Treasury Drops Crypto Surveillance Proposals 

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, has announced a significant reversal regarding its controversial proposals targeting cryptocurrency users. In a move widely regarded as a major victory for privacy advocates and the broader digital asset industry, FinCEN stated its intention to scrap proposed regulations that aimed to increase surveillance on transactions involving "unhosted wallets" and "cryptocurrency mixing" services. These proposals had previously sparked considerable concern among Bitcoin users and privacy proponents, who viewed them as an overreach that could undermine individual financial sovereignty and the ability to conduct private, peer-to-peer transactions without intermediary oversight. The decision to drop these rules signals a potential shift in regulatory approach, easing concerns about burdensome reporting requirements and increased monitoring for self-custodial Bitcoin users.

Ecash Ecosystem Rises to Challenge in the Defense of Decentralized Custody

At Ecash Hackday Berlin, Fedimint and Cashu developers showcased a unified federation across three distinct codebases. Fedi CEO Obi Nwosu highlighted this demo as a direct solution to the software-monoculture risks he previously identified in decentralized custody, drawing lessons from past experiences with systems like Liquid and Coldcard. The article, originating from Bitcoin Magazine and penned by Obi Nwosu, emphasizes advancements in the Ecash Ecosystem to bolster decentralized custody.

Fedimint discloses a bug in Lightning gateway's LNv2 payment handling

Joinstr: Coinjoin pools using MuSig2 and pre-signed transactions.

Joinstr presents a novel implementation for Coinjoin operations within the Bitcoin ecosystem, focusing on enhancing transaction privacy and fungibility. The system leverages advanced cryptographic techniques, specifically MuSig2, a sophisticated multi-signature scheme that allows for compact and efficient transaction constructions. Furthermore, Joinstr incorporates the use of pre-signed transactions, which can streamline the coordination process for Coinjoin pools and potentially offer greater flexibility and security guarantees for participants. This approach aims to provide a more robust and scalable solution for achieving improved on-chain privacy for Bitcoin users by making transaction inputs and outputs harder to link through collaborative mixing.

AskSN: How long should a P2P exchange over Lightning take?

ACINQ/eclair · Release v0.14.3 · upgrade highly recommended

Unfunded channel flood DoS vulnerability fixed in Eclair v0.14.1

DoS: Fake Lightning Channels (2023)

Ben Carman SLP779 | Lightning in x402 and Agent Payments

Now Accepting Bitcoin: Buy Coffee and Bacon Across 200 Indiana Bitcoin Merchants

This article from Bitcoin Magazine reports on the growing adoption of Bitcoin among merchants in Indiana. Specifically, it announces that 200 businesses across the state are now accepting Bitcoin as a payment method for various goods, including everyday items such as coffee and bacon. Old Major Market, a establishment in Central Indiana, is highlighted as one of the key participants in this expanded Bitcoin merchant ecosystem. The piece, authored by Vagabond, emphasizes the practical utility and increasing acceptance of Bitcoin in commerce.

Now Accepting Bitcoin: Old Major Market Brings Artisanal Meats to 48 States

Old Major Market, a Central Indiana-based butcher, has announced its adoption of Bitcoin as a payment method for its artisanal meats. The company, which ships its products to 48 states, is notably committed to holding 100% of all new Bitcoin payments directly on its balance sheet, signaling a move towards integrating Bitcoin into its treasury strategy.

BlueWallet v8.0.2. ➜ Mejora la importación de semillas BIP39.

BlueWallet, a widely recognized non-custodial mobile wallet for Bitcoin and the Lightning Network, has announced the release of its version 8.0.2 update. The primary enhancement in this new iteration is a significant improvement to the functionality for importing BIP39 seed phrases. BIP39 is an essential industry standard that facilitates the creation and restoration of mnemonic phrases, which are human-readable representations of private keys. By enhancing the seed import process, BlueWallet aims to bolster the reliability and user experience for individuals looking to restore their wallets, transfer funds between compatible wallets, or set up new devices. This update directly contributes to strengthening the security and overall self-custody capabilities of Bitcoin users, empowering them to manage their digital assets with greater confidence and control.

Binance BTC outflows hit highest since mid-2023 as whales deposit stablecoins

Binance has seen its highest Bitcoin (BTC) outflows since mid-2023, indicating significant movements on the exchange. Since September 20, the platform's BTC reserves have reportedly decreased by nearly 40,000 coins. This notable shift is attributed to large market participants, or 'whales,' who have been observed depositing stablecoin capital back into their exchange wallets. These movements suggest a change in the allocation or trading strategies of major holders on the Binance platform.

