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Bitcoin TLDR

#62

Jan 6 - Jan 12, 2025

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Catch up on This Week's Activity

Ava Chow announced the release of Bitcoin Core version 28.1, featuring enhancements like new peer-to-peer (P2P) configuration options and improved compatibility across various operating systems. This version also addresses certain bug fixes, introduces performance improvements, and updates translations. Users are advised to follow specific upgrade instructions, particularly when migrating from older versions, and can download the update from Bitcoin Core's official website. Significant technical advancements include modifications to address port collisions and improvements in key handling and build systems.

In a separate discussion, mcelrath explored the development of covenant-based solutions for Bitcoin mining pools, focusing on secure and accurate transaction management without custody risks. By leveraging covenants, the proposal aims to ensure theft-proof payouts in alignment with a "can't-be-evil" philosophy, offering an alternative to the FROST federation model. These covenants would enforce specific transaction paths, include safeguards against pool failures, and adjust for dynamic payout changes, highlighting a proactive approach to enhancing transaction security within the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Finally, cdecker addressed the dynamics of channel finalization within blockchain networks, emphasizing the limited impact of attack strategies aimed at disrupting this process. The discussion highlighted mechanisms allowing victims to counter outdated updates published by attackers effectively, suggesting that collusive attacks requiring majority control are unlikely to achieve indefinite censorship. This analysis underscores the resilience of blockchain systems against such disruptions, though it acknowledges vulnerabilities in systems reliant on timelock or CSV mechanisms. For more detailed insights, visit this discussion.

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Latest Bitcoin TLDR Newsletters

Bitcoin TLDR

#62

curly arrow

Jan 6 - Jan 12, 2025

Ava Chow announced the release of Bitcoin Core version 28.1, featuring enhancements like new peer-to-peer (P2P) configuration options and improved compatibility across various operating systems. This version also addresses certain bug fixes, introduces performance improvements, and updates translations. Users are advised to follow specific upgrade instructions, particularly when migrating from older versions, and can download the update from [Bitcoin Core's official website](https://bitcoincore.org/bin/bitcoin-core-28.1). Significant technical advancements include modifications to address port collisions and improvements in key handling and build systems. In a separate discussion, mcelrath explored the development of covenant-based solutions for Bitcoin mining pools, focusing on secure and accurate transaction management without custody risks. By leveraging covenants, the proposal aims to ensure theft-proof payouts in alignment with a "can't-be-evil" philosophy, offering an alternative to the [FROST federation](https://github.com/pool2win/frost-federation) model. These covenants would enforce specific transaction paths, include safeguards against pool failures, and adjust for dynamic payout changes, highlighting a proactive approach to enhancing transaction security within the Bitcoin ecosystem. Finally, cdecker addressed the dynamics of channel finalization within blockchain networks, emphasizing the limited impact of attack strategies aimed at disrupting this process. The discussion highlighted mechanisms allowing victims to counter outdated updates published by attackers effectively, suggesting that collusive attacks requiring majority control are unlikely to achieve indefinite censorship. This analysis underscores the resilience of blockchain systems against such disruptions, though it acknowledges vulnerabilities in systems reliant on timelock or CSV mechanisms. For more detailed insights, visit [this discussion](https://delvingbitcoin.org/t/broken-multi-party-eltoo-with-bounded-settlement/1364/4).

