The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, round-table discussions about recent news, and guest interviews.Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange (www.hardblock.com.au)
Our fortnightly recap is back to cover the biggest Bitcoin and related news from the end of August with Dan and Alex. We touch on several stories that highlight the importance and benefits of self-custody of your bitcoin. We aim to make these beginner friendly episodes so that you can share with friends and family. Sponsored by HardBlock: www.hardblock.com.auTry us with 6months Auto-Send withdrawals for free:
Hardblock discount link
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Bitcoin News Headlines• Malaysian police destroy almost 1000 bitcoin ASICs with a steamroller
• El Salvador starts Bitcoin certifications for 80,000 public servants
• Telegram founder Pavel Durov arrested
• Binance accused of freezing Palestinian accounts
• Nasdaq Seeks SEC Approval to Launch Bitcoin Index Options
• Riot nears 20% stake in Bitfarms
Full YouTube: Ep75 News Recap (01.09.24)════════════════════
We now bring you an orange-pill friendly news recap fortnightly! This episode is with Alex and Pat to talk about a dozen of the biggest stories in just the last two weeks. There is a big story from Australian researchers who publicly disclosed the Dark Skippy exploit, as well as plenty of International stories.Sponsored by HardBlock: www.hardblock.com.auTry us with 6months Auto-Send withdrawals for free:
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Bitcoin News Headlines• Dark Skippy website explains new exploit to obtain a wallet’s keys
• Trump makes Presidential promises but doesn’t mention Bitcoin
• Nigerian politician and Bitcoiner James Otudor sues Nigerian Government over bitcoin rights=
• Norway considering regulations on data centres and bitcoin mining without public consultation
• Qatar to legalise digital assets by end of 2024
• UN Cybercrime Draft Convention passes vote unanimously
• Mutiny Wallet to shut down at end of 2024
Full YouTube: Ep74 News Recap (20.08.24)════════════════════
We cover the biggest news from July this episode, joined by HardBlock exchange founder @danWilcz. There was a lot of government headlines around the world including very bullish progress in the United States. We also touch on important tech news including the launch of Mempool Accelerator and Proton Wallet.
Sponsored by HardBlock: www.hardblock.com.auTry us with 6months Auto-Send withdrawals for free:
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Bitcoin News Headlines• German Authorities complete sale of €2.6B worth of bitcoin
• Trump makes promises to US Bitcoin industry at BitcoinConference 2024
• Study of bitcoin adoption in USA
• Mt Gox repays customers with approximately $9 billion of bitcoin and BitcoinCash
• Russia approves bitcoin mining and cross-border settlements
• Samourai developer William Lonergan Hill (Tdev) to be released on bail
• TornadoCash developer Roman Storm granted delay in trial, Alexey Pertsev denied bail
• Mempool Accelerator for ReplaceByFee is now live
• Proton launches self-custody bitcoin wallet
• Gold demand hits Q2 record high driven by Central Banks
Full YouTube: Ep73 News Recap (17.06.24)════════════════════
We tried our best to provide an orange-pill friendly special episode about Bitcoin Lightning with Australia's Wizard of Oz. We break down what the Lightning Network is, how layers are defined, the Liquid sidechain and some of the related news this fortnight.
Sponsored by HardBlock: www.hardblock.com.auTry us with 6months Auto-Send withdrawals for free:
Hardblock discount link
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Bitcoin Lightning News• Mempool.space Lightning Network stats
• Wallet of Satoshi integration with Square Point of Sale devices
• AquaWallet supports Lightning, Liquid and Tether
• OceanPool integrates BOLT12 upgrade to allow Lightning payouts• Vulnerability affecting earlier versions of LNDFull YouTube: Ep72 News Recap (17.06.24)════════════════════
We focus on the big bitcoin mining news this fortnight with specialist Piers from @mineracks. We're aiming for beginner friendly episodes that you can use to orange-pill your friends and family.
Sponsored by HardBlock: www.hardblock.com.auTry us with 6months Auto-Send withdrawals for free:
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Bitcoin Mining News
• Australian bitcoin miner IREN hits $1B market cap• Trump meets with US bitcoin mining executives• Riot Platforms attempted hostile takeover of Bitfarms• CoreScientific declines $1B buyout offer from CoreWeave• ERCOT recommends integrating Bitcoin Mining into the Texas grid• OKX exchange bids against itself and massively overpays on fees• A two-tier bitcoin fee market emergesFull YouTube: Ep71 News Recap (17.06.24)════════════════════
We're joined by Bitcoin analyst @_Checkmatey_ to run through another huge month of headlines. With this much news, we've decided to do our recap fortnightly going forward.
Sponsored by HardBlock: www.hardblock.com.auTry us with 6months Auto-Send withdrawals for free:
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Australian News
• Julian Assange wins his right to appeal extradition to the USA
• Aus E-Safety saga continues• Australian Government passes Digital ID Bill• Medical prescription provider MediSecure data leak in ransomware attack• RBA renovations exceed budget by over 400%
Global News
• CZ sentenced to 4 months jail and to pay $4.3B
• Bitcoin Judas arrested, US seeking extradition• Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev behind bars• Venezuela bans Bitcoin mining• Peer to Peer Rights Fund launched to defend Samourai Devs who had their first hearing• Bitcoin Designers needed• MARA partners with Kenyan Government on bitcoin Mining• US bans miners from site near ICBMs
Technical News• Bitcoin++ Script edition goes full speed ahead on Covenants• Microstrategy announces new Ordinals and Inscriptions collection• Silentium wallet launches with support for Silent payments• Utreexo leads the way toward mobile nodes• Nostr Zap.store launched• Bitaxe Supra open-source home miner now available• New CoinJoin service Emessbee is available• Cashu.me open-source browser wallet goes live
Full YouTube: Ep69 April News════════════════════
We recap another big month of news in Bitcoin, bitcoin mining and privacy news. This time we're joined by sparky & Bitcoin Adviser @dazbea who also builds the Bitcoin resource Looking Glass Education.
If you want to get your news recap 2x a month let us know @HardblockBTC
Sponsored by HardBlock: www.hardblock.com.auTry us with 6months Auto-Send withdrawals for free:
Hardblock discount link
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Australian News
• Australian ETF expected by end of 2024
• Antpool & Bitmain acting as a ‘pool of pools’ report
• US Gov rejects calls to end Assange case, submits ‘non-assurances’ for extradition
• Bitcoin Bushbash in Palm Cove, July 26-28
Global News
• Samourai Wallet arrests and Keonne pleads not-guilty
• Coinbase partners with Lightspark to bring the Lightning Network to their platform & services• Bhutan is upgrading their mining facilities by 500%• Database containing personal info of 5.1million El Salvador citizens leaked
Technical News• 5 Bitcoin Improvement Proposal editors added
• Block announces 3nm chip for their Bitcoin ASIC
• Tuscany Lightning Summit• Bitcoin ASIC manufacturer Auradine raises another $80M in funding
Full YouTube: Ep69 April News════════════════════
Join software engineer and open-source expert Andrew Pantyukhin this week to discuss BitcoinCore, the fundamental implementation of Bitcoin. You'll learn about Bitcoin development and some of his concerns.
Get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals forfree: Hardblock discount link
Host: twitter.com/danWilcz
Sponsored by HardBlock: www.hardblock.com.au
Content:
His involvement in Bitcoin
Is there Bitcoin development still?
Bitcoin consensus
Is diversity good for Bitcoin?
The people working on BitcoinCore
Is ossification a good thing?
The future of Bitcoin developmentFull YouTube: Ep68 Unravelling BitcoinCore
This special episode covers what the Bitcoin Halving is, answers to common questions and a recap of what happened to the bitcoin price around previous halvings.Get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals forfree: Hardblock discount link
Host: twitter.com/danWilcz
Sponsored by HardBlock: www.hardblock.com.au
Content:
What is the Bitcoin Halving?
Common questions answered
The price of bitcoin
What happened in previous halvings?Full YouTube: Ep67 Bitcoin Halving Explained Simply
There was a lot of news to cover in March across Australia and Internationally. We also celebrate Hardblock's 10th birthday and AUD$100k bitcoin.
Sponsored by HardBlock: www.hardblock.com.auGet 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals forfree: Hardblock discount link
Global News
• EU wallet privacy attempt through Anti-Money-Laundering Laws
• US “Tiktok Ban Bill” passes house 352 votes - 65 votes and goes to the senate
• Roman Sterlingov found guilty of running Bitcoin Fog mixing service
Australian News
• Craig Wright court case concluded with ruling he is not Satoshi
• Australian Digital Identity Scheme bill passes after Greens' amendments
• Australian Court Dismisses Lawsuit by Market Regulator Against Finder in 'Landmark' Ruling for Crypto Industry
• Australian Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been granted the right fight his extradition to the US----
Technical News
• First half of March of Software and Hardware updates
• Second half of March Software and Hardware updates
• BitKey hardware wallet from Block
• Mobile-native hardware wallet from TwentyTwo Devices
Full YouTube: Ep66 March News
Thank you to James Check for joining us this week to talk all about Bitcoin on-chain analytics:
Get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals forfree: Hardblock discount link
Host: twitter.com/danWilcz
Sponsored by HardBlock: www.hardblock.com.au
Content:
What is on-chain analytics?
