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@ 2183e947:f497b975
2025-02-13 04:44:45
# How Coinpools Improve Bitcoin
# Problems with bitcoin
UX problems with base layer payments include:
- Mining fees are sometimes high
- Confirmations usually take several minutes
- Using it privately requires running a coinjoin server
UX problems with lightning payments include:
- Setup fees are sometimes high
- Payments frequently fail
- Payments aren't asynchronous (the recipient has to stand there with their device open waiting to do a revoke_and_ack on their old state -- unless they use a custodian)
- Payments that *do* succeed occasionally take more than 30 seconds (due to stuck payments, automatic retries, and no ability to say "stop retrying" in any existing wallets that I'm aware of)
- Using it privately requires manual channel management
# Solutions
A lot of my recent work focuses on non-interactive coinpools. I figured out a way to do them on bitcoin if we had CTV + CSFS, and then, with a bit more thought, I figured out that my model didn't actually require those things, so I am now working on an implementation. But my model does benefit a lot from CTV (less sure about CSFS at this point) so let me outline how non-interactive coinpools fix the above problems and along the way I will share how CTV specifically improves coinpools.
## "Mining fees are sometimes high"
Coinpools improve the problem of "mining fees are sometimes high" by letting you bypass them in more cases. If you're in a coinpool and pay someone else in the same coinpool, your payment does not show up on the base layer, it just involves modifying some unilateral withdrawal transactions such that the sender can withdraw less and the recipient can withdraw more. The transactions are off-chain, like LN transactions, so you can do that without paying a base layer fee.
## "Confirmations usually take several minutes"
Coinpools improve the problem of "confirmations usually take several minutes" in a similar manner. Payments *inside* a coinpool (i.e. to another pool user) merely involve modifying off-chain data (and revoking an old state), so they can be as fast as lightning. In most cases I expect them to be a bit faster because there's less need for pathfinding or negotiating with a variety of routing nodes. If the sender and the recipient are in the same pool, they only need to talk to each other and, in my model, a coordinator.
## "Using the base layer privately requires running a coinjoin server"
Coinpools improve the problem of "using the base layer privately requires running a coinjoin server" in two ways: first, if you're in a coinpool and you send money to a bitcoin address, the blockchain doesn't know which coinpool user sent that payment. Analysts might be able to trace the payment to the coinpool, but from the blockchain's perspective, that's just a multisig; the actual person *inside* the multisig who sent the money is not revealed. However, my model uses a coordinator, and the coordinator probably knows which user sent the payment. Still, only 1 person knowing is better than having everyone on the blockchain know.
Second, if you send money to someone *inside* the coinpool, in my model, the only people who know about your payment are the sender, the recipient, and the coordinator, and the recipient does not know who the sender is. Moreover, my model allows users to act as bridges from LN to other pool users, so even the coordinator doesn't know if the person who *looks* like the sender was the *real* sender or just a bridge node, with the *real* sender being someone on lightning.
## "Setup fees on lightning are sometimes high"
Coinpools improve the problem of "setup fees are sometimes high" by having multiple users share the setup cost. My model allows a single bitcoin transaction to fund a coinpool with a number of members between 1 and probably about 100. (The max I've actually successfully tested is 11.) If the users share the cost of that transaction, then even in a high fee scenario, where bitcoin transactions cost $50, each user only has to pay a fraction of that, where the fraction is determined by how many users are joining the pool. If 10 people are joining, each user would pay $5 instead of $50. If 50 people are joining, each user would pay $1. If 100 people are joining, each user would pay 50¢.
## Sidebar: how CTV improves my coinpool model
The setup is also where CTV greatly improves my model. For my model to work, the users have to coordinate to create the pool in something I call a "signing ceremony," which is very similar to a coinjoin. The signing ceremony has to be scheduled and each user has to show up for it or they won't get into the pool. With CTV, you could fix this: instead of a signing ceremony, an exchange could autosend your money into a coinpool on e.g. a monthly basis and email you the data you need to perform your unilateral exit. All they need from you is a pubkey, and they can do everything else.
