BTCPay Server v1.0.5.8 released

- Fix: Payjoin client implementation
- Fix: The send wallet, by default, should not include previous transaction
- Fix: Do not log database connection string

https://github.com/btcpayserver/btcpayserver/releases/tag/v1.0.5.8

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Thai authorities are reported to have ordered internet providers to block the Telegram messaging app, which has been used by anti-government protesters

> A leaked document outlining the plans was shared on social media.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54598956
archive: https://archive.vn/CGPvp

FinCEN Fines Bitcoin-Mixing CEO $60M in Landmark Crackdown on Helix, Coin Ninja

> Defunct former darknet giant AlphaBay is alleged to have forged particularly close ties to Helix. Prosecutors claim that Helix laundered $27 million in bitcoin for AlphaBay by integrating its mixing services on-site.

https://www.coindesk.com/fincen-fines-bitcoin-mixing-ceo-60m-in-landmark-crackdown-on-helix-coin-ninja
archive: https://archive.vn/LLLs5

Breez Wallet Release Candidate released

- Channel creation on the fly
- Zero confirmation channels
- Capacity limit raised to 4M sats
- Multi-Path payments

https://medium.com/breez-technology/the-breez-release-candidate-getting-lightning-ready-for-the-global-takeover-b5d1f9756229
archive: https://archive.vn/uyrp9
repo: https://github.com/breez/breezmobile

Tails OS v4.12 released

- Tor Browser v10.0.2
- Tor v0.4.4.5
- Linux v5.8

https://tails.boum.org/news/version_4.12/
archive: https://archive.vn/8UOG8

Voltage is Here

> Voltage is a platform built to make the Lightning Network easy to use. Today we're releasing our core product; noncustodial cloud hosting for Lightning nodes. Through our platform anyone can create a Lightning node with a few clicks. We handle all the networking, backups, and upgrades so you can focus on using Lightning, not managing servers. You have the control to change your node's settings and access the APIs directly. Now you can get a Lightning node in two minutes, not two days.

https://getvoltage.io/blog/voltage-is-here.html
archive: https://archive.vn/eFlRp

DLC Private Key Management Part 2: The Oracle’s private keys

> Discreet Log Contracts enable non-custodial speculation directly on top of the bitcoin blockchain. When protocols are non-custodial, it’s important for users to understand how private keys are handled for the duration of their interaction with the protocol. This blog post focuses on key management from the oracle’s perspective.

https://suredbits.com/dlc-private-key-management-part-2-the-oracles-private-keys/
archive: https://archive.vn/6DvFK
part 1: https://t.me/nobullshitbitcoin/921

Phoenix v1.4.0 released

- background payment reception
- access control changes
- automatic channel creation
- payment metadata
- mempool.space integration

https://github.com/ACINQ/phoenix/releases/tag/v1.4.0

Bisq v1.4.2 released

- startup time improvements
- trade protocol improvements
- withdraw to segwit addresses
- bitcoinj v0.15.8
- Tor browser v10.0

https://github.com/bisq-network/bisq/releases/tag/v1.4.2

Financial Attacks on Democracy: The Role of Cryptocurrency in Election Interference

> The threat of U.S. adversaries using cryptocurrency to finance election interference and other illicit activities has grown since 2016. While U.S. regulators and law enforcement have improved their ability to trace and disrupt illicit activity, it remains relatively easy for illicit actors to hide the source of their funds and purchase services to interfere in U.S. and other elections. The growing overall cryptocurrency industry, as well as the growing ecosystem of VPN vendors, merchant service providers, and others accepting payments in cryptocurrency, makes it easier for illicit, state-backed actors to acquire services in support of hacking and election interference.

https://www.cnas.org/publications/reports/financial-attacks-on-democracy
archive: https://archive.vn/F04VI

RaspiBlitz v1.6.1 released

- LND v0.11.1-beta
- JoininBox v0.1.12
- BTCPay v1.0.5.8
- RTL v0.9.1
- Specter v0.8.1
- Circuit Breaker
- Local version of mempool.space

https://github.com/rootzoll/raspiblitz#downloading-the-software
notes: https://github.com/rootzoll/raspiblitz/blob/v1.6/CHANGES.md#whats-new-in-version-16-of-raspiblitz

Travel rule compliance whitepaper released

> The United States Travel Rule Working Group (“USTRWG” or “Working Group”) is a working group composed of U.S. Virtual Asset Service Providers (“VASPs”) that are collaborating to develop and maintain an industry-led solution to comply with the Travel Rule. The USTRWG members include 25 U.S. VASPs (as of October 2020) including exchanges, brokerages, custodians, and wallet providers with diverse business models and customer types. The USTRWG membership continues to expand with the aim of creating a network of VASPs with maximum industry coverage.

https://www.gdf.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/USTRWG-Travel-Rule-Solution-V1.pdf

(full whitepaper attached)

Tor browser v10.0.2 released

- Firefox v78.4.0esr
- NoScript v11.1.3

https://blog.torproject.org/new-release-tor-browser-1002

LND Vulnerability Disclosure - CVE-2020-26895: LND Low-S Tx-Relay Standardness, affects v0.9.x and below

> Prior to v0.10.0-beta, a malicious peer could force an lnd node to accept a high-S ECDSA signature when updating new off-chain states. Though the signatures are valid according to consensus rules, the mempool policy would reject transactions containing high-S values, potentially leading to loss of funds if time-sensitive transactions cannot be relayed and confirmed. We have no evidence of the bug being exploited in the wild. It affects all classes of lnd nodes: routing, merchant, mobile, etc. The vulnerability was reported privately to the lnd team by Antoine Riard.

https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/pipermail/lightning-dev/2020-October/002858.html
archive: https://archive.vn/nXmWi

LND Vulnerability Disclosure - CVE-2020-26896: LND Invoice Preimage Extraction, affects v0.10.x and below

> Prior to v0.11.0-beta, an lnd node could be coerced into revealing an invoice preimage for a forwarded HTLC with a colliding payment hash. This can be exploited to a) weaken the victim's receiver privacy by confirming the destination of an HTLC, and/or b) under certain circumstances, result in loss of funds to the victim by believing the invoice was paid when it only received routing fees. We have no evidence of either case being exploited in the wild.

https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/pipermail/lightning-dev/2020-October/002857.html
archive: https://archive.vn/dXXHl

Accelerating the BitMEX User Verification Programme

- Users must complete KYC identification process by Nov 5th to continue trading
- Unverified users will not be allowed to withdraw bitcoin after Dec 4th

https://blog.bitmex.com/accelerating-the-bitmex-user-verification-programme/
archive: https://archive.vn/wH6qJ

Bitcoin Optech #120

- overview of the new MuSig2 paper
- discussion about upfront fees in LN
- proposal to simplify management of LN payments
- notable clients and services updates

https://bitcoinops.org/en/newsletters/2020/10/21/
archive: https://archive.vn/OoWxm

PayPal to allow cryptocurrency buying, selling and shopping on its network

> U.S. account holders will be able to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies in their PayPal wallets over the coming weeks, the company said. It plans to expand to Venmo and some countries in the first half of 2021.

https://www.reuters.com/article/paypal-cryptocurrency/paypal-to-allow-cryptocurrency-buying-selling-and-shopping-on-its-network-idUSL1N2HB14U
archive: https://archive.vn/eSVdA

Sparrow v0.9.6 released

- Transaction batching
- Improved wallet load times
- CoboVault QR import
- Bitbox02 support
- Request encryption on wallet import

https://github.com/sparrowwallet/sparrow/releases/tag/0.9.6