Institutional Bitcoin Broker NYDIG Valued at $7B in Whopping $1B Funding Round

https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/12/14/institutional-bitcoin-broker-nydig-valued-at-7b-in-whopping-1b-funding-round/
archive: https://archive.ph/i4cen

Ledn Raises $70 Million at a $540M Valuation Announces Bitcoin-Backed Mortgage Product

- Clients will be able to blend an equal amount of Bitcoin and property collateral as part of the mortgage loan
- The company expects to launch the product broadly to its U.S. and Canadian customers early next year.

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/ledn-raises-70-million-announces-bitcoin-backed-mortgage-product
archive: https://archive.ph/rfnKj

Bitcoin Optech #179

- proposal to allow relay of transactions with zero-value outputs
- discussion about preparing LN for PTLCs
- changes to services/client software
- popular Bitcoin Q&A

https://bitcoinops.org/en/newsletters/2021/12/15/
archive: https://archive.ph/Aamvt

Coinbase Transparency Report — — Q1-Q3, 2021

- 5562 law enforcement and agency requests
- 2727 requests from the US
- 1044 requests from the UK

https://blog.coinbase.com/coinbase-transparency-report-q1-q3-2021-80bb5c785da
archive: https://archive.ph/KiZ7p

Galoy Raises $3m Seed Round to Help Communities and Institutions Use Bitcoin as Money

- Galoy developed and maintains the Bitcoin Beach Wallet in El Salvador

https://galoy.io/galoy-raises-3m-seed-round-to-help-communities-and-institutions-use-bitcoin-as-money/
archive: https://archive.ph/fWKUU

Notable Software Releases this Week

Mercury v0.4.65: https://github.com/layer2tech/mercury-wallet/releases/tag/v0.4.65

Sparrow v1.5.5: https://github.com/sparrowwallet/sparrow/releases/tag/1.5.5

Bisq v1.8.0: https://github.com/bisq-network/bisq/releases/tag/v1.8.0

BlueWallet v6.2.15: https://github.com/BlueWallet/BlueWallet/releases/tag/v6.2.15

Caravan v0.3.13: https://github.com/unchained-capital/caravan/releases/tag/v0.3.13

Zap desktop v0.7.5-beta: https://github.com/LN-Zap/zap-desktop/releases/tag/v0.7.5-beta

Umbrel v0.4.10: https://github.com/getumbrel/umbrel/releases/tag/v0.4.10

Mobile Bitcoin Gaming Is Powering Up on Lightning

https://www.coindesk.com/layer2/culture-week/2021/12/15/mobile-bitcoin-gaming-is-powering-up-on-lightning/
archive: https://archive.ph/y7jw7

SEC punts on Bitwise and Grayscale spot bitcoin ETF proposals

- The SEC will now take an additional 45 days to review both proposals, kicking their decision deadlines to February 1, 2022, and February 6, 2022

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/127912/sec-punts-on-bitwise-and-grayscale-bitcoin-etf-proposals
archive: https://archive.ph/ZbQOs

Underground bitcoin mining is thriving in China after official ban

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/18/chinas-underground-bitcoin-miners-.html
archive: https://archive.ph/yECAg

HRF, Strike Launch three lightning focused bounties for one bitcoin each

(1) reusable bolt12 invoices
(2) pegging bitcoin to usd without a trusted third party or token
(3) chaumian ecash lightning wallet
- approval of the bounty releases will require a unanimous vote on OpenSats’ nine-person board

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/hrf-strike-launch-lightning-bounty-in-bitcoin
archive: https://archive.ph/srhvQ

Blockstream Sponsors The Mempool Bitcoin Project

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/bitcoin-company-blockstream-sponsors-mempool
archive: https://archive.ph/PYnXm

Bitcoin Optech #180: 2021 Year-in-Review Special

- developments in Bitcoin during each month of 2021
- taproot summary
- major releases of popular infrastructure projects

https://bitcoinops.org/en/newsletters/2021/12/22/
archive: https://archive.ph/Ajw6G

Notable Software Releases this Week

BTCPay Server v1.3.7: https://github.com/btcpayserver/btcpayserver/releases/tag/v1.3.7

Rust Lightning v0.0.104: https://github.com/lightningdevkit/rust-lightning/releases/tag/v0.0.104

lnbits v0.4.0: https://github.com/lnbits/lnbits-legend/releases/tag/0.4.0

Specter DIY v1.6.2: https://github.com/cryptoadvance/specter-diy/releases/tag/v1.6.2

Mercury Wallet v0.5.1: https://github.com/layer2tech/mercury-wallet/releases/tag/v0.5.1

Simple Bitcoin Wallet v2.4.24: https://github.com/btcontract/wallet/releases/tag/2.4.24

Hexa Wallet v2.0.65: https://github.com/bithyve/hexa/releases/tag/v2.0.65

Patriots Quarterback Mac Jones Gifts Bitcoin to his Offensive Line

- one bitcoin split thirteen ways
- 7.69M sats each
- a subscription to Bitcoin Magazine
- tickets to Bitcoin 2022

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/patriots-quarterback-mac-jones-gifts-bitcoin-to-offensive-line
archive: https://archive.ph/LqA1q

Iran Orders Bitcoin Mining Halt Until March 6th to Save Power During Winter Crunch

- Iran for the second time this year ordered a shutdown of authorized cryptocurrency mining centers as part of efforts to ease the strain on the country’s power plants and avoid blackouts, according to Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, director of the state-run Iran Grid Management Co. and a spokesman for Iran’s power industry.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-28/iran-orders-crypto-mining-ban-to-save-power-amid-winter-crunch
archive: https://archive.ph/kpIqh

Log4j v2.17.1 out now, fixes new remote code execution bug

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/log4j-2171-out-now-fixes-new-remote-code-execution-bug/
archive: https://archive.ph/DZOkP

Slides from IRS Representation Conference

https://irsrepconference.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/CTD-20210604-Slides.pdf
archive: https://docdro.id/Y6b1A1t

Notable Software Releases this Week

- RTL v0.12.0: https://github.com/Ride-The-Lightning/RTL/releases/tag/v0.12.0

- tdex v1.2.1: https://github.com/tdex-network/tdex-app/releases/tag/v1.2.1

- mercury wallet v0.5.3: https://github.com/layer2tech/mercury-wallet/releases/tag/v0.5.3

- samourai wallet v0.99.98: https://docs.samourai.io/en/wallet/releases#v09998

Proposal for reusable privacy preserving taproot addresses

https://gist.github.com/Kixunil/0ddb3a9cdec33342b97431e438252c0a
archive: https://archive.ph/HlqcJ

Government-imposed Bitcoin Adoption Is Clashing With Community Efforts on the Ground in El Salvador

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/reporting-on-bitcoin-adoption-in-el-salvador
archive: https://archive.ph/jHvxe