On-chain insights into ETFs
The Bitcoin Halving Event
Identifying the market top & bottom
Common questions answered
The success of BTC education in the dataFull YouTube: Ep65 James Check
Our monthly recap for February focuses on a lot of International news, as well as discussion of new Bitcoin milestones that were reached.
Host: twitter.com/danWilczSponsored by HardBlock: www.hardblock.com.au
Get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals forfree: Hardblock discount link
Get excited for Australian Bitcoin Week!
Beechworth Bitcoin Bush Bash, Mar 16 - 17 - No KYC, free entry
Bitcoin Alive, Mar 23 - tickets on sale now!
---- Use code: HARDBLOCK for 10% off your tickets.
Global News
• US Department of Energy seeks data from US bitcoin miners
• Binance and Coinbase crash
• EU Courts rule encryption as Human Right
• Satoshi and Sirius emails
• Nayib Bukele reelected
• Ethiopa to mine bitcoin with $250 million preliminary agreement
• Nigerian Government issues arrest warrant for CEO of Binance
• Tether Audit
Australian News
• ASIC gets its first win against the crypto industry
• Bloomberg Australian news recap
• Australian Bitcoin Alive Conference 2024
Technical News
• New Coldcard model Q released
• Nunchuck Android released
• Umbrel OS v1.0 coming March 18th
• Avalon Nano 3 portable heater that generates btc
Full YouTube: Ep64 February News
Thanks to Chris Pavlesic for coming on the show to talk about Bitcoin Alive 2024:
twitter.com/lungdoge
bitcoinalive.io/ - Discount code "HARDBLOCK" for 10% off your ticket!
Get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals forfree: Hardblock discount link
Host: twitter.com/danWilcz
Sponsored by HardBlock: www.hardblock.com.au
Content:
Getting together is the core recipe for BA '24
Look forward to things you don't often see at Bitcoin conferences
Bush Bash Beechworth '24
What you can expect from speakers at BA '24
Full YouTube: Ep63 Chris Pavlesic
Discount link: https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Host: https://twitter.com/danWilczSponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Get excited for Australian Bitcoin Week!
Beechworth Bitcoin Bush Bash, Mar 16 - 17 - No KYC, free entry
Bitcoin Alive, Mar 23 - tickets on sale now!
Use code: HARDBLOCK
Global News
Australian News
Technical News
Discount link: https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Host: https://twitter.com/danWilczSponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Get excited for Australian Bitcoin Week!
Beechworth Bitcoin Bush Bash, Mar 16 - 17 - No KYC, free entry
Bitcoin Alive, Mar 23 - tickets on sale now!
More events to be announced!
Skip to 6:20 if you hate Christmas (Dan & Alex's Christmas holiday intro)
Global News
Australian News
Technical News
Discount link: https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Host: https://twitter.com/danWilczSponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Global News
Australian News
Technical News
Discount link (get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals forfree): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Host: twitter.com/danWilcz
Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Thanks to our guest Fernando Nikolić from Blockstream and the Bitcoin Perception newsletter:
https://twitter.com/basedlayer
https://bitcoinperception.com
Content:
How trying to understand Argentina's hyperinflation lead Fernando to Bitcoin
Why are Bitcoiners so interested in an Argentinian election?
Javier Milei's ability to communicate to the average Argentinian
History of Peronism
Bureaucracy in Argentina
Dollarization
Is Javier Milei pro-bitcoin?
Bitcoin Perception newsletter
Media is starting to realise the difference between Bitcoin vs Crypto
Discount link (get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals for free): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Host: twitter.com/danWilcz
Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Thanks to our guest Pipellia from Runcitadel:
https://twitter.com/pippellia
https://runcitadel.space/ (under maintenance now 🫤)
https://geyser.fund/project/runcitadel
Plug & Play Nodes
https://geyser.fund/project/nabitechnology
https://dtvelectronics.com/
Content:
-Why is it important to run a node?
-Hard money vs Dark money
-Should every bitcoiner run a node?
-What is a node?
-Runcitadel and FOSS
-Node packages
-Pipellia's bitcoin origins and orange-pilling
DerGigi on time:
https://x.com/dergigi/status/1392409660154646529
https://dergigi.com/2021/01/14/bitcoin-is-time/
Discount link: https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Host: https://twitter.com/danWilczSponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Global News
Australian News
Technical News
Discount link (get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals for free): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Host: twitter.com/danWilcz
Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Thanks to our guest Maryna from Kova Tax and Syla:
https://twitter.com/KovalenkoMaryna
https://www.kovatax.com.au/
https://www.syla.com.au/
Use the code TAXBLOCK on checkout to save 30% with Syla.
Content:
Maryna's Bitcoin origin story
Bitcoin in the Russia Ukraine War
Bitcoin tax basics
Capital gains examples
Accounting for losses due to exchange insolvency (Digital surge, FTX)
Overseas travel and tax residency
Personal use exemption
Fringe Benefits Tax and getting paid in Bitcoin
-Kova Tax and Syla tax software tips
Discount link (get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals for free): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Host: twitter.com/danWilcz Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Thanks to our guest Dea:
https://twitter.com/dearezkitha
Indonesiabitcoinconference.com
Use code HARDBLOCKto get 10% off at checkout.
Content:
Deas journey in Bitcoin.
Bitcoin adoption in Bali
Anti-Bitcoin laws in Indonesia
Bitcoin community in Bali
Indonesian Bitcoin conference speakers
Social events at the conference
How she convinced Jack Dorsey to attend
Discount link (get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals for free): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Host: twitter.com/danWilcz Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Thanks to our guest Tarik:
https://twitter.com/tarik_sammour
Content:
Who is Tarik
How he orange-pills his fellow medical professionals
Medical inflation
Discount link (get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals for free): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Host: twitter.com/danWilcz Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Thanks to our guest Jeff Yew:
https://twitter.com/jeffyew_
https://www.monochrome.au/
Content:
Jeff's early work with Travelbybit and as CEO of Binance Australia
Jeffs take on the latest Binance regulatory troubles
What is Monochrome and the Bitcoin ETF process in Australia
The implications of Blackrock getting into Bitcoin
Petition requesting the Reserve Bank of Australia HODL 2% of assets in Bitcoin
http://bitcoinpetition.me
Discount link (get 6 months of Bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals for free): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Host: twitter.com/danWilcz Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Thanks to our guest Jeremy Majid:
https://twitter.com/AusBTCIndBody
https://twitter.com/AusBTCIndBody
Content:
Who is Jeremy Majid?
What is ABIB
Australian regulatory landscape and the work of ABIB
Discount link (get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals for free): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Host: twitter.com/danWilcz Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Thanks to our guest Peter Dunworth:
https://twitter.com/dunworth_peter
https://www.thebitcoinadviser.com/
Content:
Peters Background
Aussie economy
Bitcoin as an investment asset
Bitcoin inheritance planning
Discount link (get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals for free): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod Host: twitter.com/danWilcz
Notes
Discount link (get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals for free): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod Host: twitter.com/danWilcz
Notes
What are NFTs
History of NFTs
Motivation for creating Ordinals
What are Ordinals
Criticism of Ordinals
The Case for Ordinals
How to get started with Ordinals
Find out more about Ordinals by going to:
https://docs.ordinals.com/
https://twitter.com/rodarmor
Discount link (get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals for free): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod Thanks to our guest Chris Pavlesic twitter.com/lungdoge: Host: twitter.com/danWilcz Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
www.bitcoinalive.io
Discount code: DANW = 10%
Notes
Intro about Chris how he got into Bitcoin and what he does
Background on the other organisers of the event
What made Chris start this event and what is the vision for it
Event speakers and what people can learn during event
Event details, like venue, location
Some of Chrises favourite Bitcoin events from around the world
www.bitcoinalive.io
Discount code: DANW = 10%
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BitcoinAlive
Discount link (get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals for free): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod Thanks to our guest Moritz Kaminski https://twitter.com/MoritzKaminski: Host: twitter.com/danWilcz Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Notes
Moritzes story of how he got into Bitcoin
What is Alby and how does it work
Discussion of the Lightning ecosystem.
