, resolves a camera access authorization bug, fixes the inability to turn on the Electrum Server, and updates the use of the CoinDesk API.
Cove wallet v0.2.2 (beta), a Bitcoin mobile wallet for iOS built on top of the BDK library, is now available for testing. This version includes features such as the ability to import hardware wallets, send Bitcoin using PSBTs via NFC, file, or QR code, create and manage multiple wallets, support for BIP329 labels, the option to connect to your own node, and trick PINs for wiping data and creating decoy wallets.
- Future updates will include coin control support, support for TapSigner and SatsCard, and the ability to lock/unlock individual UTXOs. An Android version is expected in a few months.
Harbor wallet v0.2.0-alpha, an open-source ecash desktop wallet, is available for testing. The developers are asking for feedback from early testers. The project is set to launch sometime later this month.
BetterStrike is a self-hosted web app that leverages the Strike API and Tor to enable Lightning and on-chain payments with enhanced privacy. "Strike provides no-KYC accounts in some Latin American countries, so you can just be creative and create an account in one of those countries and protect your privacy while using one of the most robust Lightning wallets out there," said the developer.

"For KYC users, the web app still prevents Strike to get your private info, not only your IP address, but also anything leaked through the Strike app trackers."

bitSpenda, a service for converting bitcoin into Mobile Money (MoMo) accross Africa without an account, KYC and fees, is now live.
Ginger wallet v2.0.17, a fork of Wasabi Wallet that screens all coinjoin input transactions with a chain surveillance partner company, has added support for more fiat currencies for display. This release also includes UI and localization enhancements, as well as stability and performance improvements.
Bitcoin Connect v3.7.1, a tool for enabling WebLN in all browsers, added some new connectors and improvements to the connect / disconnect UX.
Dana Wallet v0.4.2, a mobile wallet for accepting bitcoin donations via Silent Paynments, moves all state out of wallet blob.
Fedimint v0.6.1 fixes a regression in client database.
Ark v0.5.1 by Ark Labs includes a fix for waiting for signed boarding inputs in round execution, and API updates.
- Ark v0.5.2 has implemented the functionality for detecting and handling RBF transactions.
Bark implementation of the Ark protocol by Second has launched on signet with a faucet and demo store. The testing guide for the implementation is available here.
Boltz web app v1.7.1 makes Boltz Rescue Key validation work on Android privacy browsers.
Boltz Backend v3.10.0 has implemented support for rescue files that allow swaps to be refunded with only the refund keys, nested fee premiums to allow referrals to add extra fees, and discount confidential transactions on Liquid mainnet.
Boltz Client v2.4.0 starts using Discount Confidential Transactions on the Liquid Network, and introduces a new pro configuration option for using Boltz Pro fee rates.
- Boltz Client v2.4.1 is a patch release that fixes an issue with submarine swap creation for certain invoices.
Breez SDK v0.6.7 (Greenlight) fixed an issue with swap refunds on multi-device mode.
Breez SDK v0.7.2 (Liquid) has implemented seed support to ConnectRequest, improved realtime sync and restore, and more.
Braiins OS v25.01: Immersion Uprade has introduced support for Antminer S21 Imm. and Antminer S21 XP Imm. This version also adds persistent logs across all control boards, provides normal and boost DPS modes, offers customizable min/max fan speed, and includes quieter fans on Braiins Mini Miners, along with additional bug fixes and improvements.
The latest updates for Stacker.News include improvements in search relevance, the introduction of independent territory and comment ranking, and fixes for reply costs.
Lightning Piggy v6.1.0, a Bitcoin Lightning piggybank using LNBits (for LNURLp) running on TTGO LilyGo ePaper hardware with ESP32 microcontroller, brings 100% feature parity between LNBits and Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC). It now supports NIP-47 payment notifications and fixes issue that shows "null" when no payment comment is provided.
Hashpool v0.1, a mining pool based on the Stratum v2 reference implementation where mining shares are represented as ecash tokens, has been tagged.
Cashu-ts v2.4.0, a TypeScript library for building Cashu wallets, is now available.
THNDR has released skill-based blackjack game that features payouts over the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
Nostur v1.19.0, a Nostr client for Apple experience enjoyers, delivers faster feed loading, improved image uploading, and many other improvements.
- Nostur v1.18.0 has added a floating mini video player, ability to bookmark, copy URLs, and save videos, top zaps on live chats, NSFW content detection, improved search, support for AVIF, MP3, and MPV content formats, better outbox support, low data mode, and more.

