Blue Wallet | Implements Sending to Silent Payment Addresses
Blue Wallet, a popular non-custodial mobile Bitcoin wallet, now supports sending to Silent Payment addresses. This static address protocol for Bitcoin allows transaction senders to generate unique addresses from a receiver’s static public key. Silent Payments are a big privacy boost and can be especially useful for activists receiving donations, tips, or funding. With this update, Blue Wallet joins other wallets like Cake Wallet in enhancing financial privacy through the integration of Silent Payments. You can learn more about Silent Payments in this comprehensive guide and learn about Blue Wallet from this tutorial by prolific educator, BTC Sessions.
TwelveCash | Simplifying Lightning Addresses
TwelveCash aims to simplify the process of receiving Bitcoin payments by providing a memorable identifier (i.e., an email-like payment address) instead of a traditional Bitcoin address made up of a long string of letters and numbers. TwelveCash leverages BIP 353 and Domain Name System (DNS) technology to securely manage payment instructions. When someone uses a TwelveCash address, it can redirect them to a BOLT 12 offer, a Lightning address, an on-chain address, or a Silent Payment address. By transforming complex payment details into simple, memorable addresses, TwelveCash makes sending and receiving Bitcoin payments more accessible and user-friendly for Bitcoin users and activists around the world.
Calle | Demos Nostr Web Services
Bitcoin developer and creator of Cashu, Calle, released a demo of Nostr Web Services (NWS), which brings Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) to Nostr. What this means is that users can host web applications without needing a Domain Name System (DNS) — a naming system used to translate human-readable domain names into machine-readable IP addresses — or revealing their public IP address. Instead, users share their service’s npub (Nostr public key), ensuring private communication through encrypted connections. This development allows for more private and secure hosting and accessing of web services. For those in challenging political environments, NWS could provide a way to bypass traditional Internet infrastructure to communicate and carry out commerce without being monitored by authorities.
Bitso | Integrates Lightning Network
Bitso, a leading financial services company in Latin America, integrated the Bitcoin Lightning Network. This move will allow Bitso’s eight million retail customers and 1,700 institutional clients to enjoy faster, more affordable Bitcoin transactions. Partnering with Lightspark, Bitso will use Lightspark’s remote key signing implementation, meaning Bitso will hold the Lightning signing keys while Lightspark hosts the Lightning node. With 53% of wallets in Latin America holding Bitcoin (according to Bitso’s Crypto Landscape in Latam report) and significant adoption in the region’s authoritarian regimes, this integration will enable real-time, cost-effective Bitcoin payments amid the region’s political and currency challenges.
El-Tor | High Bandwidth Tor Network
El-Tor is a high-bandwidth Tor network incentivized by the Bitcoin Lightning Network. It enables users to run their own Tor relays and earn satoshis for sharing their Internet bandwidth. By also integrating BOLT 12 offers, El-Tor ensures that payments to users are more private and censorship-resistant. Users of El-Tor can choose to run different types of Tor relays based on their needs and use cases — entry guard, middle relay, or exit relay — and set custom rates for their services. This project aims to enhance internet privacy and resiliency by providing financial incentives to support the Tor network. El-Tor showcases Bitcoin’s expanding role in building decentralized and secure Internet infrastructure, reducing reliance on centralized systems, and promoting financial freedom.
NIP 88 | Discreet Log Contracts over Nostr
Discreet Log Contracts (DLCs) are Bitcoin-based smart contracts that allow users to enter into agreements with each other. Outcomes are determined by oracle, which are services that supply external data to blockchain-based smart contracts. In other words, they act as a bridge between the real world and the blockchain to determine the outcome of a smart contract. A Stacker News post suggested that Nostr could act as a “layer of discoverability for DLC oracles.” This would allow anyone with an Internet connection to become an oracle, help decentralize the process of DLCs, reduce the risk of censorship, and lower the barrier to entry. Additionally, combining DLCs with the Lightning Network or eCash could enable instant settlement for contracts.
Maelstrom | New Bitcoin Developer Grant Program
Maelstrom, a decentralized technology fund, launched a new Bitcoin Developer Grant Program to support open-source developers working on Bitcoin’s technical progress. Led by Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMex and CIO of Maelstrom, and piloted by Jonathan Bier, the author of “The Blocksize War,” the program aims to enhance Bitcoin’s “resilience, scalability, censorship resistance, and privacy characteristics.” Grants range from $50,000 to $150,000 and are awarded for a duration of 12 months. This initiative is crucial to helping support the work of open-source developers and driving the ongoing development of Bitcoin. Developers are invited to apply by Aug. 25 for the chance to receive funding. Learn more about the Bitcoin Developer Grant Program and apply here.