nubank, new rails... https://financefeeds.com/nubank-taps-lightspark-to-add-bitcoin-lightning-network/

EU Pushing for Extended Search Capabilities to Access Encrypted Data The EU has published it's "First report on encryption by the EU innovation hub for internal security". The direction of travel is clear when it comes to crypto, Bitcoin, Layer 2s and ZKP. Here are some of the conclusions: - Extended search capabilities and means for targeted lawful access could be beneficial in capturing encrypted data. - The wider debate on the use or introduction of alternative means of bypassing encryption (e.g. client-side scanning) is another area that deserves continued scrutiny. - Cryptocurrencies continue to be popular with criminals for hiding their transactions and laundering criminal proceeds. There are currently various difficulties in finding the real identities of criminals, due to mixing services and non-compliant exchanges. Moreover, criminal adoption of zero-knowledgeproofs and layer 2 applications will further complicate law enforcement efforts to trace criminal funds. Collaboration with academia and private industry is needed, so these trends can be monitored and novel tools can be created.

Wells Fargo employee trying to look busy

How much of Bitcoin’s price is driven by macroeconomic factors? According to a study by Redalyc over a three-year period 2017 - 2019, around 95% of the price movement (a correlation co-efficient ‘R’ of 0.9465) can be attributed to five macro-finacial and liquidity measures. The study suggests that Bitcoin's price is influenced by a variety of macroeconomic factors including the amount of money in circulation, the performance of the stock market, expected market volatility, the price of gold, and the strength of the US dollar. Whist it's important to note that these are just correlations, and the study doesn't prove that these factors directly cause changes in Bitcoin's price, it does provide some valuable insights into how Bitcoin interacts with the broader economy. #asknostr

GM

Funny where you meet fellow Bitcoiners. I live in the middle of nowhere in the UK and just started chatting to my only neighbour's carer. She's from Cape Town and my age, 54. Since it was raining (as usual in the UK), I joked that she should be hoping on a plane back home to the sunshine. She then explained that she had to come over and work as a carer because she had lost all her savings which were in Crypto. She had been investing since 2015 and was doing well until she connected her hardware wallet to a dummy Trezor website. Man I feel for her! I'm also glad I've got a multisig setup.

"For money as for all other activities of man, liberty is the mother, not the daughter of order." - Murray N. Rothbard, "What has the government done to our money?" #asknostr

The Feds estimate for US crypto users is somewhat lower than Coinbase's. Quelle surprise. https://buff.ly/4dYLBOH

Is Bitcoin Fungible? The reason I ask is I've just been reading the latest book by Dave Birch and Victoria Richardson (a good read if you're a money nerd like me). In it, they postulate that Bitcoin can't be money because each one is unique and hence, not 'fungible'. For example, in the UK, the High Court has ruled that Bitcoin is digital property, and, as such is capable of being the subject of a proprietary injunction against an exchange. In other words, an exchange will be obliged to identify the owner of any stolen coins and the owner can be legally pursued to recover the stolen coins even if they didn't know that the Bitcoin they bought were stolen. I would argue that is no less Fungible than the physical pound or dollar in yours or my pocket. Thoughts 💭? #asknostr

Drivechains, Side chains, Spider chains, Soft Chains, Space Chains, Cross Chains, Anchored Chains, Rollups, ecash, Mints, Lightning, Liquid...argggh. Just took another peek at Jameson Lopp's excellent Bitcoin Information page:

Bitcoin Layer Two Resources

A list of second layer Bitcoin platforms.

It's a couple of years since I started pealing the Bitcoin layer 2 onion and I still don't feel like I'm any closer to having a decent grasp. Which of the L2s enable final settlement of payments in addition to clearing without recourse to the underlying UTXO?

Laughable attempt to ESG shame Bitcoin https://www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-67564205.amp?amp_gsa=1&amp_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQGsAEggAID #amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17012792575487&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com

This photo perfectly illustrates the state of UK - and the wider world - politics today. Our Prime Minister interviewing and fawning over the richest man in the world whilst feigning concern about a new technology in which both their respected organisations have vested interests.

UnHerd

Welcome to the cashless dystopia

Your digital identity is the world's most precious currency

Good article by Rachel O'Dwyer