Flotilla v0.2.13, a Nostr client for relay-based communities, fixes thread replies, confirm reactions on mobile, adds ability to reply to chat on mobile, along with other fixes and improvements.
Amber v3.2.6, a Nostr event signer for Android, has been released with fixed font scaling and updated dependencies.
Citrine v0.7.2, a local Nostr relay for Android devices, added a button to delete events by kind, and now allows to download events with just an npub. Users can now also change relays while downloading events.
Interested users can sign up for Nextblock (beta), a Nostr client with an Attention Marketplace.
RunDVM.com provides a playground for testing Nostr DVMs by Datamachine.ai.
Meme Amigo now supports the ability to encode ecash tokens into memes.

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Source: lemon

Primal Android v2.1.11 comes with multi-account support, implemented deep linking, articles pagination, integrated ability to share photos and videos, and more.
Primal iOS v2.1.41 delivers improved feeds, deep linking threads, articles, and profiles, and more.
Yana v0.16.0 has implemented 1-click NWC connections with Alby Go, Blossom media uploads, NIP-42 relay authentication, and more.
Flightless v2.0.2 is a terminal UI for NIP-17 Nostr DMs.

Grain relay v0.3.1 disables user sync at startup and caches a list of pubkeys whitelisted via domains when they are successfully fetched.
Nak v0.12.6, a command line tool for doing all things Nostr, is now available.
Postr is a plugin that enables users to post to the Nostr protocol directly through WordPress.
Coracle v0.6.9 addresses issues with collection loading and image paste uploads. It also updates the quoting of addressable events to use addresses rather than nevent and displays errors when direct messages (DMs) fail to send.
Gossip v0.14.0, a Nostr client for desktop machines, includes several new features and improvements. Notably, it displays zappers and amounts when you click on 'Zap total', as well as showing reactions and who reacted. The update also introduces an "Undo Send" feature for direct messages, allowing unsent posts and messages to revert back to drafts. Additionally, it significantly improves image and video loading speeds, along with many other enhancements.
Damus v1.13 is now live on the App Store. It includes local persistence of note drafts and a user-friendly error view. It also adds a Coinos connection button in the wallet view and introduces Alby Go to the mobile wallets selection menu. Additionally, it implements profile image cropping tools and adds a conversations tab to profiles.

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Rust-nostr v0.40.0, a Nostr SDK designed to help developers build fast and secure Nostr protocol apps, introduces support for NIP-38 and NIP-62, and includes a Nostr parser. This release also extends capabilities for tags, adds Mac Catalyst support for the Swift package, and incorporates numerous code cleanups, refactorings, and performance improvements.
0xchat v1.4.7 beta changes the private chat implementation to useNIP-104 Nostr MLS. In addition, NIP-17 and NIP-29 messages now support q-tags, chat messages support code block display, and users can copy images from the clipboard.
LNVPS.net by Kieran is a Virtual Private Server that supports login with Nostr (NIP-07), offers ability to pay with sats, sends notifications over Nostr DMs, allows to independently customize CPU, RAM, and SSD, and, perhaps most importantly, comes with a dark mode.

Blossom.band by The Fishcake is a brand new Nostr.build-backed Blossom service that offers global reach and a fast CDN network. Each distinct user's npub is assigned its own unique server domain, which is exclusive to the owner of that npub and not shared with anyone else.
Cashu.me now contains a newly-designed mint information page.
bullishNuts v2.0.12, a progressive web app (PWA) Cashu wallet, now includes an auto sweep feature that automatically sweeps ecash to a Lightning address.
Satsigner is a work-in-progress Bitcoin signer manager application. It is currently in development, and users can sign up for beta access.
Satsconverter.io v0.4.0, a web app for converting sats to various fiat currencies, comes with a new price API, additional currencies, a toggle for displaying the price in written-out format, a toggle between long and short scales, a desktop layout, and various style fixes.