Find out more about Alby by going to:
Website: getalby.com
Twitter: @getAlby
Telegram: t.me/getalby
Discount link (get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals for free): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod Host: twitter.com/danWilcz Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Notes
Review of price action over the past
Making price predictions for the next cycle
link to related blog post: https://learn.hardblock.com.au/price-predictions/
Discount link (get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals for free): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod Thanks to our guest Paul Sztorc twitter.com/Truthcoin: Host: twitter.com/danWilcz Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Notes
What are sidechains and their history
What is merge mining, what do we mean by a peg
Different types of Sidechains
How drivechains are an improvment
What we need to implement drivechains in Bitcoin
Addressing criticism of drivechains
Discount link (get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals for free): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Thanks to our guest: Yao from https://ezawa.io/
Host: https://twitter.com/danWilcz
Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Notes
FTX History
What caused the collapse
Implications and lessons
FTX lessons by Adam Back - video mentioned in the show: https://youtu.be/1Izz1eB5eec
Discount link: https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod - Use this link for 6 months free automated bitcoin withdrawals.
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, recent news, and guest interviews.
Guest: @_Bosch_ Bitcoin designer and Spiral Grantee.
In this episode we discuss how Bosch got into Bitcoin and his journey to being a Bitcoin designer to the Zeus Lightning wallet and contributing to the Bitcoin Design Guide.
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Discount link: https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod - Use this link for 6 months free automated bitcoin withdrawals.
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, recent news, and guest interviews.
Guest: Will from AnonAddy
In this episode we discuss Will's journey from the corporate world into open-source software and the incredible success he's had with very little marketing effort.
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Discount link: https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod - Use this link for 6 months free automated bitcoin withdrawals.
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, recent news, and guest interviews.
Guest: Adam Ahmed from https://adamahmed.com.au/
In this episode we discuss whether Bitcoin is a foreign currency, Adam's case involving bitcoin, the future of lawyers and smart contracts and inheritance planning.
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Discount link (get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals for free): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Thanks to our guest: Viktor from https://ivpn.net
Host: https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Notes
iVPN's history and mission
Australia becoming a surveillance state (eg, laws related to metadata retention, key disclosure, and intercept & disrupt police provisions)
Benefits of using a VPN generally (eg, dragnet ISP surveillance, Man in the Middle attacks on public networks, and bypassing censorship and geo-restrictions)
What doesn't a VPN protect you from?
What's the definition of privacy versus anonymity? Note that VPNs won't make you anonymous!
Be mindful of what can de-anonymise you online beyond your IP address (eg, entering personally identifying information into websites, tracking cookies, and browser fingerprinting)
Generally speaking, Tor is designed more for anonymity and censorship-resistance, while a VPN is focused on privacy
Be aware of your threat model and what (or who) you are trying to protect yourself from, otherwise your privacy journey will become overwhelming
iVPN versus other VPN providers (i.e., how to choose a good VPN provider: who is on the team, open source, no logging or tracking policies, regular audits, privacy-friendly jurisdiction (and jurisdiction with good consumer protection), clear profit model, established history, warrant canary, honest advertising and helpful guides, device compatibility, do they install and maintain their own server infrastructure, etc)
VPN providers worth considering: iVPN, Mullvad, Proton, TunnelBear, and Windscribe
Dive down the NordVPN Lithuanian data mining rabbit hole if you want an example of why you shouldn't trust most mainstream-marketed VPN providers
Privacy benefits of multi-hop VPNs (eg, to protect against data correlation attacks and to disburse your trust across jurisdictions), built-in anti-tracker features (eg, to bypass common online tracking methods), Mullvad's "system transparency" initiative, and new obfuscation techniques to protect against censorship and Deep Packet Inspection
iVPN is looking for content writers to help update their VPN and online privacy educational guides (contact viktor@ivpn.net)
What might bitcoiners use a VPN for?
Contact viktor@ivpn.net if you'd like a free trial of their VPN service
Resources
https://www.ivpn.net/blog/why-you-dont-need-a-vpn/
https://www.ivpn.net/blog/privacy-issue-real-vpns-alone-cant-solve-it/
https://www.ivpn.net/privacy-guides/advanced-privacy-and-anonymity-part-1/
https://coveryourtracks.eff.org/
https://www.privacyguides.org/
Discount link: https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, recent news, and guest interviews.
Guest: Hanna from https://tutanota.com
Host: https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Notes
Importance of online privacy
Tutanota's history and mission (and profit model)
Benefits of using a private and secure email (ie, Tutanota) over 'traditional' offerings like Gmail (eg, end-to-end encryption, no device fingerprinting, mostly no IP logging, open source verifiable code, and personal customer service)
Upcoming Tutanota features (eg, encrypted calendar, cloud storage, notes, and contacts, as well as quantum resistant encryption)
CTemplar private email service closing down suddenly
Benefits of using Tutanota specifically over other secure email options like ProtonMail (eg, encrypted email subject/title, German versus Swiss privacy culture and anti-surveillance laws)
Accepting bitcoin payments for Tutanota sign-ups, bitcoin as a quantum alarm clock, and bitcoin as an anti-spam device
Discount link: https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our guest:
https://twitter.com/_k3tan
https://twitter.com/ministryofnodes
Host: https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Notes
Becoming a seaplane pilot in the Maldives to orange pill unsuspecting passengers
What is a bitcoin node?
Why run your own bitcoin node (better security and privacy)?
What nodes have we experimented with (bitcoin core, electrum servers, MyNode, RoninDojo, and Umbrel / Citadel)?
Should you run a node on a single-board computer or a desktop / laptop with more processing power?
What is the electrum server stack (bitcoin core > electrum server > Sparrow wallet)?
What are the pros and cons of running bitcoin core alone versus with an electrum server (personal, rust, or fulcrum)?
Troubleshooting the initial indexing for fulcrum server (eg, using internal SSD, turning down fast sync and increasing swap space)
BTCPay Server options (self-hosted node box versus virtual private server versus using a community node)
What's the difference between BTCPay Server and other options (eg, SatSale)?
Should you run your node on a dedicated device or your daily driver device?
Should you run Tor or a VPN with your node?
How can you use firewalls or virtual networks (or guest networks) to improve your node security?
Take advantage of the bear market - it's time to be productive and to learn!
References
Ministry of Nodes website and Youtube channel:
https://www.ministryofnodes.com.au/
https://www.youtube.com/c/MinistryofNodes
k3tans bitcoin journey and a discussion about bitcoin on-chain privacy best practices (including KYC vs no KYC, Samourai & Sparrow Coinjoin Tools, and Network Privacy):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaiTeZcRk_Q
Introduction to bitcoin nodes for (beginners including what is a bitcoin node, why run a node, and common node options):
https://learn.hardblock.com.au/bitcoin-nodes/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTJiQB06QNQ
Discount link: https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Hosts:
https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
https://twitter.com/jeremy_m16
Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
NotesWhy self custody?
bank runs, bank bail ins, exchange insolvencies, censorship; and overall: third party ("counterparty") risk
bitcoin ethos: not your keys, not your coins and don't trust, verify!
How to self custody?
Instructions
Beginners: Use an air-gapped hardware wallet like ColdCard or Passport and follow their standard instructions; if you're looking for ways to improve from there, then: 1) interact with your hardware wallet using a watch-only FOSS software wallet (eg, Sparrow or Electrum), 2) connect your wallet software to your own node (eg, Bitcoin Core), and 3) spend using the standard PSBT (partially-signed bitcoin transaction) features within your chosen software and hardware wallet.
Intermediate and Advanced (and courageous Beginners):
1) Use an air-gapped hardware wallet, access it via a watch-only FOSS software wallet (eg, Sparrow or Electrum), connect your wallet software to your own node and index server (eg, Bitcoin Core + ElectrumRS or Fulcrum Server), and then spend using standard PSBT features within your chosen software and hardware wallet.
2) Generate an offline cold wallet using an air-gapped device (eg, using Ian Coleman's BIP39 calculator, Bitcoin QnA's Seed calculator, or generate an offline wallet in Sparrow or Electrum wallet); save the seed words, passphrase, derivation path, extended public key and/or any number of receiving addresses; then you can query individual receiving addresses over VPN and/or Tor on public blockchains (or ideally on your own node if it has a block explorer feature), or alternatively you can load the cold wallet's extended public key into an online but watch-only wallet (eg, Sparrow or Electrum) that's connected to your own node; and when you're ready to spend, you can do so after sweeping individual receiving addresses (using the associated private key) into a new online hot wallet dedicated to spending.
Resourceshttps://iancoleman.io/bip39/
https://bitcoiner.guide/seed/
https://armantheparman.com/agc/
Discount link (get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals for free): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Hosts: https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin & https://twitter.com/jeremy_m16
Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Notes
Why did we set up a Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF)?
consolidating superannuation fund management fees
investment fund managers have no "skin in the game" and their choices may be influenced by the "path of least resistance" (eg, government regulations, internal business policies, incentives they receive for certain investments, not wanting to take career risk on new asset classes, etc)
ability to buy and self-custody bitcoin (and other assets), and to have overall autonomy and flexibility in terms of investment choices
What was the process of setting up our SMSFs?