## "Lightning payments frequently fail"
Coinpools improve the problem of "payments frequently fail" by reducing the need for pathfinding, which is a typical cause of failure on lightning. If you are paying someone in the same pool as you, you always know an exact path: it will be you -> coordinator -> recipient. These short paths also reduce the likelihood of routing nodes having insufficient capacity to forward the payment. You've only got one "routing node" to worry about -- the coordinator.
## "Lightning payments aren't asynchronous"
Coinpools *in general* don't improve the problem of "payments aren't asynchronous" but my model in particular *does* improve that problem because I am combining it with my hedgehog protocol from last year, which *does* allow for asynchronous lightning-like payments. Relatedly, my coinpool model technically has a network model, it's just a hub-and-spoke network: the coordinator is connected to every user of the pool and can forward asynchronous hedgehog payments to them. This means you can send money to someone when they are offline; they'll get it whenever they *do* get online, even if *you* went offline in the meantime.
## "Lightning payments sometimes take too long"
Coinpools improve the problem of "stuck" lightning payments by reducing the number of hops along the route. As above, a payment inside the pool (per my model) is always just sender -> coordinator -> recipient. Due to only having 1 hop, there are fewer opportunities for a node to have a network issue and cause a delay.
## "Channel management is a pain"
Coinpools have multiple ways of improving the problem of manual channel management. In particular, not all coinpool models *have* channels, so channel management is not always needed in a coinpool. My model, however, does have channels, so channel management is still a thing.
Nonetheless, my model improves channel management in two ways: first, the setup costs are lower for the reasons given above. Second, payment asynchronicity helps for the following reason:
The worst pain point in channel management *today* occurs when someone sends you a payment but it fails because you didn't have enough inbound capacity. That doesn't happen in my coinpool model because payments are asynchronous. If you don't have enough inbound capacity, the payment doesn't fail, it just remains pending. So all you have to do is open a new channel (i.e. enter a new pool) and *then* finalize the payment.
## Zap me
I hope this essay clarifies why coinpools improve the problems I outlined and why CTV improves coinpools. I also hope this gets you a bit excited for my latest coinpool invention, which I hope to release soon :D (It really is very close to demo-ready.) If you liked this essay, consider zapping me: supertestnet@coinos.io
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@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1
2025-02-13 03:45:23
**What You Will Learn:**
- Understanding the concept of cybersecurity
- Networking Basics
- Operating Systems Overview
- Introduction to Kali Linux
- Threat Actors and Cyber Threats
- Ethical Hacking Techniques and Tools.
**How to Register:**
Use this link to Register.
https://forms.gle/L8AGLCWU4djwUXxz9
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/884407
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@ ac6f9572:8a6853dd
2025-02-13 02:05:22
I attended Sats ‘n’ Facts to share my art, joining other Nostr artists in exhibiting our work at the event’s very first venue. It was a great opportunity to connect with fellow creatives, including Siritravelsketch, whose work I’ve admired on Nostr for some time. Meeting other artists in real life is always inspiring—there’s an undeniable creative bond that comes from sharing our passion in person.
Sats ‘n’ Facts is an Unconference, meaning there’s no strict schedule—everything is open for participants. It’s all about the connections made, the synergy shared, and, for the developers attending, the excitement of a hackathon. (A hackathon is an event where people collaborate intensively on engineering projects, often within 24 to 48 hours.)
My goal as an artist is to become a bridge between the Bitcoin tech world and the Bitcoin art and design space. Bitcoin empowers us by providing greater (financial) freedom, and with that freedom comes more time to pursue what we truly love—so in a way, you never have to “work” again. 😊
Nostr is a great example of how bubbles 🫧 POP, leading to new collaborations. Without tech, artists wouldn’t have a way to share their work, and without artists, creatives, and plebs, developers would have no one to build for. Both sides are essential for organic growth. This kind of synergy can only thrive in a decentralized system—otherwise, it risks being captured by big corporations. And that single point of failure is one of the biggest challenges we face in the world today.