POWR is a work-in-progress for a local-first, open-source mobile fitness app powered by Nostr. It is expected to be available on iOS TestFlight and Zapstore sometime next week.
Nut-bridge is meant to eventually bridge the gap between NIP-57 zaps and NIP-61 nutzaps by providing a LNURL server that will receive payments via a Lightning Address and then turn them into nutzaps.
Coop v0.1.4-alpha, a Nostr DM client for desktop platforms, has added support for NIP-4e.

"This version is a big experiment since Coop is the first client to support NIP-4e. I've also pushed some minor changes and fixes for better experiences," said the developer.

Wavlake v1.0.3, a social music app powered by Bitcoin, Lightning, and Nostr, includes improved Nostr event handling and various bug fixes.
TheMinerMag API service provides reliable and accurate data on bitcoin mining, including US geographic distribution of mining operations, US mining equipment import data, and other research metrics.
TFTC introduced a Bitcoin rewards program.
Mullvad VPN iOS v2025.3 fixes a DAITA bug found it iOS app versions 2025.1 and 2025.2.
SimpleX Chat v6.3.0 delivers a better group experience, chat navigation improvements, message expiration in chats, and more.
In Tails v6.13, the Tor Connection assistant now notifies users when no Wi-Fi hardware is detected. It also detects partitioning errors when Tails is started for the first time, and fixes the Configure and Show Log buttons in the notification when installing additional software fails.
Arti v1.4.1, a Tor client in Rust, includes client-side Family IDs aimed at saving relay administrators time and bandwidth (when adopted and used everywhere), and lays groundwork for Conflux implementation to enhance performance with multi-path traffic routing.
Tor Browser v14.0.7 comes with important security updates for Firefox. Users not on this version should update ASAP.
- Tor Browser v14.5a4 is now also available for testing.
The latest updates for GrapheneOS include an experimental virtual machine management app that has been introduced in Android 15 QPR2, along with other updates and improvements.

Guides and research

Bitcoin Optech #346 summarizes a discussion about LND’s updated dynamic feerate adjustment system.
The Financial Freedom Report #66 by The Human Rights Foundation is now available.
OpenSats published a blog post hightlighting the latest advancements in on-chain privacy.
Lightning.news published a simple tutorial on how to encode ecash tokens into memes and emojis.
BTC Sessions shared a guide for building your own bitcoin signing device with Krux.

Breez released a new tutorial for developers looking to integrate the Breez SDK - Nodeless into React Native and Expo apps.
The Bitcoin Manual wrote a simple guide to Frostr.
L0La L33Tz published an article examining the incentives created by structuring a Bitcoin reserve to hold seized coins in the context of civil asset forfeiture.
Kate Porter wrote an article ranking ways to buy bitcoin anonymously via no-KYC exchanges.
Hellosafe.ca has an interactive 'crypto' taxation map that compares various countries around the world.

QnA has created a site for beginners to get acquainted with the Nostr protocol.
Art of Freedom has a collection of open-source inflation awareness posters.
Solo Satoshi has published a blog post recapping the evolution of Bitcoin mining.
hodlbod has shared a guide for developing relay-based group implementations.
Conor Okus has released a tutorial on how to receive instant Bitcoin tips while live streaming.

The 256 Foundation March 2025 newsletter is available here, providing an overview of the latest developments in the open-source mining space.
The Bitcoin Design newsletter #72 is now live, highlighting the latest community events for 2025, the Open Design Guide, and various job opportunities.
Breez shared a blog post recapping the adoption of The Breez SDK in Q1 2025.
Conor Okus has written a blog post on the evolution of Payjoin.
BTC Sessions has recorded a tutorial on using Liana wallet.

Alby published a case study on how it enables Tunestr to deliver seamless payment experiences on its music live streaming platform via Alby Hub.
Voltage has put together a blog post exploring the intersection between the Lightning network and casino payments.
pwn.college is an educational platform designed for students and others to learn about and practice core cybersecurity concepts through hands-on activities.
Knut Svanholm is releasing all of his Bitcoin books for free on Nostr, publishing each chapter as a long-form note, alongside the launch of the Bitcoin Infinity Academy.

Mining stats

Bitcoin mining difficulty increased to 113.76T (+1.43%) today at block height 889056.
The network's hashrate (7-day moving average) is currently at ~813 EH/s.

Lightning stats

There are 4,7000 BTC on the Lightning network, per mempool.space stats. It has dropped by ~185 BTC (-3.9%) in the past week.

Nostr stats

Numbers.

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