Follow The Money #1 - Bitcoin in El Salvador

- El Salvador could be the catalyst for the most audacious economic experiment since Bretton Woods. On September 7th 2021, they became the first country in the world to make the nascent digital currency, Bitcoin, legal tender. If other countries follow, it could lead to a new international monetary system. How did this come to pass? And what does it mean for Salvadorians?

youtube: https://youtu.be/ig3UN1GYmY8
bitcointv: https://bitcointv.com/w/dLm7yaKnq1J83bD7BEXy6E

Pieter Wuille: Private authentication protocols

- Authentication protocols are used to verify that network connections are not being monitored through a man-in-the-middle attack (MitM). But the commonly used constructions for authentication—often some framework surrounding a digital signature or key exchange protocol—reveal considerable amounts of identifying information to the participants (and MitMs). This information can potentially be used to track otherwise anonymous users around the network and correlate users across multiple services, if keys are reused.

https://github.com/sipa/writeups/tree/main/private-authentication-protocols
archive: https://archive.ph/QFo34

Bitcoin Optech #200

- discussion of recursive covenants Script changes
- a revised OP_TX proposal
- descriptors for hardware signers research
- client software changes

https://bitcoinops.org/en/newsletters/2022/05/18
archive: https://archive.ph/zDIth

How Bitcoin Should Be Upgraded In The Future

- One of the most contentious questions in Bitcoin over the last five years has been how to activate soft forks

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/how-to-upgrade-bitcoin
archive: https://archive.ph/i149C

The EU Commission is planning automatic scanning of your private communication

- total surveillance in the name of child protection
- would be the worst surveillance apparatus outside of China

https://tutanota.com/blog/posts/eu-surveillance-csam
archive: https://archive.ph/5hV33

Bitcoin Seed Tool v1.0.5 released

- Selecting 'Last Word Generator' from the BIP39 tool list will allow you to pick seed words from a hat and then manage the remaining bits to generate the checksum word.

https://github.com/BitcoinQnA/seedtool/releases/tag/1.0.5

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Block details expanded Bitcoin efforts at 2022 Investor Day

- “We think we've just scratched the surface for further adoption of Bitcoin in the United States and globally,” said Ahuja. “We believe Bitcoin is going to have a profound impact on financial services, particularly as a tool for economic empowerment and as a global currency for the Internet.”

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/147659/block-details-expanded-bitcoin-efforts-at-2022-investor-day
archive: https://archive.ph/uUtR6

fiatjaf: A Lightning penalty transaction

- I've triggered a Lightning penalty transaction on purpose.

http://fiatjaf.com/73095980.html
archive: https://archive.ph/cm4H4

Summer of Bitcoin 2022 results announced

- 83 students from 15 countries will contribute to 29 open-source bitcoin projects with 60 open-source bitcoin developers and designers as mentors
- 20317 total applications

https://blog.summerofbitcoin.org/summer-of-bitcoin-2022
archive: https://archive.ph/eSiDu

Mining-Rig Maker Canaan Q1 Revenue More Than Triples

- revenue surged 237% from the year-earlier quarter to $213.9 million
- $69.7 million net income

https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/05/19/mining-rig-maker-canaan-q1-revenue-more-than-triples
archive: https://archive.ph/OydF8

Sparrow Wallet v1.6.4 Released

- native support for Apple M1
- blockstream jade support
- hww taproot signing
- support for scanning seed QRs
- dust attack detection

https://github.com/sparrowwallet/sparrow/releases/tag/1.6.4

Why We Can’t Trust Hash Rate Data From China

- there was never 0% hash rate in china
- mining data is hard to collect and cambridge bitcoin mining data is flawed

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/dont-trust-bitcoin-mining-data-from-china
archive: https://archive.ph/ff0i6

Bitcoin Education Is Launching For 40 High Schools In Argentina

- The Schools and Bitcoin Project
- Starting with 4000 students across 40 high schools

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/bitcoin-education-launches-in-argentina-for-high-schools
archive: https://archive.ph/gyeJD

Crypto Voices: 2022 Q1 Update on the Global Monetary Base

- This research covers the globe's top 50 fiat currencies, sourced directly from their central banks, gold, silver, and bitcoin.

https://nitter.net/crypto_voices/status/1527572272613142528
archive: https://archive.ph/hC9so

Plan ₿ Summer School For Bitcoin Business Opens This July

- July 3-16
- Lugano, Switzerland
- cohort-style course
- lecturers include Adam Back

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/plan-b-summer-school-for-bitcoin-starts-in-july
archive: https://archive.ph/OUFRr

The central bankers were definitely not coming to El Salvador to discuss Bitcoin

- Twitter has been ablaze with posts about whether or not this was a Bitcoin event. It wasn’t – it was a financial inclusion event. Bitcoin just happens to be the most inclusive financial network in the world.

https://galoy.io/the-bankers-were-definitely-not-coming-to-el-salvador-to-learn-about-bitcoin
archive: https://archive.ph/SU4Du

Peeping Toms and Tinas: A History of the Five, Nine, and Fourteen Eyes Countries

- we need to step back and look at the start of the current global surveillance apparatus, which has its roots in WWII

https://tutanota.com/blog/posts/fourteen-eyes-countries
archive: https://archive.ph/4u35E

Silvergate Bank Announces Quarterly Recurring Donation to Brink

- funds will go toward supporting bitcoin open source development

https://www.silvergate.com/about/company/community-involvement
archive: https://archive.ph/hxKtF

BitMEX Founder Hayes Avoids Prison on Bank Secrecy Charge

- two years probation
- first six months of his sentence in home confinement
- $10M fine

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-20/bitmex-co-founder-arthur-hayes-sentenced-to-two-years-probation
archive: https://archive.ph/5mUK2