Step 1: Choosing a SMSF Administrator (or changing to a new one)
Step 2: Establishing the fund (eg, choosing individual or corporate trustee setup, completing the right documentation, establishing a fund investment strategy)
Step 3: Setting up a SMSF bank account (eg, using the SMSF name, tax file number, and Australian business number)
Step 4: Setting up a SMSF HardBlock account (similar to the bank account step above)
Step 5: How to roll-over existing superannuation into your new SMSF, or make fresh contributions to the SMSF
Step 6: Deciding how / where to store your bitcoin (eg, self-custody vs exchange vs third-party custody service)
Step 7: Buying bitcoin from the exchange (and keeping appropriate records)
Step 8: Withdrawing bitcoin from the exchange to self-custody (and again, keeping appropriate records)
Step 9: Completing the annual lodgement process (e.g., summarising buy, sell, and withdrawal records; proving ownership of the bitcoin; and passing the sole purpose test)
How did we decide what to invest in?
saving in hard money (eg, bitcoin, gold) versus investing (ie, risk taking) in property, collectibles, stocks, or bonds versus holding currency (ie, dollars)
learning how to value an investment (eg, if it's a stock, looking at the company's roadmap, leadership team, assets, liabilities, cash flow, and current market capitalisation)
doing your own research or paying for a subscription to expert research (and you can use your SMSF to foot the bill!)
ideally choose money or assets that: 1) are not currently overvalued, 2) have good long-term fundamentals, 3) have ample liquidity and ability to sell small portions, and 4) have low or no counterparty risk
consider the contrarian mindset (ie, you might not want to be in "crowded investments")
keep in mind risk management and the fact you cannot predict black swan events
if you decide to primarily hold hard money, then keep in mind the properties of good money: scarcity, durability, immutability, portability, acceptability/recognisability, divisibility, and fungibility
Resources
https://www.hardblock.com.au/SMSF-bitcoin-investment
https://youtu.be/MqQPbD9jQr8
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Australian_exchange-traded_funds
https://doomberg.substack.com/
https://www.grant-williams.com/
Discount link (get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals for free): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Hosts: https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin & https://twitter.com/danWilcz
Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Notes
Setting up a Core Lightning node
HardBlock exploring Lightning deposit and withdrawal integration
Update on Zoe's scam situation
Become a HardBlock Affiliate (contact hello@hardblock.com.au)
Public Key to Receiving Address Calculator: https://github.com/mission-bitcoin/bitcoin-public-key-to-receiving-address-calculator
GLOBAL - GOVERNMENT
80% of countries now have a Consumer Price Index (CPI) over 6%: https://twitter.com/Ben__Rickert/status/1553248202115018752
Argentina pledges to end budget financing by money printing: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-03/argentina-pledges-to-end-budget-financing-via-money-printing
GLOBAL - INSTITUTIONAL
Michael Saylor resigns as CEO of MicroStrategy: https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/2/23289397/michael-saylor-bitcoin-microstrategy-ceo-steps-down
BlackRock partners with Coinbase to bring bitcoin trading to their institutional clients: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/blackrock-to-offer-bitcoin-in-coinbase-partnership
Binance and MasterCard launch a bitcoin pre-paid credit and rewards card in Argentina: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/binance-mastercard-launch-bitcoin-rewards-card-in-argentina
Honduras launches "Bitcoin Valley": https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/honduras-launches-bitcoin-valley-tourist-town-santa-lucia-2022-07-29/
Galoy (Bitcoin Beach Lightning wallet creators) are adding a new feature: bitcoin-backed synthetic US dollars: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/galoy-brings-us-dollars-to-bitcoin
AUSTRALIAN
Australia's annual CPI (as of the quarter ending in June) reached 6.1%: https://tradingeconomics.com/australia/consumer-price-index-cpi
Australian Government (Australian Signals Directorate) has signed a contract with Chainanalysis for $2.1m (AUD) (Note: this link is to the full list of successful tenders, so probably not worth clicking): https://t.co/7t9sOrEqS7
Victoria Police to get sweeping new asset seizure powers, including related to cryptocurrencies: https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/police-to-get-sweeping-new-asset-seizure-powers-20220802-p5b6g5.html
"MasterCard to launch bitcoin backed card in Australia accepted by all merchants": https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/08/05/2493211/0/en/Ebang-International-to-Launch-New-Ebonex-Crypto-Linked-Payment-Cards-Powered-by-Mastercard.html
TECHNICAL
Bitfinex and Tether have collaborated with the Hypercore open-source protocol team to launch a new peer-to-peer communications application, Keet: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/keet-the-decentralized-communications-app
Anthony Ronning and Paul Miller release a privacy-focused Lightning wallet: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/pln-makes-bitcoin-lightning-more-private
Lightning network capacity reaches an all-time-high of over 4400 BTC: https://1ml.com/statistics
Whirlpool unspent capacity reaches an all-time-high of over 5200 BTC: https://bitcoin.clarkmoody.com/dashboard/
Discount link (get 6 months of free bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our guests:
https://twitter.com/2BitIdiots of https://anchor.fm/2bitidiots & https://bitcoin-first.com
https://twitter.com/StackingHats
https://twitter.com/BitcoinBrendo
Host:
https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Striking a balance between podcasting and privacy
Hats' & Brendo's bitcoin journey (come for the money, stay for the financial revolution)
Brendo and Justin's dads (almost) falling for bitcoin scams
Scams in the bitcoin and broader cryptocurrency space being detrimental for bitcoin adoption
Bitcoiner's being high on the personality construct "openness to experience", as well as believing in individual freedom and responsibility, and being comfortable having contrarian views
Lamenting the ironic inefficiencies and corruption of large (especially government) institutions that aim to be efficient and fair
How Hats and Brendo got into bitcoin podcasting
The role of politicians is to manage the circus in the media, which is one reason why more or different politicians never solve the ongoing problems
Starting https://bitcoin-first.com
Podcaster self-doubts: Are we contributing anything? Is there anything still left to say?
Having podcast partners and contributors helps to stay motivated
Nic Carter self-destructing, and people's general inability to apologise or be wrong
What would happen if Satoshi returned and claimed his bitcoin?
Who was Satoshi? Hal Finney, Len Sassaman, Adam Back?
The great shitcoin shake-out and bitcoin de-leveraging (eg, Celsius, BlockFi, Voyager, 3AC, etc): A net benefit for the ecosystem, but a tragedy for individuals caught up in scams, rug-pulls, and third-party custodian risk
The best thing you can get is a punch (or slap or kick) in the face, because it helps you learn
Anarchist and Minarchist hopes for smaller governments that compete as service providers for the betterment of their citizens
Mental health problems are rooted in people living incongruously with their values
Admiring the art of https://twitter.com/woodpixart
Living a life of value and meaning is the hardest work you'll ever do, but it's worth it
The benefits of toxic bitcoin maximalism, as long as it focuses on actions (rather than personalities)
What's exciting in bitcoin right now? Lawrence Lepard getting into bitcoin, Lightning Network development, bitcoin mining, and understanding the engineering elegance of bitcoin
What's an issue in bitcoin right now? Bitcoiner's aren't bullish enough, and bitcoin may continue to be bundled together with other cryptocurrencies
Discount link (get 6 months of bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals for free): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Hosts: https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin & https://twitter.com/danWilcz
Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
NotesBeware of scams!