Bitcoin ETFs shed $90M as BTC sits 32% below year-old ATH

Bringin Opens Euro Business Accounts for Bitcoin Companies Across 30 European Countries

Bringin has launched Euro business accounts specifically for Bitcoin companies, now accessible across 30 European countries. These accounts leverage MiCA-authorized infrastructure provided by Lightspark Payments Europe AS. A key feature is the robust security mechanism where account keys are stored within a hardware security module (HSM), ensuring that only the designated owners have the authority to initiate fund movements. This development aims to provide essential banking services tailored for the Bitcoin industry within the European market.

U.S. scraps proposed $10,000 reporting rule for for crypto sent to private wallets

The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has officially withdrawn two long-standing proposals that aimed to impose a $10,000 reporting rule for cryptocurrency transactions sent to private, self-custodied wallets. These proposals, which also touched upon activities involving 'crypto mixers,' had been pending for several years without ever being implemented. The withdrawal signifies that the potential regulatory burdens and surveillance concerns associated with these rules, particularly for individuals engaging in self-custody and utilizing privacy-enhancing tools within the Bitcoin ecosystem, will not materialize. This decision is a notable development for those concerned with financial privacy and the ability to manage digital assets independently without additional reporting obligations to federal authorities.

Did the term ZAP originate on stacker news?

keep stacking paper with Stacker News Zine issue #73

Arkpool: Bitaxe mining with low 1 sat minimum, hourly payouts.

Bitcoin Optech Newsletter #425 Recap Podcast

The Bitcoin Optech Newsletter #425 Recap Podcast, featuring Gustavo Flores Echaiz, Brandon Black, and Matt Morehouse, provides a deep dive into recent Bitcoin and Lightning Network development updates. Key news items covered include the disclosure of two Denial-of-Service (DoS) vulnerabilities affecting the Eclair Lightning implementation and a proposal to enhance wallet label synchronization, aiming to improve user experience and privacy. Discussions around potential consensus changes explored advanced topics such as the ongoing evaluation of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) output types for Bitcoin's future, proposals for block-wide signature aggregation using SNARKs for scalability and privacy, and a detailed analysis of chain length bounds in the context of BIP54 time warp fixes. The podcast also compared various covenant proposals for implementing secure Bitcoin vaults and introduced "depots" for probabilistic Lightning channels, a concept to potentially boost Lightning Network efficiency. The recap further highlighted recent releases and release candidates, specifically mentioning LND v0.21.4-beta.rc1 and LND v0.20.5-beta.rc1, signifying active development within the Lightning ecosystem. Lastly, the podcast detailed numerous notable code and documentation changes, citing several merged pull requests across critical Bitcoin infrastructure projects. This included a series of updates to Bitcoin Core (e.g., #29278, #35984, #35301, #36312, #36284, #35752, #35813), a significant update to BIPs (#2276), as well as important contributions to the Lightning Development Kit (LDK #4993) and the Lightning Network Daemon (LND #11173, #11190). These updates collectively underscore the continuous, rigorous development efforts within the Bitcoin protocol and its scaling layers.

FinCEN dropped its mixing rule. Samourai's devs are in jail until 2028 and 2029.

Strive Adds $169M Bitcoin in Its Biggest Buy in Four Months

Strive, a Nasdaq-listed company recognized for its substantial bitcoin treasury, co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, recently executed a significant acquisition of Bitcoin. The company purchased approximately 2,000 BTC last week, representing an investment of roughly $169 million. This transaction marks Strive's largest single Bitcoin acquisition in the past four months, elevating their total Bitcoin holdings to an impressive 29,462 BTC.

Coinbase’s Ryan VanGrack: CFTC Approval “Opens Many Doors” for Bitcoin

Coinbase's Ryan VanGrack discusses the significant opportunities that CFTC approval could unlock for Bitcoin, suggesting it will open many doors for the cryptocurrency. He also addresses the impact of proposed SEC rules, indicating they could boost direct Bitcoin ownership among financial advisors. VanGrack expresses a view that both Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and direct holding strategies can successfully coexist and thrive within the evolving regulatory environment.

Coinbase Business Chief: Big Banks Increasing BTC Exposure | Shan Aggarwal

Coinbase Business Chief, Shan Aggarwal, discusses the increasing exposure of major banks to Bitcoin (BTC). Aggarwal highlights how new regulations from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are expected to open doors for financial advisors to access Bitcoin. He further explains Coinbase's custody infrastructure, positioning it as a pivotal component facilitating this institutional adoption and the broader integration of Bitcoin into traditional financial systems.