Whirlpool CLI v0.10.8 released

- fix mix counters reset
- resync mix counters automatically on upgrade (thx @blamb5)

https://code.samourai.io/whirlpool/whirlpool-client-cli/-/releases/0.10.8

New German law would force ISPs to allow secret service to install trojans on user devices

> A new law being proposed in Germany would see all 19 federal state intelligence agencies in Germany granted the power to spy on German citizens through the use of trojans. The new law would force internet service providers (ISPs) to install government hardware at their data centers which would reroute data to law enforcement, and then on to its intended destination so the target is blissfully unaware that their communications and even software updates are being proxied.

https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/new-german-law-would-force-isps-to-allow-secret-service-to-install-trojans-on-user-devices/

Creating lightning channels on the fly!

> Boltz now provides a self-custodial way to get a balanced lightning channel without manual actions required from the end-user.

https://medium.com/boltzhq/a-landmark-boltz-release-creating-lightning-channels-on-the-fly-%EF%B8%8F-94896854b681

XMR.to added Lightning Network payments

> It couldn’t be easier: paste the invoice, click “create order” and proceed as with usual orders, that’s it. It typically takes less than 10 seconds between you clicking “send” in your Monero wallet and the merchant acknowledging the invoice is paid.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero/comments/ho5ibv/xmrto_added_lightning_network_payments/

Bitcoin and the need for financial privacy

> Observers are looking. Governments using tools sold to them by blockchain surveillance companies can de-anonymize entities believed to be acting illicitly. Authoritarian governments can do the same for those they believe to be critical of their regimes. Lazy or careless users of Bitcoin will inevitably reveal themselves to this surveillance apparatus.

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/genesis/70789/bitcoin-and-the-need-for-financial-privacy

Potzblitz! - Episode #11 with Tom Chojnacki

> founder of satsback.com talks about how Bitcoin and the Lightning Network will obsolete the global cashback industry.

youtube: https://youtu.be/tvCHx_TtPxg

Top Podcasts of the Week

Tales from the Crypt - Rabbit Hole Recap - https://anchor.fm/tales-from-the-crypt/episodes/Rabbit-Hole-Recap-Week-of-2020-07-06-eghe5j

What Bitcoin Did - Nic Carter, Tuur Demeester, Robert Breedlove & Alex Leishman - https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/what-now-for-bitcoin

Stephan Livera - Rafael Schultze-Kraft - https://stephanlivera.com/episode/190/

Tales from the Crypt - Randy Brito - https://anchor.fm/tales-from-the-crypt/episodes/177-Randy-Brito-egdr8s

Stephan Livera - Ragnar Lifthrasir - https://stephanlivera.com/episode/189/

Tor v0.3.5.11, v0.4.2.8, and v0.4.3.6 (with security fixes) released

> If you build Tor from source, you can download the source code for v0.4.3.6 on the website. Packages should be available within the next several weeks, with a new Tor Browser by the end of the month.

> These releases fix TROVE-2020-001, a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability affecting all versions of Tor when compiled with the NSS encryption library. (This is not the default configuration.) Using this vulnerability, an attacker could cause an affected Tor instance to crash remotely. This issue is also tracked as CVE-2020- 15572. Anybody running a version of Tor built with the NSS library should upgrade to v0.3.5.11, v0.4.2.8, v0.4.3.6, or v0.4.4.2-alpha or later. (If you are running a version of Tor built with OpenSSL, this bug does not affect your installation.)

https://blog.torproject.org/new-release-tor-03511-0428-0436-security-fixes

Hablemos de Bitcoin - Privacidad, KYC y exchanges, con Max Keidun

> Recibimos a Max Keidun, CEO y fundador de HodlHodl, uno de los mercados sin KYC disponibles en el mercado. ¿Por qué importa comprar o vender BTC sin KYC? ¿De qué forma se conjuga esto con la privacidad? ¿Por qué es importante que existan estas opciones para adquirir BTC? Esto y más.

youtube: https://youtu.be/5U7H2dVkl0g

Bitcoin App Bottlepay Is Back From the Dead With a New Lightning App

> After restructuring the bitcoin wallet product to fit Europe’s anti-money laundering directive (AMLD5), the British startup is offering an exchange wallet with social features on Reddit, Twitter and Discord. Bottlepay co-founder Pete Cheyne said there are over 1,000 people on the waitlist for the closed beta relaunch in August.

https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-app-bottlepay-is-back-from-the-dead-with-a-new-lightning-app

Coinbase is selling blockchain analytics software to the US Secret Service

> the Secret Service awarded a four-year contract to Coinbase in May in order to use its blockchain analytics software, called Coinbase Analytics. The contract is worth $183,750 in total and ends on May 9, 2024.

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/amp/post/71261/coinbase-is-selling-blockchain-analytics-software-to-the-us-secret-service

Zap Desktop v0.7.0 released

- LND v0.10.2-beta
- Payment probes
- Multi Part Payments
- Keysend
- gRPC over Tor
- LNURL channel
- Hold invoices
- Routing info

download: https://github.com/LN-Zap/zap-desktop/releases/tag/v0.7.0-beta

RoninDojo v1.5 released

- Dojo v1.6
- Whirlpool CLI v0.10.6
- Electrs v0.8.5
- BTC Explorer v2.0.0
- Addrsindexer v0.3.0

source: https://code.samourai.io/ronindojo/RoninDojo/-/releases/v1.5

download: https://ronindojo.io/downloads/

Zeus v0.3.0 released

- lndhub
- c-lightning Spark
- onboarding tour
- option to force system verification of self-signed certs
- change units on the Send view
- change units when drafting an invoice
- WhatTheFee table when making on-chain transactions
- detect lndconnect strings on the user's clipboard and prompt to import
- handle multisig on-chain addresses

Android APK: https://zeusln.app/zeus-v0.3.0.apk
iOS TestFlight: https://testflight.apple.com/join/gpVFzEHN
Dev Sig: https://zeusln.app/zeus-v0.3.0.apk.asc
PGP Key: https://zeusln.app/PGP.txt
Full release notes: https://github.com/ZeusLN/zeus/releases/tag/v0.3.0

BLW lightning wallet for android

features: https://xn--57h.bigsun.xyz/blw.html

download: lightning-wallet.com

Counting Down Thunder: Timing Attacks on Privacy in Payment Channel Networks

> the privacy guarantees of the Lightning Network may be subverted by an on-path adversary conducting timing attacks on the HTLC state negotiation messages. To this end, we provide estimators that enable an adversary to reduce the anonymity set and infer the likeliest payment endpoints. We developed a proof-of-concept measurement node that shows the feasibility of attaining time differences and evaluate the adversarial success in model-based network simulations.

source: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2006.12143.pdf

Following the Blockchain dot com feerate recommendations

> Transactions sent with Blockchain [dot] com wallets make up for about a third of all Bitcoin transactions.

> Most of these transactions share the same fingerprint. Only P2PKH outputs are spent. No SegWit and neither multisig are spent. With every transaction, either one or two outputs are created. When two outputs are created, then at least one of them is a P2PKH output. The transactions are not time-locked, have a version of one, and do not signal BIP-125 replaceability. However, all are BIP-69 compliant.

https://b10c.me/mempool-observations/3-blockchaincom-recommendations/

Samourai Dojo v1.7.0 released

- optional "strict mode" enforces additional checks before transaction broadcast
- whirlpool v0.10.8

full release notes: https://code.samourai.io/dojo/samourai-dojo/-/blob/develop/RELEASES.md#1_7_0

download: https://code.samourai.io/dojo/samourai-dojo/-/tags/v1.7.0