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Bitcoin TLDR

#61

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Dec 30 - Jan 4, 2025

Significant enhancements were made to the Bitcoin covenants support wiki in late November 2024, informed by developer feedback which introduced a new category LNHANCE and improved the resource's accuracy with revisions such as terminology adjustments, the addition of Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) drafts, and a rationale column. Feedback from Murch and Gloria, highlighted in the bitcoin optech podcast episode 333, contributed to the development of a dedicated page listing use cases and prototype links, emphasizing the exclusion of cases enabled solely by OP_CHECKSIGFROMSTACK. Moderation efforts to ensure the integrity of information were bolstered by granting Rearden moderator permissions, amidst discussions highlighting limited interest in SIGHASH_APO among developers and unanimous support for OP_CHECKSIGFROMSTACK, indicating areas for further exploration and the need for achieving technical consensus on covenant proposals ([source](https://gnusha.org/pi/bitcoindev/rp07_AsZrGYA3kFwZweIhzZVonmcuQktAz9r51MgKvrG101_T9NBTTMCFK_q3bMzIH0-QzfFtzC6uJGEKOIMi6Hl6qwbDtMWXXV2frBWXac=@protonmail.com/T/#m89c8e1e4ee3f1ec1dc638fdc62d24444be668cb0)). A revealed bug in Bitcoin Core's block-building algorithm was identified by Ismael Sadeeq, causing underutilization of block weight and sparking a proposed Pull Request (PR) to correct the generation of block templates. Analysis covering over 107,313 blocks from December 2022 to December 2024, demonstrated most mining pools adhere to default settings, with exceptions like Ocean.xyz and F2Pool, which either exceeded the limit or optimized usage, indicating a need for correction to align actual block weights with theoretical expectations and improve mining efficiency ([source](https://delvingbitcoin.org/t/analyzing-mining-pool-behavior-to-address-bitcoin-cores-double-coinbase-reservation-issue/1351)). John Law's implementation of relative timelocks in payment channels enhances operational security by using dual "lanes" for managing timeouts and employing TXID stability, showcasing an innovative approach to transaction management within payment networks. This system's design underscores the potential of leveraging txid stability for improving the functionality and reliability of payment channels ([source](https://delvingbitcoin.org/t/contract-level-relative-timelocks/1353/2)). The Delving website's user engagement showed a significant upward trend from January 2023 to December 2024, with a notable increase post-August 2023, even after implementing an upgrade to filter out non-genuine traffic, suggesting content generation might influence visitation patterns. This growth underscores the dynamic nature of online platform engagement and the impact of content on attracting or retaining site visitors ([source](https://delvingbitcoin.org/t/end-of-2024-site-statistics/1356)).

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Bitcoin TLDR

#60

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Dec 23 - Dec 28, 2024

The Bitcoin development community, spearheaded by figures such as Jeremy Rubin, James O'Beirne, and Salvatore Ingala, is actively exploring enhancements to CheckTemplateVerify (CTV) with proposals like `OP_TEMPLATEHASH` and `OP_INPUTAMOUNTS` for more sophisticated contract structures, including vault withdrawals. These advancements aim to overcome limitations in current CTV vaults by enabling flexible transactions and better security features without the need for state-carrying covenants or intricate introspection. For an in-depth understanding, a comprehensive guide is provided at [this link](https://gist.github.com/moonsettler/d2369e043473c42ff7fa52878dd064a5). In another discussion, a proposal mandates that Bitcoin miners include at least 0.1% of transactions from the oldest in the mempool in every block mined, targeting mining centralization and transaction censorship issues. This initiative seeks to ensure democratic processing by prioritizing transaction age over fees, thereby promoting fairness and enhancing censorship resistance within the Bitcoin network. The specifics of this proposal can be explored further at [this source](https://gnusha.org/pi/bitcoindev/f1a0153b-3142-4e01-a68e-92c458762b89@dashjr.org/T/#mc0ab2bf99af67117f9cb23eca68107d7bccea3e1). Jeremy Rubin revisits the concept of soft forks with expiration terms for protocol upgrades, advocating for a balance between innovation and security in blockchain and cryptocurrency developments. This approach aims to mitigate long-term risks by allowing temporary solutions to vulnerabilities, enabling future improvements or reversals based on emerging insights or technologies. The detailed discussion on the benefits and challenges of implementing such time-bound strategies in protocol management is available at [DelvingBitcoin](https://delvingbitcoin.org/t/transitory-soft-forks-for-consensus-cleanup-forks/1333). The Armenian Crypto Project (ARMCP) emerges as a significant initiative, aiming to integrate cryptocurrencies into daily transactions and the broader financial systems by addressing regulatory and operational challenges. Through platforms like ARMCP_Cryptoblog and tools including ARMCP_Token and ARMCP_Desk, ARMCP is creating a more accessible, secure, and transparent ecosystem for cryptocurrency usage and education. This project's future directions and its efforts to simplify cryptocurrency integration into global finance are detailed at [ARMCP.net](http://ARMCP.net).

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