Yepoon Bush Bash kicking off this weekend
GLOBAL
CPI Updates
New Zealand: https://tradingeconomics.com/new-zealand/consumer-price-index-cpi
United States: https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/consumer-price-index-cpi
United Kingdom: https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/inflation-cpi
ECB CBDC: https://twitter.com/Lagarde/status/1547247694170800129
Russia bans domestic crypto paments: https://sozd.duma.gov.ru/bill/138674-8#bh_histras
Paraguay’s crypto framework: https://cointelegraph.com/news/paraguay-s-crypto-framework-one-step-away-from-becoming-law
Andorra's Digita Assets Act: https://cointelegraph.com/news/andorra-green-lights-bitcoin-and-blockchain-with-digital-assets-act
Central African Republic launches shitcoin and holds bitcoin as reserve asset: https://sango.org/
Chinese citizens likely unable to have deposits returned from Henan branch banks: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/are-chinese-tanks-defending-banks-from-customers-viral-video-sparks-rumors/ar-AAZPlhs
Tesla sells 75% of its bitcoin (~US$930 million): https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/breaking-elon-musks-tesla-sold-75-of-its-bitcoin
Celsius has initiated Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220713005911/en/Celsius-Network-Initiates-Financial-Restructuring-to-Stabilize-Business-and-Maximize-Value-for-All-Stakeholders
3 Arrows Capital declares bankruptcy; founders Su Zhu and Kyle Davis detained at Dubai airport: https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/the-race-three-arrows-capital-3ac-founders-detained-in-dubai-airport-2849780
Zu Shu files US$5 million claim against 3AC: https://watcher.guru/news/3ac-co-founder-zhu-su-among-creditors-files-5m-claim-against-own-company
New York Yankees to pay staff in bitcoin: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/new-york-yankees-pay-employees-in-bitcoin
Amazon surveillance devices 'shockingly' used in warrantless & permissionless surveillance: https://theintercept.com/2022/07/13/amazon-ring-camera-footage-police-ed-markey/
AUSTRALIAN
Digital-X CEO (formerly NAB Head of Innovation) takes 5% of her salary in bitcoin: https://www.smh.com.au/business/entrepreneurship/meet-the-asx-chief-executive-who-receives-5-percent-of-her-salary-in-bitcoin-20220714-p5b1jt.html
TECHNICAL / OTHER
Discussion about increasing bitcoin supply to extend block reward subsidy was continued in Bitcoin Optech Newsletter #209: https://bitcoinops.org/en/newsletters/2022/07/20/
Level39 (of Bitcoin Magazine) releases comprehensive thread on the ways bitcoin can stabilise energy grids and bootstrap new infrastructure: https://twitter.com/level39/status/1548550264218583040
Crypto Fear & Greed Index has spent 72 days in "Extreme Fear" (as of July 18th) - the longest period ever: https://alternative.me/crypto/fear-and-greed-index/
Bitcoin Lightning Network reaches ATH capacity of ~4,300 BTC: https://bitcoinvisuals.com/ln-capacity
Discount link (get 6 months of free bitcoin Auto-Send withdrawals): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our guest: https://twitter.com/worldofrusty of www.worldofrusty.com
Host: https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
**Notes
-** Bitcoin is a filter - it teaches you to stay humble, stack sats, be productive, and not over-leverage yourself
Celsius debacle, shitcoin scams (eg LUNA and UST), and shitcoin casinos
Living on a bitcoin standard can be tough in bear markets
Increasing financial freedom with a Self-managed Superannuation Fund
Rusty's bitcoin journey, including working with Tone Vays and Michael Saylor and joining the meme factory (PS: fuck you Greg)
The power of memes in conveying messages and shifting narratives
Max Keiser is the final form of all bitcoiners
Having a spiritual connection with bitcoin
Appreciating the incentives model of the whole bitcoin ecosystem
Money is always hierarchical, but bitcoin provides equality in rules
Threats to bitcoin: changing the code (or not being able to change the code when issues like the block header overflow bug arise)
Toxic bitcoin maximalism as a cultural immune system for bitcoin (and it comes from a place of love not vitriol)
Bear markets are when the productive stuff gets done - stay focused on the fundamentals, get involved and contribute, and stay humble and stack sats
We apologise for the low audio volume in this episode - that'll be fixed for next time!
Discount link: https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Hosts:
https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
https://twitter.com/jeremy_m16
Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Notes- Bitcoin price technical analysis
References- How the momentum indicator was developed: https://www.olivermsa.com/
A report on the likelihood of a Fed pivot (back to quantitative easing and away from increasing interest rates): https://www.myrmikan.com/pub/Myrmikan_Research_2022_06_14.pdf
The Big Silver Short by Chris Marcus: https://www.amazon.com.au/Big-Silver-Short-Short-Squeeze-Lifetime/dp/B08BDZ5H6K
Discount link: https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Hosts: https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin & https://twitter.com/danWilcz
Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
GLOBAL- UK, Spain, EU, & Turkey CPI: https://tradingeconomics.com
Sri Lanka bankrupt: https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/world-economy/collapsed-sri-lankan-prime-minister-declares-nation-now-bankrupt/news-story/4036098a1771187562f81864146ee308
BlockFi, Voyager, Celsius, & FTX fiasco:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/ftx-strikes-deal-with-option-to-buy-crypto-lender-blockfi/ar-AAZ8Loq
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/06/25/morgan-creek-is-trying-to-counter-ftxs-blockfi-bailout-leaked-call-shows
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/crypto-broker-voyager-seeks-bankruptcy-054126585.html?_guc_consent_skip=1657583648
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/06/24/goldman-sachs-raising-funds-to-buy-celsius-assets-sources
Vauld declares insolvency: https://www.vauld.com/blog/corporate-statement
NYDIG allies with Deloitte: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/deloitte-and-nydig-announce-alliance-to-provide-banking-for-all-with-bitcoin-301571356.html
Citibank hires Swiss firm Metaco to establish a digital asset custody platform: https://bitcoinist.com/citibank-to-develop-bitcoin-services
US and Britain ban gold imports: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/26/world/europe/the-us-and-britain-will-ban-imports-of-gold-from-russia.html
Zimbabwe gold coins: https://www.reuters.com/business/zimbabwe-introduce-gold-coins-local-currency-tumbles-2022-07-05
India raises gold import tax: https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-raises-import-tax-gold-125-75-2022-07-01
India's controversial crypto tax law: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/indias-day-of-reckoning-with-e2-80-98most-controversial-crypto-tax-e2-80-99-is-here/ar-AAZ5HE0
India data logging: https://darknetlive.com/post/vpn-services-in-india-required-to-maintain-logs
The Bank of Japan owns over 50% of all Japanese bonds: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/rubicon-has-been-crossed-boj-now-owns-more-50-all-japanese-bonds
Gary Gensler calls bitcoin a ‘commodity’: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/gensler-labels-bitcoin-a-commodity-as-crypto-prices-stabilize-11656340239
Grayscale sues the SEC: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/legal/grayscale-is-suing-the-sec-for-denying-its-spot-bitcoin-etf
OpenNode partners with Lemon Cash: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/opennode-partners-with-lemon-cash-to-enable-bitcoin-lightning-payments
Bitcoin Policy Institute report: https://www.btcpolicy.org/articles/bpi-submits-report-to-us-department-of-commerce
Peter Schiff's bank closed: https://cointelegraph.com/news/peter-schiff-s-bank-closure-strengthens-bitcoin-case-for-financial-freedom
AUSTRALIAN
RBA raises rates to 1.35%: https://www.rba.gov.au/media-releases/2022/mr-22-20.html
BTC.com.au is closing down: https://btc.com.au/blog/an-important-announcement
Volt bank shuts down: https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/australias-first-neobank-volt-shut-deposit-taking-business-return-licence-2022-06-29
Digital-X holds ~216 bitcoin on their balance sheet: https://clients3.weblink.com.au/pdf/DCC/02515329.pdf
TECHNICAL- Samsung 3nm chip for bitcoin mining: https://www.btctimes.com/news/new-samsung-chip-will-help-mine-bitcoin-more-efficiently- Bitcoin Optech Newsletter (Issue #207): https://bitcoinops.org/en/newsletters/2022/07/06
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, recent news, and guest interviews.
Guest: Piers of https://mineracks.com
Host: https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
Sponsor: HardBlock https://www.hardblock.com.au
Notes
Setting up www.mineracks.com and making the facility acessible for visits from customers
Attempting to solve the three common problems for bitcoin mining in Australia: 1) understanding if it's profitable, 2) buying a miner, and 3) dealing with the heat and noise (especially if it's in your home)!
Learning about bitcoin mining keeps you humble as you're always learning and meeting people who are motivated by the right values
Compass Mining and BitRiver US-Russia sanctions fiasco - a risk / trade-off many didn't consider when looking at the cheaper energy prices
Piers' bitcoin journey
Receiving a cheque from the FBI from the eGold rug-pull and being unable to cash it due to high fees (peak fiat!)
Trying to find the "next bitcoin" and realising there isn't and won't be one
Setting up bitcoin and lightning nodes, using the technology, and realising the utility it has
Discovering bitcoin mining initially through GPU mining of shitcoins
Realising stacking hash is as addictive as stacking Sats
Taking on the personal mission to help non-miners get access to the mining industry if they choose to
Running one's own node and using the network may be the tipping point for becoming a bitcoin maximalist
Understanding the benefits of proof-of-work over proof-of-stake through lived experience and experimentation
Consensus versus democratic or authoritarian systems
Libertarian and Austrian ideals in regards to free markets in the context of other cryptocurrencies and bitcoin
Experiencing five difference currencies, hyperinflation, and sovereign confiscation of private assets in South America
Financial privilege gets in the way of Westerners understanding the global benefits of bitcoin adoption
Family and friends reactions to transitioning to a bitcoin-focused vocation
Working on containerized mining solutions for flare gas mining sites
Most people working in the bitcoin industry needs to be a polymath
Tips for people starting their bitcoin mining journey (eg, adopting the right mindset and understanding the risks)
Building the Australian bitcoin mining industry to further decentralize the overall bitcoin mining ecosystem
Mining is a collaborative competitive industry - a non-zero sum game unlike anything else!
Orange pill stories and tips: shitcoin miners transitioning to mine bitcoin, 1) establish yourself as a knowledgeable and trustworthy source of information; 2) expose the person to the network; 3) be helpful, and let them come to you
Things to be bullish about: motivated, innovative, and intelligent bitcoinrs!