Decentralization is freedom. Events like Sats ‘n’ Facts give us the opportunity to collaborate, create, and contribute to a more decentralized world—one where more people can truly become free.
Can’t wait to join the next Sats’n’facts. Maybe Barcelona!?
* * *
Originally article published by @BitPopArt on @YakiHonne: https://yakihonne.com/article/naddr1qvzqqqr4gupzqsa64uxz3ek0kx2mzlhqs0seavay4l06c4xek6a0zup8pmge8c6vqq242en0tukk7u2fwe8kkjrpv3ykgjtzwfsk5hmmfyp
#art #nostr #ThaiNostrich #artonnostr #artstr
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/884327
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@ ac6f9572:8a6853dd
2025-02-13 01:55:20
# Freedom Tech, Privacy, Sound Money, and Culture: How to Find Your Tribe?
> Keeping up with everything happening in Bitcoin isn’t easy, even if you’ve been around for a while. The pace is relentless: stream of events, discussions, projects, and updates, not to mention the noise on social media...
Date: 02/12/2025
One of the most efficient options to expand your knowledge and truly connect with people actively working in the space is through direct interactions, whether they’re happening at large conferences or smaller, semi-official meetups. But let’s be honest: finding all meaningful events can be a mess.
Take, for example, the '[BTC Events Map](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oni0QAHb2XYOL5gFVKHHGhG8w_HY5GDGBhdQ4SSrCZg/edit?gid=0&ref=europeanbitcoiners.com#gid=0),’ which already lists over 550 Bitcoin-only gatherings worldwide. This simple but very useful resource, put together by Satlantis, can help many of us plan our trips throughout the year. However, if you don’t know about its existence and rely solely on a search engine—whether Google or Brave—you’ll likely end up frustrated (and unfortunately missing many great opportunities to meet with others and learn).
Search for '_bitcoin events_,' and you’ll get a mix of irrelevant crypto, fintech, and Web3 results, with Bitcoin-related stuff buried somewhere in the middle, if at all.. Well, it’s really tough to find what you’re actually looking for.
That’s why word of mouth and trusted communities are so important. Sometimes, the best way to hear about an event is directly from people you know.
**One of those that flew under my radar was** [**SatsNFacts**](https://satsnfacts.btc.pub/?ref=europeanbitcoiners.com)**.**
It wasn’t listed on many typical event aggregators or any big news-promo sites. It mostly spread peer-to-peer and through the main channels on [Nostr](https://njump.me/npub1yrnuj56rnen08zp2h9h7p74ghgjx6ma39spmpj6w9hzxywutevsst7k5cx?ref=europeanbitcoiners.com).
I was ‘_lucky_’ enough to hear about it just in time to plan the trip from Europe to Thailand. Now, I’d like to briefly share my experience with you—everything that, in my opinion, made this event truly stand out.
**A Journey to Southeast Asia: Where Builders and Artists Collide.**
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Approximately 10,176 kilometers, 14 hours of travel, and finally three days spent at SatsNFacts—"Thailand’s first Bitcoin Technical Unconference”.
The event ran from February 8 to 10 in Chiang Mai (the largest city in northern Thailand). Held at Weave Artisan Society, a 700 sq.m venue that used to be an ice factory, it smoothly combined pleasant outdoors with an industrial-style, two-floor indoor area, creating a unique and very practical setup.
While its was billed as a “_Technical Unconference_,” in practice it nicely connected the developer-based ecosystem with different aspects of culture and art.
Each day, from 10 am to 6 pm, the agenda—shaped directly by attendees—was packed with various presentations, group chats, learning session, hackathons, and actionable workshops.
