BtcTurk | Integrates Lighting Network
BtcTurk, Turkey’s oldest Bitcoin exchange, integrated the Lighting Network. This enables users to make faster, more cost-effective, and more privacy-protecting withdrawals, deposits, and payments. This is particularly important in a country of 85 million people, where 52% inflation is eroding their savings and incomes. As strongman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan continues to tighten control over Turkey’s financial system, Bitcoin offers a decentralized alternative that bypasses state restrictions. By adopting the Lightning Network, BtcTurk makes Bitcoin a more accessible tool for those seeking financial autonomy.
BitBox | Introduces Support for Sending Silent Payments
The BitBox02 is the first Bitcoin hardware wallet to support sending Silent Payments, offering a major privacy upgrade for users. Silent Payments allows senders to generate unique addresses from a receiver’s static public key. This means activists, nonprofits, and charities can publicly share a reusable address to receive donations without revealing who they are, who donated, and how much. With this integration, BitBox02 users can support causes and make payments without exposing their financial activity to unwanted parties.
Strike | Announces Support for BOLT 12 Offers
Strike, a Bitcoin payments platform, added support for BOLT 12 offers, an upgrade to the Lightning Network that brings improved receiver privacy, stronger protection against censorship, and reusable payment requests. For Strike users, this means more financial privacy for recurring payments, which is especially useful for activists and organizations wanting to receive donations discreetly (like a virtual tip jar). The upgrade also protects users by hiding their IP addresses with onion messages. These improvements make Strike a more versatile option for Bitcoin payments, giving users more privacy and control over their transactions.
Bitcoin Dada | Launches Developer Program for Women in Africa
Bitcoin Dada, a nonprofit initiative empowering African women through financial education and Bitcoin, launched Dada Devs, a program enhancing women’s development and coding skills. This initiative equips women with the tools and expertise needed to participate in Africa’s growing tech landscape by offering hands-on training, educational sessions, and a collaborative environment. Once marginalized from traditional financial systems, these women are now becoming active contributors to a global, decentralized, apolitical financial system like Bitcoin. HRF is proud to support Bitcoin Dada’s impactful work through the Bitcoin Development Fund.
Vinteum | Establishes Bitcoin Developer Launchpad in Brazil
Vinteum, a nonprofit supporting Bitcoin developers in Brazil, established a Bitcoin Developer Launchpad. This free program will train and empower Brazilian developers working on open-source Bitcoin and Lightning Network projects. Led by Bitcoin Core developer Bruno Garcia and engineering professor Edil Medeiros, the program combines workshops, seminars, and coding challenges to help participants gain the skills needed to thrive in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Participants will also receive mentorship from renowned developer and educator Lisa Neigut and Bitcoin Core developer Amiti Uttarwar and attend in-person learning in São Paulo. The program concludes with a presentation at the bitcoin++developer conference from Feb. 19-24, 2025, in Florianópolis, Brazil. Registration for the developer launchpad is open until Oct. 2.
Alby Hub | Releases Friends and Family App
In its latest release, Alby Hub, a Lightning Network node app, introduces a “Friends and Family” app, making it easier to onboard loved ones to Bitcoin and the Lightning Network. With this app, users can quickly set up self-custodial wallets for friends and family, removing the complexity of managing channels, liquidity, and the technical details that can sometimes plague the Lightning Network. This helps users avoid the need to rely on centralized custodial services, providing greater financial independence and reducing counterparty risk. Alby is also rolling out a beta version of Alby Go, a mobile wallet that makes on-the-go use of Alby funds easy.