Bitcoin is an energy buyer of last resort; an energy sink which stabilizes demand and lowers the price for everyone; an efficient way to utilise our otherwise wasted energy resources
Threats to bitcoin: the energy debate and a global push towards less reliable energy and discussion over the morality and utility of proof-of-work protocols (similar to the net neutrality debate)
Discount link: https://hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Guest: https://twitter.com/llfourn (https://github.com/llfourn) - Contact Lloyd to work on bitcoin development with him in Malaysia!Host: https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
Notes- Lloyd's bitcoin journey and getting into bitcoin (and cryptography) development
Developing the GUN (Go Up Number) command line interface bitcoin wallet
Developing the stripped-down DLC (discrete log contracts) betting/wager extension for GUN
Working on FROST, a new multi-signature protocol that uses Schnorr threshold signatures with a single public key (rather than multiple public keys being disclosed on the blockchain like in 'traditional' multi-signature protocols)
Privacy-improving and data-saving (leading to fee-reducing) affects of Schnorr signature aggregation
History of why ECDSA (elliptic curve digital signature algorithm) was used initially over Schnorr signatures (spoiler: it's related to patents)
Lightning Network (LN) privacy considerations:
Where (on-chain) are your LN channel open transactions originating from?
Practical tip: using coinjoins or coinswaps before opening LN channels can improve privacy
Privacy versus convenience trade-offs when sending LN directly to your recipient versus sending via multiple intermediary hops first
More hops on a LN payment pathway is not always better (eg, it can lead to payment failure, and could erode privacy if multiple of those routing nodes are surveilling the network))
Practical tips: keep all your channels unannounced ("private") and only connect with nodes you trust are not performing network surveillance
Will PTLCs (point time locked contracts) improve LN privacy more than currently-used HTLCs (hashed time lock contracts)?
Channel probing attacks exist today to discover "private" (ie, unannounced) LN channels and to determine their channel balance; this is exacerbated by public channels announcing all of their identifying details (which makes process-of-elimination and brute-force attacks more viable on the remaining unannounced channels)
What you do with your on-chain coins (UTXOs) after closing a LN channel can be important with regard to privacy; in fact, what your channel
partners do with their on-chain UTXOs post channel close can also impact your privacy!
Practical tip: coinswap or coinjoin your left-over UTXO after closing a LN channel
Cross-layer links (ie, base-layer and LN layer) are bad for privacy, but some improvements are coming (eg, using unique channel aliases/IDs with each LN node you connect with, rather than a reused channel ID that can be linked easily back to your on-chain UTXO)
Practical tip: run your own node (but be mindful it can be done badly - there are cases when using a trusted third party may be better)
LN sender-side privacy is generally better than receiver-side, as a LN invoice to receive a payment will leak private information (eg, which UTXO belongs to the node)
Practical tip: don't re-use LN invoices
A potential LN privacy and convenience solution: using payment hubs, similar to the Tumblebit proposal and Chaumian e-cash mints (eg, FediMint or MiniMint), but with added improvements with regards to custody of funds and transaction output size
Attending the Asia-Pacific Bitcoin Socratic to help flesh out bitcoin improvements
References
https://bitcoinproblems.org
https://github.com/bitcoin-sydney/socratic
https://abytesjourney.com/lightning-privacy
Thanks to our guest: https://twitter.com/talej (of https://voltpay.app)
Host: https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Notes
VoltPay.app a Lightning Network Point-of-Sale User-friendly Merchant Wallet
Michael's bitcoin journey and becoming a developer
Being counter-culture and mistrusting the media helped to discover and learn about bitcoin
Understanding Austrian economics and Libertarian perspectives helped to grok bitcoin
The importance of building an economy (especially a circular economy) that people can't be excluded from
The reaction of colleagues, friends, and family when moving into bitcoin development work
Build the tools and the circular economy will come!
VoltPay current features: customisable inventory (including set prices for products, along with custom categories and units/groupings of products), customisable amounts if no product has been set up yet, multiple currency options, deposit and withdrawal features, dark mode, Wallet of Satoshi for liquidity
VoltPay future features: LNURL function so users can setup their own name@VoltPay address, ability to plug into own LDN or C-Lightning node, semi-offline mode, ability to have static QR codes for individual products, NFC functionality for contactless payments
Running a community market garden to establish shorter supply chains and make better quality food available to neighbours (versus them relying on inefficient global supply chains and fiat farming practices which are generally unhealthy for the land and the food consumer)
Collaborative competition in community farming, similar to an open source project / network (or bitcoin mining)
Australan Tax Law "Personal Use" exemption - brief discussion and strategies, including the "spend and replace" model
Bitcoin needs a "Fiverr" equivalent, maybe a SatsSer?
Regenerative farming with goats, cattle, and other livestock - focus on building the soil and the great vegetables will be a natural byproduct
Issues with traditional ("classical") farming through monocropping and excessive (and escalating) fertilizer use
Sled dogging in Australia
Huskies and Malamutes can be hard dogs to train
How does someone get started in bitcoin app development or development more generally?
Things to be bullish about with bitcoin: there's so much educational tangent topics from bitcoin, e.g., psychology, philosophy, economics
Bitcoiners are abnormally exceptional
Bitcoin risks: regulatory capture and general regulatory risks
Cypherpunks Write Code documentary - encryption and anti-encryption regulation has been and will continue to be a cat-and-mouse game
Orange pill techniques: focus on the money, especially the problems with it (including the fractional reserve banking and inflation)
A tangent into psychology: living a life of meaning and value is hard work, but it's important to find that meaning to remain on track; your mind is like a garden, so be sure to prioritise the plants that you want - don't always focus on the weeds; the mind is naturally more negative too, so get used to rolling with that; and once you find your meaning - get started, and don't get paralysed by analysis!
Resources
Cypherpunks Write Code
https://youtu.be/9vM0oIEhMag
Discount link: https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Hosts:
https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
https://twitter.com/danWilcz
Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au NotesBitcoin price crash, Celsius liquidations, and the benefits of DCA'ing and avoiding leverage
GLOBAL
US annual CPI rose to 8.6% in May: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-10/us-inflation-unexpectedly-accelerates-to-40-year-high-of-8-6
Federal Reserve raised interest rates to a new level of 1.5%: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/to-fight-sky-high-inflation-the-federal-reserve-just-raised-interest-rates-three-times-faster-than-usual-e2-80-94-and-the-most-since-since-1994/ar-AAYvisU
Cynthia Lummis has introduced a bitcoin and crypto bill that includes recognising bitcoin as a commodity: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/heres-whats-in-senator-lummis-bitcoin-bill
Alex Gladstein and human rights advocates from 20 countries across send letter to US Congress: https://www.financialinclusion.tech/
China bank protest (due to deposit ‘bail in’) stopped by COVID ‘health app’ turning red:
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-bank-protest-stopped-by-health-codes-turning-red-depositors-say-2022-06-14/
http://lifeweek.com.cn/article/165940
Bank of Canada (ie, the Canadian central bank) reported that the number of Canadians holding bitcoin doubled from 2020 to 2021: https://finbold.com/bank-of-canada-number-of-canadians-holding-bitcoin-doubled-in-2021/
Gazprom (third-largest oil producer in Russia) is partnering with BitRiver (a bitcoin mining company) to mine bitcoin with its excess oil resources: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/gazpromneft-partners-with-bitriver-to-mine-bitcoin
Majid Al Futtaim Group (a retail giant) will soon accept bitcoin payments in 29 of their shopping malls and 13 hotels in Dubai: https://twitter.com/BTC_Archive/status/1533744002083717120?s=20&t=uX2R0sTg3ZELVdmFKDjz1A
Octagon Networks (an American cybersecurity firm) has converted its entire balance sheet into bitcoin: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/octagon-networks-converts-full-balance-sheet-into-bitcoin
AUSTRALIAN
Reserve Bank of Australia has raised interest rates for the second month in a row, increasing by 50 basis points to 0.85% https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/rba-hikes-interest-rates-for-second-month-in-a-row/ar-AAY9IEG
TECHNICAL
2022 Lightning Network Summit summary: https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/pipermail/lightning-dev/2022-June/003600.html
Hacker claims to have extracted Telegram data including incriminating messages from prominent crypto influencers involved in pump and dump schemes: https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1ss24a6
Jack Dorsey (Block, Inc) released further detail about TBD, a bitcoin-based decentralized exchange: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/jack-dorseys-tbd-presents-bitcoin-based-decentralized-web5
SethForPrivacy releases a technical summary of bitcoin privacy-related improvements: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/list-of-bitcoin-privacy-proposals
OXT Research updates their chain analytics visualiser to include better wallet fingerprinting information: https://medium.com/oxt-research/oxt-update-38591f4050d9
Bitcoin hash rate reached a new all-time-high of around ~241 exahash per second: https://insights.braiins.com/en/
Lightning Network capacity reaches an all-time-high of 4000 BTC: https://btx.com.au/bitcoin-lightning-network-capacity-charges-through-4000-btc/
Discount link: https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Thanks to our guest:
https://twitter.com/rusty_twit
Thanks to our hosts:
https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
https://twitter.com/danWilcz
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au Notes
Reflecting on the 2022 Lightning Summit (including discussing the Oakland protocol for improving LN privacy in the context of channel probing, as well as agreeing on zero confirmation channel opens): https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/pipermail/lightning-dev/2022-June/003600.html
How are LN improvement proposals implemented (through a collaborative yet adversarial process)?