With many options available (around 10-20 topics per day), I couldn’t attend everything, but here are a few more technical sessions I joined and found especially worthwhile:
* **Liana Workshop** (long-term security, recovery, and inheritance),
* **TollGates** ([streaming sats for internet access](https://primal.net/e/naddr1qvzqqqr4gupzpwa4mkswz4t8j70s2s6q00wzqv7k7zamxrmj2y4fs88aktcfuf68qq2nz63h0969vn2xwse9j3n5ge4xsdr2ddc4j0g960h?ref=europeanbitcoiners.com)),
* **Open Vault** (enterprise wallet interface),
* **Yaki Honne** ([decentralized media](https://yakihonne.com/?ref=europeanbitcoiners.com)),
* **Nostr Proxies** (Epoxy, WebSocket and relay monetization).
* **Silent payments** (simplified payment experiences without compromising privacy).
As mentioned earlier, SatsNFacts wasn’t just about Bitcoin tech. Some topics focused on community aspects as well. Two discussions I joined highlighted Bitcoin adoption ⚡ in for example Bali and Thailand, showing how sound money, integrity, and consistent work can solve real problems in these regions. Impressive stuff! Here you can learn more:
* [HuaiPhueng](https://geyser.fund/project/huaiphuengproject?hero=geyser&ref=europeanbitcoiners.com) on Geyser + "Bitcoin City" (their [short video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=shared&v=211meP4liIo&ref=europeanbitcoiners.com)).
* Bitcoin Indonesia & Bitcoin House Bali ([all in one on GitHub](https://github.com/bitcoinindo21?ref=europeanbitcoiners.com))
Now, the art gallery, to continue with less technical aspects of SatsNFacts 🎨
This nicely-organized space located on the ground floor, near cozy coworking and networking spots, was for me a real gem. Indeed, adding a creative vibe to the entire event.
Around 30 unique works from local and international artists were on display, all inspired by themes of freedom and privacy. Though I don’t see myself as a typical _'artist_', I was honored to have some of my own pieces exhibited there as well (a short video below).
* * *
One of the highlights was meeting local Thai artists, especially [Siritravelsketch](https://njump.me/npub14lqzjhfvdc9psgxzznq8xys8pfq8p4fqsvtr6llyzraq90u9m8fqevhssu?ref=europeanbitcoiners.com), who travelled six hours by train just one way to attend two days of the event.
Her stunning paintings, created using just a bamboo stick and ink, are deeply inspired by Thai architecture and culture. While some of her pre-prepared pieces hung in the gallery, she also painted a few new works on the spot during her visit. Truly spectacular!
* * *
I also had the chance to reconnect with [Satoshi Builds](https://njump.me/npub19m7m3rs66pfdn4ewhrm8slh60ukyxgrylaa03m73wa40j39lc03syq4gfu?ref=europeanbitcoiners.com), who made many great sketches during this event, and with [BitPopArt](https://njump.me/npub1gwa27rpgum8mr9d30msg8cv7kwj2lhav2nvmdwh3wqnsa5vnudxqlta2sz?ref=europeanbitcoiners.com), a Dutch artist who, just like me, chosen a nomadic lifestyle yet has been clearly considering Thailand his 'second home' as well for several years now. By the way, ✍️ here's his short summary of the event, focusing more on the artistic side of SatsNFacts: "[Art exhibition in Chiang Mai](https://bitpopart.com/2025/02/11/art-exhibition-in-chiang-mai/?ref=europeanbitcoiners.com)".
All in all, spending my time in many meaningful conversations and seeing so many deep artworks in one place filled me with hope and positive energy. THANK YOU, EVERYONE!
