Good Morning, Bitcoin - Tuesday, July 16, 2024

GM! It's Tuesday, July 16, and here is your daily collection of Bitcoin and freedom tech-related headlines, updates and insights.

What's happening

• OpenSats, a non-profit supporting open-source Bitcoin and freedom tech projects, announced the fifth wave of Nostr grants for 11 projects: nosvelte, npub.cash, nostter, nostr-filter-relay, Mostro, Citrine, DVMDash, nostr-php, Shopstr, Nostrmo, and Captain’s Log.
• Spiral, an independent, bitcoin-focused entity within the Block ecosystem of companies, renewed its support to BTCPay Server and Stratum V2 developer Pavlenex for the fourth time.
• Tokyo-listed Metaplanet disclosed a purchase 21.877 BTC. The company now owns over 225 BTC. It's stock price jumped by 25.8% following the disclosure.
• 404 Media published a report on how fraudsters bypass KYC checks and identity verification on cryptocurrency exchanges using various online services and marketplaces.
  • For example, a website named Fotodropy Store sells image sets tied to individual people for approximately $16. Buyers can select demographic details, such as the gender and age of the face model. 404 Media purchased a set for roughly $30 in BTC, which included 80 photos and four videos of the same person.
• US telecom giant AT&T revealed that hackers had stolen the call records of tens of millions of its customers. To resolve the situation, AT&T paid a member of the hacking team 5.7 BTC to delete the data and produce a video proving the deletion. Wired reported that the hackers initially demanded 1 million, but AT&T managed to negotiate the ransom down to under $400k worth of BTC.
• North Korean hackers are reportedly increasingly targeting crypto firms and projects using fake applicants and doctored CVs, according to an investigation by DL News.
• J.D. Vance, venture capitalist turned politician, and now a running mate of former President Donald Trump, reportedly owned between 100,001 and 250,000 worth of bitcoin as of 2022, reports The Block.

Use the tools

• Bitcoin Keeper v1.2.10 introduces a companion Keeper desktop app for macOS devices. The project said that Windows and Linux versions are coming soon™.
• BTCPay Server v1.13.4 features several important bug fixes and enhancements.
• El Tor is a high-bandwidth Tor network incentivized by the Lightning Network. It enables users to run their own Tor relays and receive payments for sharing their internet bandwidth. Users have the flexibility to choose different types of relays—entry guard, middle relay, or exit relay—and can set their own payment rates.

• Ditto v1.1, a powerful new server for building communities on Nostr, has been released. This latest version adds major stability and performance improvements, nos2x signer support, top zaps, and more.
• Nostr singer for Android, Amber v1.1.1, brings support for sending and receiving nsecbunker requests with NIP-44, new options, fixes, and improvements.
• Npub.pro sites now come with their own zap button under each post.

• /dev /fd0 announced Octojoin - an alternative option for improving privacy in Bitcoin transactions. It allows users to include multiple inputs in a transaction, some with histories linked to other users, making it more difficult for on-chain analysts to determine ownership. You can support the development of Octojoin here.
• CardCoins, an indefinitely suspended Bitcoin and cash exchange service, has open-sourced its 'Additive RBF Batcher' for platforms and services processing many withdrawals. It allows them to incorporate new customer withdrawals into an unconfirmed transaction while providing users with good experience and retaining much of the fee savings. You can read more about it here and here.
• Airbtc is now live. It is a new platform that connects travelers and accommodation providers - an Airbnb rival that runs exclusively on Bitcoin.

Other links

• Bitcoin developer 0xB10C published a blog post titled 'Mining Pool Game Theory during Forks.'

• Seth For Privacy shared a guide on how to set up a BIP-353 Bitcoin username.
• Kondwani demonstrates how to buy sats in Malawi without internet access with Azteco Bitcoin Vouchers and Machankura.

Do you want more? Subscribe and get No Bullshit GM report straight to your mailbox.