Collaborative work with Blockstream (Core Lightning), Lightning Labs (LND), Lightning Development Kit (Block, Inc), ACINQ (Phoenix Wallet), Eclair, VLS, Breez Wallet, Anthony Towns, René Pickhardt, Matt Corallo
LN engineers are focused on improving privacy and interoperability while expanding utility of the network (eg, making subscription/streaming micro-payments easier, as well as developing solutions for refund scenarios)
Understanding the discrepancy in priorities and methods between Core Lightning and LND
Remembering to celebrate the wins, appreciate how far bitcoin and lightning has come, but to remain focused on solving current and future problems
Rusty's journey as a developer (including Linux kernel development), how he got into bitcoin, getting Mt Gox'd, and ending up in lightning development
Recent and current work on the lightning network (including dual-funded channel opens, and building the Core Lightning community and user-base)
HardBlock implementing lightning deposits and withdrawals - considering Core Lightning versus the competition for an institutional implementation (eg, Core Lightning focuses on stability / reliability and modular add-ons for additional features and experimentation)
Blockstream's Greenlight project - providing a non-custodial yet third-party hosted Core Lightning solution for institutions
Discussion of sender versus receiver privacy on lightning network, including potential solutions (eg, Trampoline Routing; Zero-conf channel opens with short channel aliases; and Blinded Routing)
Basis of Lightning Technology (BOLT) 12 versus BOLT 11 - improvements and new features
Lightning network improvement procedure in comparison to the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) process
Improvements to lightning network privacy by changing the way public channels are announced on the Gossip network
How the bitcoin block header overflow bug will need to be fixed with a hard fork
Does fixing the block header overflow bug with a hard fork open up the discussion for other changes to be worked into that hard fork? Is this a risk for bitcoin?
Could there be a bitcoin civil war coming, especially about the blocksize or block subsidy? Will the 21 million supply cap ever change? What circumstances would make people consider it?
Threats to bitcoin: privacy is lagging
Things to be excited about: lightning network (near-instant, near-free, more private, and eventually-infinitely-scalable transactions)
References
https://lightning.readthedocs.io
https://github.com/ElementsProject/lightning
Thanks to our guest: https://twitter.com/dazbea1 (of https://lookingglasseducation.com)
Host: https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Notes
Recent World Economic Forum propaganda video with renewed energy FUD regarding bitcoin mining
Society's gradual erosion of trust towards authorities and media institutions
DazBea's bitcoin journey - transitioning from wage slavery to self-employment to investing in the future
Understanding "fair value" of businesses before investing (and realising that almost everything on the stock exchange is overvalued)
We're all incentivised to improve and benefit ourselves, which is often incongruous with being a wage slave
People are forced to move far out on the risk curve just to protect their wealth (and bitcoin fixes this)
Inflation is destroying savings (whether it meets the 'hyperinflation' criteria or not)
Everyone's "basket of goods" in regards to inflation is different
There are incentives to keep the CPI number down through manipulation of the basket of goods (including hedonic adjustments)
Broken incentives in various industries and academia (e.g., agriculture, nutrition, health)
How to lie with statistics
Starting and working on www.lookingglasseducation.com
Preparing a 3-hour course focused on answering the question "what is money?" for no-coiners and wage-earners without focusing too much on bitcoin
Future courses and plans for Looking Glass Education
Financial education at a young age disrupts the cycle of poverty
Bitcoin mining at home (eg, with an S9)
Is it still profitable? How much energy is used for what hash rate output? How much do they cost to buy?
Bitcoin mining at home is more viable with solar source of energy to offset grid energy costs
Running miners non-stop or turning them on/off intermittently - pros and cons?
How loud and hot do they get?
Running standard versus customised firmware (e.g., BraiinsOS)
What maintenance do they need?
Can you run miners on the same circuit, or is it best to separate them?
Ethernet vs WiFi connection?
How to reduce the noise (e.g., building a sound-proofed 'black box')?
Immersion cooling systems - pros and cons?
Heating water or your house with the heat from a bitcoin miner
Speed reading and mind mapping - useful tips and tools (e.g., Voice Dream and Obsidian) to consider
**References / Resources
-** DazBea's Energy and Electricity for Plebs (for Home Mining)
https://dazbe4.medium.com/energy-and-electricity-for-plebs-plebucation-for-bitcoiners-1-basics-and-mining-f653c2cc9b65
https://dazbe4.medium.com/energy-and-electricity-for-plebs-plebucation-for-bitcoiners-2-energy-demand-pricing-and-e0bb2b137691
https://econoalchemist.github.io/UpstreamData-DIY-BlackBox/
https://youtu.be/QgbLb6QCK88
Discount link: https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our hosts:
https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
https://twitter.com/jeremy_m16
https://twitter.com/hardblockbtc
https://twitter.com/ausbitcoinpod
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Notes
GLOBAL
St Louis Fed (a US Central Bank) starts pricing eggs in bitcoin
https://fredblog.stlouisfed.org/2022/06/buying-eggs-with-bitcoins/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=SM&utm_content=stlouisfed&utm_campaign=c4fbf333-9509-4d17-bdb8-0b0c42b67881
New York passes proof-of-work mining ban
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/new-york-just-passed-a-bitcoin-mining-ban-e2-80-94-heres-everything-thats-in-it/ar-AAY1mZP
Biden admin considering bitcoin mining regulation
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/white-house-to-reduce-bitcoin-energy-use-report
Kenya’s largest producer of electricity intends to deliver excess geothermal energy to bitcoin miners
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/kengen-to-provide-geothermal-energy-to-bitcoin-miners-in-kenya
Yellen says she was ‘wrong’ about ‘path that inflation would take’
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/3507422-%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8Byellen-says-she-was-wrong-about-path-that-inflation-would-take/
Eurozone inflation hits 8.1%, highest level ever, well above targets; Christine Lagarde not phased (expects it to come down “in due course”)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/eurozone-inflation-hits-record-81-amid-rising-energy-85080229
Turkey's annual inflation soars to 73.5% in May, highest since 1998
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/turkeys-annual-inflation-soars-to-24-year-high-of-73.5
Russia’s Ministry of Finance is ‘actively considering’ the use of digital currencies for international payments, a government official reportedly said
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/russia-mulls-cryptocurrency-for-international-trade-report
Russia blames US inflation on 38% currency creation in past two years, and EU inflation and energy crisis on their unreliable energy policies
https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/272575127/us-eu-inflation-result-of-unprecedented-money-printing-putin
$4.5 trillion Fidelity to double headcount for bitcoin and digital assets division
https://twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1531601008664666112?s=20&t=e3baFn7Uc94F3ux3K4MF6g
Goldman Sachs is reportedly looking to integrate services with Bitcoin and crypto exchange FTX
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/goldman-sachs-and-ftx-in-talks-for-bitcoin-crypto-derivatives
Top 30 bank in Panama, Towerbank, has declared it is bitcoin friendly
https://twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1531630791263920128?s=20&t=e3baFn7Uc94F3ux3K4MF6g
Bitcoin Knowledge and Perceptions, Block, 2022
https://block.xyz/2022/btc-report.pdf
AUSTRALIA
Australians 'panicking' as power prices skyrocket, consumer advocates say
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-02/consumer-panic-amid-unprecedented-power-price-hikes/101119776
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-03/gas-crisis-threatens-manufacturers-jobs-and-rising-prices/101114712
https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our guest: Zoe from www.smsfwarehouse.com.au (www.superannuationwarehouse.com.au)
Host: https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Notes- Who is Zoe and what does SMSFWarehouse do?
Walkthrough:
Step 1: Choosing a SMSF Administrator (or changing to a new one)
Step 2: Establishing the fund (eg, choosing individual or corporate trustee setup, completing the right documentation, establishing a fund investment strategy)
Step 3: Setting up a SMSF bank account (eg, using the SMSF name, tax file number, and Australian business number)
Step 4: Setting up a SMSF Hardblock account (similar to the bank account step above)
Step 5: How to roll-over existing superannuation into your new SMSF, or make fresh contributions to the SMSF
Step 6: Deciding how / where to store your bitcoin (eg, self-custody vs exchange vs third-party custody service)
Step 7: Buying bitcoin from the exchange (and keeping appropriate records)
Step 8: Withdrawing bitcoin from the exchange to self-custody (and again, keeping appropriate records)
Step 9: Completing the annual lodgement process (e.g., summarising buy, sell, and withdrawal records; proving ownership of the bitcoin; and passing the sole purpose test)
FAQs:
Can you have a majority (or full) allocation in a SMSF to bitcoin? How is it justified in the context of the diversification obligation?
