@ Cryptape
2025-02-07 02:02:37
🍨*Your weekly byte of the latest updates from the Bitcoin ecosystem!*
## Crypto Insights
### Security Crisis Revealed by Bitcoin Mempool Clearance
Recently, several Bitcoin blocks went unfilled as mempools cleared out and transaction fees hit 11-month low. Reduced activity on the network led miners to nearly clear out Bitcoin's pool of unconfirmed transactions. This [post](https://x.com/DaPangDunCrypto/status/1885993450610594293) pointed out that these events highlight a potential security crisis.
### What Has Been Done to Make Bitcoin Quantum-Safe?
According to [Murch's response](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/125171/what-exactly-is-being-done-today-to-make-bitcoin-quantum-safe), there is currently no dedicated team within the Bitcoin community working on quantum security. However, related proposals exist, such as [BIP-360: Pay to Quantum Resistant Hash](https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/pull/1670), which aims to introduce a quantum-resistant output type.
### A Variant of Cycling Attacks on Bitcoin Miners' Block Templates Disclosed
Antoine Riard [reported](https://groups.google.com/g/bitcoindev/c/ZspZzO4sBys) a variant of cycling attacks that can censor transaction flows in miners' block templates. This enables attackers to manipulate Bitcoin fee rewards, maximizing their chances of mining blocks on the longest valid chain at the expense of honest miners.
### Hurricash: A Multi-Signature Tool for Shared UTXOs
[Hurricash](https://supertestnet.github.io/hurricash/) is a multi-signature tool that allows multiple users to lock funds in a single UTXO while enabling unilateral exit with their contribution. Any member can spend money from Hurricash on Lightning Network since Hurricash can be a channel factory, or on the base layer via an LN-to-base-layer swap. Similar to [Coinpools](https://bitcoinops.org/en/topics/joinpools/), but Hurricash requires everyone to exit with the same amount as everyone else.
Hurricash aims to address two key issues of the Lightning Network:
- High cost of opening channels (sometimes)
- Privacy concerns about placing channel-opening transactions on the base layer
Advantages of Hurricash:
- No soft fork required
- Computational cost for pool creation grows at O(n^3) instead of O(n!)
- Users can exit at any time, in any order, without coordination
- Unlike Ark, Hurricash has no central coordinator
- Unlike Ark, funds in Hurricash pools are not time-locked, allowing indefinite participation
Check out its [GitHub](https://github.com/supertestnet/hurricash) for the code.
### Fake Channels Are Real: Why Client-Side-Validated Lightning Is Easier Than You Think
Peter Todd [argues](https://petertodd.org/2025/fake-channels-and-rgb-lightning) that intermediary channels in the Lightning Network don’t need to be real. When Alice makes a payment via Alice ↔ Bob ↔ Charlie ↔ David, she only cares if David receives the payment, not whether Bob and Charlie’s channel exists.
This flexibility is particularly useful when using client-side-validated tokens like RGB or Taproot assets. Lightning payments can route through virtual channels, requiring only Alice’s channel to be valid. This eliminates third-party verification and enables users to route transactions with just a few MB of data.
### Implementation of Non-Interactive Single-Round T-of-N Threshold Signature Protocol NOIST
[Burak](https://x.com/brqgoo) successfully implemented a 550/999 NOIST threshold multisig transaction. Check it out on [mempool](https://mempool.space/tx/fe9c93ad23c3f860a5162e54d34154b4401ac51959c25778bda3024960a33218) and watch the [demo video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3S7C9bNYDc).
NOIST ([GitHub](https://github.com/brollup/brollup/tree/main/src/transmutive/noist)) is a non-interactive, single-round t-of-n threshold signing protocol. It allows multiple untrusted entities to generate a group key and produce signatures in constant time, preventing malicious signers from forcing a re-do. Its output is a 64-byte BIP-340-compatible Schnorr signature. Read [more](https://blog.brollup.org/introducing-noist-a-non-interactive-single-round-t-of-n-threshold-signing-protocol-51225fe513fa) about NOIST.
