Good Morning, Bitcoin - Wednesday, April 16th, 2025

Good morning! The GM report is now back on track, and for those wondering where it was... well... it was delayed.

Headlines

• Bitcoin mining centralization in 2025. According to a blog post by b10c, Bitcoin mining was at its most decentralized in May 2017, with another favorable period from 2019 to 2022. However, starting in 2023, mining has become increasingly centralized, particularly due to the influence of large pools like Foundry and the use of proxy pooling by entities such as AntPool.

• New Spiral grantee: l0rinc. In February 2024, l0rinc transitioned to full-time work on Bitcoin Core. His efforts focus on performance benchmarking and optimizations, enhancing code quality, conducting code reviews, reducing block download times, optimizing memory usage, and refactoring code.
• ESP32 microcontroller vulnerabilities. A paper by Crypto Deep Tech details how an attacker can embed a hidden list of vulnerabilities through module updates, potentially compromising ESP32 devices and allowing unauthorized access to private keys, underscoring the importance of continuous monitoring and enhancing both device and software security.

• Bitdeer to expand its self-mining operations to navigate tariffs. The Singapore-based mining company is advancing plans to produce machines in the U.S. while reducing its mining hardware sales. This response is in light of increasing uncertainties related to U.S. trade policy, as reported by Bloomberg.
• Local governments in China use private firms to sell seized bitcoin for cash. According to Reuters, the lack of clear regulations for handling seized bitcoin and other tokens—whose trading is banned on the mainland—has led to inconsistent and opaque practices. The situation has sparked debate among attorneys about the need for new regulations.
• Unchained has launched the Bitcoin Legacy Project. The initiative seeks to advance the Bitcoin ecosystem through a bitcoin-native donor-advised fund platform (DAF), investments in community hubs, support for education and open-source development, and a commitment to long-term sustainability with transparent annual reporting.
  • In its first year, the program will provide support to Bitcoin hubs in Nashville, Austin, and Denver.
  • Support also includes $50,000 to the Bitcoin Policy Institute, a $150,000 commitment at the University of Austin, and up to $250,000 in research grants through the Bitcoin Scholars program.

"Unchained will match grants 1:1 made to partner organizations who support Bitcoin Core development when made through the Unchained-powered bitcoin DAF, up to 1 BTC," was stated in a blog post.

• Voltage has introduced Voltage Payments platform for enterprises. It will offer a single API that integrates both bitcoin and stablecoin payments with minimal technical overhead, providing the option of either Voltage or user-controlled custody. The platform features a comprehensive dashboard, along with built-in compliance and accounting tools. Currently in beta testing, it is set to launch in 46 U.S. states. Join the waitlist to be notified when it becomes available on mainnet.

Use the tools

• Bitcoin Core Config Generator by Jameson Lopp is now compatible with Bitcoin Core v29.0.
• Zeus wallet v0.10.2 is now available. This point release is centered around various bug fixes.
• Bitkit wallet v1.1.0 introduces performance improvements, smarter coin selection with new Autopilot options, a redesigned side menu, and bug fixes.
• Bitcoin Keeper v2.1.1 update includes various UI updates, bug fixes, and performance improvements.
• Flash v0.4.0-beta, a Bitcoin and Lightning wallet built on the Galoy infrastructure and tailored for the Caribbean Community, features a complete UI/UX redesign, encrypted NIP-17 messaging via Nostr, zoom functionality on the scan camera, improved support for NFC-based Flashcards, and much more.

• Payjoin Dev Kit (rust-payjoin) v0.23.0 introduces a first-class persistence abstraction, wire protocol changes to support RFC 9540, and improved compliance with the BIP78 specification. It also includes an experimental multiparty sender, accessible through the hidden "_multiparty" feature gate. Additionally, it addresses technical debt by enhancing error handling, expanding functionality with new modules and features, and improving test infrastructure. These updates result in breaking API and protocol changes.
  • Payjoin CLI v0.1.0 is now out of alpha, with the wire protocol now presumed to be stable.
  • Payjoin Directory v0.0.2 has been tagged. It implements the Payjoin Directory store-and-forward server required for Payjoin V2's asynchronous operation.
• BDK Wallet v1.2.0 has been released. The TxBuilder's add_recipient now accepts any Into<ScriptBuf>. Coinbase outputs are eligible if maturing in the next block. Wallets using rusqlite::Connection are checked for thread safety. bdk_chain is updated to version 0.21.1, with some internal cleanups.
• Lightning Dev Kit (rust-lightning) v0.1.2 includes the latest API updates, performance improvements, and bug fixes.
• Boltz Client v2.5.1 includes a patch for correctly handling negative service fees from Boltz Pro. Earlier version 2.5.0 introduced a new bumpfee command alongside several other fixes and improvements.
• Elements v23.2.7, an open-source implementation of advanced, sidechain-capable blockchain features extending the Bitcoin protocol, is now available with the latest fixes and improvements.
• AxeOS (ESP-Miner) v2.6.5 increases the power target for Gamma self test. In version 2.6.4, the under limits for the power consumption self-test were removed.
  • AxeOS v2.6.1 was a significant release introducing many new features and improvements. For a comprehensive feature breakdown, check out the details provided by WantClue below.

• Rust-nostr v0.41 introduces NIP-C0 support and NIP-98 helpers, corrects NIP-32 and NIP-47 implementations, and adds the nostr-keyring crate. It extends admission policies for fine control over relay connections, beneficial in gossip mode. POSIX semaphores are enabled for LMDB on iOS and macOS to address App Sandbox issues. It also expands architecture support for C# and JVM bindings, including linux-x86, windows-x86, and windows-arm64, among other things.
• Nostringer is a JavaScript/TypeScript library providing unlinkable ring signatures (SAG) for Nostr public keys. Inspired by Monero's ring signatures using Spontaneous Anonymous Group (SAG) signatures and the beritani/ring-signatures implementation, it enables a signer to prove their membership in a group of Nostr accounts without disclosing which specific account produced the signature. See a live demo here.
• Private Pond by Kukks a Bitcoin Payjoin application built specifically to optimize Bitcoin transaction rails for services such as deposits, withdrawals, and automated wallet re-balancing. The project is unmaintained and should only be used as inspiration.
• Pokey v0.1.6-alpha now includes NIP-05 mentions in its notifications.
• 0xchat v1.0.2-desktop-beta introduces support for NIP-104 MLS secret chats, allows copying images from the clipboard, and fixes an issue where pressing 'enter' in the desktop client would send messages immediately.
• Tails v6.14.2 is an emergency patch release that addresses security vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel and the Perl programming language implementation.

Other stuff

• BTC Sessions has published a new tutorial for using the Sparrow Wallet, catering to users from beginner to advanced levels.

• John Carvalho has published a blog post debunking Operation Choke Point v2.0.
• Mike Abramo has written a Lightning Bounties recap of mentoring the MIT Bitcoin Hackathon 2025.
• Antoine Poinsot has shared a BIP draft for the Consensus Cleanup soft fork.

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