* * *
(presented artworks by for example: [Agi Choote](https://njump.me/npub1tlacuxmtv2wqud9qz0ujnr4mqavmnz3ayspfj93jr40tgf2mvu6seax3y7?ref=europeanbitcoiners.com), [Samhain](https://njump.me/npub1df47g7a39usamq83aula72zdz23fx9xw5rrfmd0v6p9t20n5u0ss2eqez9?ref=europeanbitcoiners.com), [Zed Erwan](https://njump.me/npub1r2sah0htqnw7xrs70gq00m48vp25neu8ym2n2ghrny92dqqf7sest8hth0?ref=europeanbitcoiners.com), [Existing Sprinkles](https://njump.me/npub1f5kc2agn63ecv2ua4909z9ahgmr2x9263na36jh6r908ql0926jq3nvk2u?ref=europeanbitcoiners.com), AZA 21m, BitPopArt.)
* * *
Mr. Rabbit in Thailand...
-------------------------
Monday, the final evening, and SatsNFacts got one more item on its agenda rooted in creative expression and independent art.
Representing [Bitcoin FilmFest](https://x.com/bitcoinfilmfest?ref=europeanbitcoiners.com) (a grassroots project created by an amazing group of freedom fighters and activists 🐇🧡), since I was the only one from our team in Thailand, in one of the rooms upstairs, I put together a mini cinematic experience.
Seven trailers and eleven shorts, including for example:
* NO MORE INFLATION, HUMMINGBIRD, PARALLEL SPACE, UNBANKABLE, THE LEGEND OF LANDI (🎬 some of the trailers).
* BITCOIN A NEW HOPE, SATOSHI NAKAMOTO - THE CREATOR OF BITCOIN, MAXIS CLUB SHOW - CHAPTER ONE, THE GREATEST HEIST IN HISTORY, HODL, THE ANATOMY OF BITCOIN – GENESIS BLOCK (📺 some of the presented shorts)
With around 10-15 participants, the response was positive, and we ended up spending an extra 10-maybe-20 minutes discussing the challenges and opportunities in Bitcoin-powered filmmaking, as well as the upcoming edition of [BFF25](https://bitcoinfilmfest.com/bff25/?ref=europeanbitcoiners.com) (the annual festival we're organizing this May in Warsaw, Poland).
**Substance Over Hype. Gatherings That Matter.**
------------------------------------------------
SatsNFacts made a solid reminder that Bitcoin events can help build a truly sovereign future while bringing together developers and artistic souls alike.
The mix of technical depth and creative energy—free from the shiny gossip that floods many social channels—made it a truly meaningful experience.
> SatsNFacts set a high standard, and I hope to see more events like it in the future. More unconferences, more cultural and community-driven gatherings.
**Here's to more signal, less noise!!!**
Big congrats to everyone who made the first SatsNFacts happen 👏 Respect especially to the organizers! You pulled off something truly special!
* * *
_BTC Your Mind. Let it Beat._
_Şela_ @AZA_21M
💡
Did you enjoy this article? Zap me some sats. No amount is small :) Lightning wallet: `aza21m@getalby.com`
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Original Article: https://europeanbitcoiners.com/sats-and-facts-short-coverage-of-the-first-bitcoin-unconference-in-thailand/
#english #opinion #events #bitcoin #nostr #freedom #conference #siamstr #asia #thailand
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/884317
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@ 57d1a264:69f1fee1
2025-02-13 00:28:45
This past week, @erik_ and @Sushant have been working on improving the onboarding flow for [Sovran](https://sovranbitcoin.com/) bitcoin wallet. First revision on thee figma file below, would appreciate any feedback.
https://www.figma.com/design/inNLo6AaPMX26D3GumcXGC/UI%2FUX-Audit--Onboarding-User-Flow?node-id=0-1&t=Wl0EVhH5fJgYYSJI-1
If you want to review the UX audit of the current flow, see the feedback provided, and check Sushant's initial suggestions, you can do so here:
https://www.figma.com/board/Jfo4nLIKyR6lacokXze4Mv/Sovran-Onboarding-UX-Audit?node-id=0-1&t=gOZyo57zfeqxFXeB-1
originally posted at https://stacker.news/items/884272