### Blockstream’s 2024 Year in Review
Blockstream [reviewed](https://blog.blockstream.com/blockstream-update-2024-in-review/) its major developments over the past year, including:
- Multiple Core Lightning updates: such as [dual funding](https://blog.blockstream.com/core-lightning-v24-02-uint-needs-signature/), [BOLT12](https://glossary.blockstream.com/bolt12/?ref=blog.blockstream.com), along with improved performance and accessibility
- BlockStream’s Lightning-as-a-Service (LaaS) [Greenlight](https://blockstream.com/lightning/greenlight/?ref=blog.blockstream.com) integrating with Europe’s leading Bitcoin platform Relai
- Hardware wallet [Jade](https://blockstream.com/jade/) adding Miniscript support and reintroducing Anti-Exfil to counter Dark Skippy attacks
- Revamped Bitcoin desktop wallet [BlockStream Green 2.0](https://blog.blockstream.com/blockstream-green-2-0-a-new-accessible-experience-for-bitcoin-desktop-wallets/)
- Sidechain-based, Bitcoin layer-2 settlement network [Liquid](https://docs.liquid.net/docs/technical-overview) advancements, including: [Liquid Wallet Kit](https://github.com/Blockstream/lwk?ref=blog.blockstream.com), testnet deployment of High-Assurance Smart Contract [Simplicity](https://blog.blockstream.com/en-simplicity-github/), and [ELIP 200](https://blog.blockstream.com/confidentiality-made-affordable-elip-200-unlocks-up-to-90-lower-fees-on-liquid/) reducing transaction fees by up to 90%
### Rizful: A Disposable Lightning Node Setup Tool
[Rizful](http://rizful.com) provides a quick and easy way for users to run their own Lightning nodes in the cloud, enabling instant receipt of zaps and other Lightning payments. Rizful nodes are disposable and fully implement the Nostr Wallet Connect specification, as well as instant inbound and self-managed channels.
### Ark’s Minimally Dependent Wallet SDK for Bitcoin Transactions
Ark released a TypeScript-powered [Wallet SDK](https://blog.arklabs.to/introducing-the-ark-wallet-sdk-d1c77ce61cfc) that simplifies building Bitcoin wallet for both on-chain and off-chain transactions. The SDK follows the [Noble Cryptography](https://paulmillr.com/noble/) approach, minimizing dependencies while supporting Bitcoin and Ark transactions in web applications and mobile wallets—without WebAssembly overhead.
### QuantumLink: Air-Gap-Level Security Over Bluetooth
Foundation introduced [QuantumLink](https://foundation.xyz/2025/01/quantumlink-reinventing-secure-wireless-communication/), a Bluetooth-based protocol that encrypts all data entering or exiting the Bluetooth chip with a quantum-resistant encryption scheme. This achieves a comparable level of air-gap security while maintaining convenience and flexibility.
### Why DeepSeek is a Game Changer for AI x Crypto
The author [argues](https://x.com/tmel0211/status/1884068876604109163) that DeepSeek is a major breakthrough for AI + Crypto due to:
- Breaking the hardware-dependent AI computing model, challenging NVIDIA’s monopoly
- Using reinforcement learning (RL) and reasoning optimization instead of brute-force pre-training paradigm by piling up hardware
- Enabling cost-efficient AI Agent applications
- DeepSeek's open-source approach aligns with the decentralization principles of Crypto.
### Tracking Bitcoin Adoption in the U.S.
[StackStates.com](https://stackstates.com/) provides an overview of state-level legislation on strategic Bitcoin reserves, helping track Bitcoin adoption across the U.S.
## Top Reads on Blockchain and Beyond
### RGB++: A New Approach to Bitcoin Scaling
This [article](https://www.nervos.org/knowledge-base/the-case-for-rgbpp) explains why [RGB++](https://www.rgbppfans.com/) offers a holistic solution that aligns with Bitcoin's original ethos in a landscape where existing scaling efforts often involve significant trade-offs—be it in security, decentralization, or usability.
RGB++’s major advantages:
- **Enhanced Bitcoin Utility**: RGB++ extends Bitcoin beyond a store of value and payment network, enabling decentralized applications, financial instruments, and cross-chain interactions without bridges.
- **Scalability & Efficiency**: Isomorphic binding allows advanced smart contracts without third-party trust, while transaction folding and off-chain asset issuance solve state bloat and boost throughput.
- **Proven & Growing**: RGB++ is already live on mainnet, with increasing adoption among users and dApps.
### How the Zero-Click Deanonymization Attack Works via Cloudflare
The author discovered a unique attack method called the "zero-click deanonymization attack." This exploit allows attackers to pinpoint a target’s location within a 250-mile radius—without any user interaction. If the target has a vulnerable app installed—whether a mobile app or a background service on a computer—the attacker can send a malicious payload to reveal the target’s identity within seconds—the victim does’t even know. He found that hundreds of apps, including Signal, Discord, and Twitter/X, are vulnerable to this attack.
[This article](https://gist.github.com/hackermondev/45a3cdfa52246f1d1201c1e8cdef6117) explains how the attack works through Cloudflare.
### The Dangers of Central Bank Digital Currencies and Their Impact on Financial Independence and Privacy
[This article](https://reason.com/2024/12/18/imf-offers-a-glimpse-at-the-perils-of-central-bank-digital-currencies/) explores the risks of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and their implications for financial independence and privacy. Referring to the International Monetary Fund’s [*CBDC Virtual Handbook*](https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/fintech/central-bank-digital-currency/virtual-handbook), the author explains how CBDCs grant governments unprecedented control over transactions, enabling surveillance, restrictions, and financial coercion. The piece contrasts government-issued digital currencies with decentralized alternatives like Bitcoin, highlighting stark differences in privacy and user freedom.