Good Morning, Bitcoin - Tuesday, February 11th, 2025

News

• UK orders Apple to create backdoor for encrypted iCloud accounts worldwide. Apple has received a secret order from the UK Home Secretary's office requiring the company to provide access to any user data protected by its Advanced Data Protection for iCloud. Apple might withdraw support for Advanced Data Protection for iCloud in the UK instead of installing a backdoor.

"The British government’s undisclosed order, issued last month, requires blanket capability to view fully encrypted material, not merely assistance in cracking a specific account, and has no known precedent in major democracies," reports The Washington Post.

• Tornado Cash developer updates:
  • Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm is petitioning the US Supreme Court to block an order requiring him to reveal his defense strategy to the Government, reports The Rage.
  • Meanwhile, Alexey Pertsev was released from pretrial detention on Friday in the Netherlands under the condition of electronic monitoring. Pertsev was sentenced to 64 months in the Netherlands for writing open-source privacy code on Ethereum last year. His defense has filed an appeal.
• The Czech Republic enacts a law to exempt bitcoin hodlers from paying taxes on long term capital gains. The country's President Petr Pavel signed a bill exempting crypto users from paying taxes on Bitcoin and other digital assets held for three years or longer. Additionally, transactions up to CZK 100,000 (~$4,136) per year will not need to be reported to tax authorities.
• Nineteen US states race to establish Bitcoin reserves. North Carolina and Montana are the latest states with proposed legislation to allow state investments in Bitcoin and other digital assets. You can track the progress of these laws at bitcoinlaws.io.

• Trump Media to launch Bitcoin ETF this year. Donald Trump's media company, Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), announced plans to launch three ETFs under the Truth.Fi brand, including Truth.Fi Bitcoin Plus ETF, Truth.Fi Made in America ETF, and Truthi Energy Independence ETF.
• Strategy (ex-MicroStrategy) purchased 7,633 BTC. The recently rebranded firm increased its bitcoin holdings to 478,740 BTC with the purchase of $742.4 million worth of coins.
• Texas university announces a $5 million Bitcoin investment fund. The University of Austin launched a $5 million Bitcoin investment fund within its $200 million endowment. The investment strategy includes a minimum holding period of five years.
• Bitcoin Policy Summit 2025 is set to take place on June 25th, 2025. The event will be held in the heart of Washington, DC at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. Click here to express your interest in attending the summit.

Use the tools

• Proton Wallet, a self-custodial and end-to-end encrypted Bitcoin-only wallet by Proton, is now available on iOS, Android, and the web after a successful early access program.
• Sparrow Wallet v2.1.2 is a bug fix release that addresses an issue with transaction file loading and fixes signing on older Ledger devices.
• Wasabi Wallet v2.5.1 introduces configurable providers for fee rate estimations and exchange rates, along with multiple quality of life improvements, and separate backend and coordinator packages for Linux, simplifying the process for community members to run a backend or coordinator.
• Bitcoin Keeper v2.0.1 introduces a new app redesign for a simplified user experience, adds Miniscript integration with BitBox02, COLDCARD, Tapsigner, Jade, Ledger, and Keeper Mobile Key, enables in-app concierge ticket support for all users, implements COLDCARD Q QR support, and includes a variety of other improvements.
  • Keeper Desktop v0.2.0, a companion desktop app for the Keeper mobile app, has also been released. It comes with support for Miniscript with BitBox02, COLDCARD, Jade, and Ledger, and implements support for the BitBox02 pairing code.
• Aqua Wallet v0.2.7 adds more swap and customization options, along with the ability to set a passcode for the app.
  • Version 0.2.8 includes a vertical layout patch for some small screen devices.
• ZEUS wallet v0.9.6 is the latest stable bug fix release for the project.
  • ZEUS v0.10.0-alpha1 is now available for testing. It brings channel renewals, Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC) client support, developer tools view, and chantools: sweepremoteclosed.
• Chantools v0.13.6, a tool with helper functions for rescuing funds locked in LND channels, comes with the ability to add commit points for ancient channels of LNBIG.

• Alby Go v1.9.0 can now display notifications for payments sent and received via a connected Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC) wallet, and it can scan/pay 0-amount invoices.
• Alby Hub is now available on Unraid systems, a NAS personal cloud servers, thanks to the integration from open-source contributors.
• Peach Bitcoin app v0.5.3 fixes dark mode issues, removes Firebase Analytics, increases the fund multiple limit, and adds a warning to never share your seed phrase.
• Bisq v2.1.6 is now available for testing. It comes with the latest fixes and improvements.
• Ginger Wallet v2.0.16 has been released with a Buy Bitcoin integration, coinjoin selector improvements, performance optimizations, and more.

NOTE: Ginger Wallet screens all coinjoin input transactions with a chain surveillance partner company.

• Nunchuk Android v1.9.62 delivers support for Android15 and fixes an ANR issue for Qualcomm SM8750-AB Snapdragon 8 Elite.
• Clams v0.4, a desktop app for accounting bitcoin, introduces the Exports Widget. It enables users to easily generate capital gains reports and journal entries exports.

• Clams Remote v2.6.0, a 'remote control' for one's Core Lightning node(s) via any web-enabled device, has been released.
• Plebeian.market implemented an enhanced category menu with dynamic categories loading on mount, NIP-05 badges, open graph, and a number of UI improvements and fixes.
• Freeflow v0.1.1, a TikTok-like app built on the Nostr protocol, now supports login with Amber Signer on Android devices.
• Minibits v0.2.0-beta is a maintenance and bug fix release with many upgrades and improvements.
• Cashu Dev Kit (CDK) v0.7.0 is now available.
• KeyChat App v1.26.8 has been released with the latest bug fixes and enhancements.
• Primal v2.1 delivers Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC) support for Primal Wallet and web app, along with various feed improvements and Legend Cards.
• Flotilla v0.2.7, a Discord/Slack-like Nostr client, adds support for calendar events, migrates to Svelte 5, and brings several UI improvements.
• PlebDevs, a developer education platform built on the Nostr protocol and Lightning, implemented multi-account linking.

• TheBullishBitcoiner released txTree, an app that uses the mempool API to visualize a Bitcoin transaction and its history.
• SATOSH.EE, a Bitcoin-based site for gift cards, discounts, and rewarding Loyalty Program, is back online following a security issue during which 81,000 sats were drained from its Rewards pool.
• Braiins open-sourced its BCB 100 mining control board.
• Tails v6.12 is now available. It brings several important security fixes.
• Arti v1.4.0, a next-generation Tor client in Rust, features a new RPC interface, replacing C Tor's control port with many improvements. It includes preparatory work for relay support, bug fixes, and progress towards onion service DoS resistance.
• Tor Browser v14.0.6 is now available. This version includes a fix to the crash issue found on older versions of macOS.

Other stuff

• Breez and 1A1z released a report on Bitcoin payments. It reveals that over 650 million people now have access to Bitcoin payments and includes case studies from global businesses such as Pick n Pay in Africa, Mercari in Japan, and Mondo Convenienza in Italy.

• Expatriotic has published a guide on how to start using the Ashigaru wallet.
• OpenSecret has shared a technical primer on how its team built a confidential compute developer platform leveraging secure enclaves.
• Adam Jonas has put together a blog post on Bitcoin CoreDev reflections in 2024/2025.
• The latest Nostr Weekly Review report by Nomishka Dilshan is now available.
• Satochip has shared a quick video guide on how to use Satochip with Sparrow Wallet.

• Do you want more? Subscribe and get No Bullshit GM report straight to your mailbox and No Bullshit Bitcoin on Nostr.
• Feedback or tips? Drop it here.