Can an investment strategy be changed (eg, adding bitcoin to a fund that previously couldn't hold bitcoin, or increasing your allocation of bitcoin?
Do you need to indicate which exchange you'll buy from in your investment strategy document?
Can you go to a new SMSF administrator or auditor or are you stuck with who set it up?
What is the "sole purpose test" and how to pass it?
How to prove ownership if self-custodied bitcoin at audit time?
References
https://www.hardblock.com.au/SMSF-bitcoin-investment
Thanks to our guest: https://twitter.com/btcbrisket
Host: https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Notes
Bitcoin Bush Bash reflections - appreciating the thriving genuine Aussie bitcoin tribe
Setting up a pfSense router for better home network privacy and security
Running CalyxOS on a Pixel and learning about Samourai Wallet and BIP47 PayNyms
Learning better coin control (UXTO management) and taking care of bitcoin privacy
Brisket's bitcoin journey
Learning about bitcoin through the carnivore diet (eg, carnivore is the answer to fiat food, and bitcoin is the answer to fiat money)
Understanding (the hard way) about why we don't trade or use leverage
Technical Analysis is horoscopes for men
Finding quality signal on Bitcoin Twitter
Learning about permaculture and taking forward those philosophies into other aspects of life
Bitcoiners operate on first principles, with firm beliefs, held lightly
Experiences with and science behind carnivore diet and removing seed oils (polyunsaturated fatty acids)
John K Vallis iconically not wearing a shirt in podcasts
Discovering bitcoin is a framework to live your life better, like an immune system
The benefits of generalising and localisation over specialising and globalisation
Harnessing the bitcoin community to learn skills to be more self-sufficient and be apart of something greater
Bitcoin is based on solid underpinning principles and is about freedom, autonomy, and personal responsibility
Fiat systems are full of complexity which become impossible for most people to fully understand
Bitcoin is a cheat code that helps you think better
We're all working for bitcoin, only some of us get paid for it
The fiat world becomes increasingly unrelatable the further down the bitcoin rabbit hole you go
Shill lightly, if at all (as per Gigi)
You'd be amazed at the things you can accomplish if you don't care who gets the credit - an open source ethos
Complacency and indifference is a long-term threat to bitcoin
Appreciating the blocksize wars and how resilient the bitcoin code and network is
Toxic maximalism is part of bitcoin's immune system
Things to be bullish about: Jack Mallers' announcement, global deterioration, bitcoin being normalised, bitcoiners
Bitcoin is a one way street
Keeping extra meat in the freezer for if someone, anyone, needs to be fed
Having kids, home schooling, and citadel (bitcoin community) building
Using Obsidian to document ideas and knowledge
Bitcoin is hope!
https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our hosts:
https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
https://twitter.com/jeremy_m16
https://twitter.com/hardblockbtc
https://twitter.com/ausbitcoinpod
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
**Notes
-** What is dollar cost averaging (DCA'ing)?
Why dollar cost average (i.e., save in) bitcoin, rather than trade or invest?
How has HardBlock set up its buy and withdrawal features to best facilitate DCA'ing?
What is a UTXO (Unspent Transaction Output) and what is UTXO management?
How to choose the right size UTXO depending if you're saving or spending (keeping in mind things like convenience, fees, and privacy implications?)
https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our hosts:
https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
https://twitter.com/danWilcz
https://twitter.com/hardblockbtc
https://twitter.com/ausbitcoinpod
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
**Notes
-** HardBlock affiliate program
https://twitter.com/bitcoinbushbash
https://bitcoinbushbash.info/
**GLOBAL
-** United States annual CPI is 8.3% as of April, remaining close to 40-year highs
https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2022/may/11/german-price-increases-record-high-food-energy-rises-us-announce-inflation-rate-business-live
https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/inflation-cpi
https://apnews.com/a060a933f661d4d13a7686a17bb211f0
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/el-salvador-president-nayib-bukele-announces-countries-to-discuss-bitcoin
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/warren-buffett-backed-nubank-buys-bitcoin-adds-trading
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/texas-pacific-land-corporation-bitcoin-mining-facility-launching-in-texas
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/nomura-to-launch-bitcoin-crypto-subsidiary-report
AUSTRALIA
https://cryptonews.com.au/australia-first-btc-and-eth-etf-goes-live-today
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/australian-taxation-office-prioritizes-crypto-094530979.html
https://iorder.com.au/publication/Download.aspx?ProdID=75362-09.2021
TECHNICAL- New bitcoin mining data released by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance confirmed the growing dominance of the US (accounting for 37.84% of bitcoin mining) and revealed a resurgence of China as the second largest mining hub (21.11%)
https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/insight/2022/bitcoin-mining-new-data-reveal-a-surprising-resurgence/
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/how-to-upgrade-bitcoin
Thanks to our guest: https://twitter.com/btc_shepherd of https://thebitcoinshepherd.com
Host: https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
Sponsored by HardBlock: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Notes
Dale's personal journey into bitcoin after dabbling in law, real estate, and financial planning
Learning about money printing, inflation, "intrinsic value", and macroeconomics from the likes of Lyn Alden, Paul Tudor Jones, Raoul Pal, and Simon Dixon
Understanding the philosophies behind bitcoin (e.g., separating state and money)
Starting The Bitcoin Shepherd (www.thebitcoinshepherd.com) to help orange pill no-coiners and help them with self-custody
The importance of understanding the economic, technological, and philosophical reasons for bitcoin
Needing nuanced and adversarial thinking to check your biases
Bitcoin's value comes from its utility and monetary properties
Bitcoin provides full risk with full reward, whereas bonds provide a negative real yield with the full risk of default (i.e., no returns, all risk!)
Finding a niche in bitcoin education and prioritising quality of life (rather than just mining fiat)
Writing about bitcoin and badmouthing shitcoins as a journalist for www.cryptonews.com.au
Working with South Africans to establish geographically distributed multi-signature custody options
Wrestling with the desire to wear bitcoin merch and talk to everyone about bitcoin while keeping good opsec
Differences in privacy and security risks between South Africa and Australia
Using multi-sig, ColdCard decoy pins, and decoy passphrases to improve bitcoin security
Buying property, bitcoin, and/or bitcoin miners and then using the assets as collateral to buy more bitcoin
Choosing a vocation/career based on what problems do you want to solve
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs): benefits for artists, hype cycles, wash trading, scams, and money laundering
How family and friends have responded to transitioning to a bitcoin evangelical vocation
Mainstream / corporate media: Bitcoin holders are psychopaths, and if you want to buy a house you should save more fiat, invest in stocks, and leverage more debt
Lightning Network will cut the lunch of expensive, inefficient, and corruptible intermediaries
Using demonstrations to orange pill, rather than just explanations (although 'what is money?' and 'fractional reserve banking' are always important topics to discuss)
4-year political cycles incentivize manipulation of the money supply
Legacy media is driven by broken incentives (e.g., being first, being sensational to get clicks, and lazy writing that is derivative of other articles)
There's a fine line between dispelling FUD and giving it credibility by responding in the first place
Using memes and calling out absurdity
Benefits of bitcoin mining (bootstrapping renewable infrastructure, stabilising grid demand, rescuing stranded and otherwise wasted energy)
Most normies will own or use bitcoin without even realising it (e.g., due to superannuation allocations)
Things to be bullish about: Lightning adoption; hash rate ATH; nation-state adoption; bitcoin development and mining thriving; bitcoiners are honest, motivated, and innovative; and Jerome Powell and Janet Yellen's recent comments about the US dollar and bitcoin
Threats to bitcoin: cryptocurrency as a distraction, government over-regulation, and privacy concerns
Topics that tangent out from bitcoin: low time preference.
Discount link (get six months of free weekly batched Auto-Send withdrawals from HardBlock): https://www.hardblock.com.au/join/ozbitcoinpod
Hosts:
https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
https://twitter.com/jeremy_m16
Sponsor: HardBlock https://www.hardblock.com.auNotes GLOBALPanama passes legislation that encourages bitcoin businesses to set up in Panama and makes bitcoin payments and income tax free
https://cryptonews.com.au/panama-passes-crypto-bill-exempting-digital-assets-from-capital
WEF releases “change the code” energy FUD propaganda video (and gets wrecked in the comments by bitcoiners who've actually done their research)
https://twitter.com/wef/status/1519119185422524416
Bitcoin Mining Council writes to the US Environmental Protection Agency to tackle renewed bitcoin energy FUD
https://cryptonews.com.au/saylor-and-dorsey-write-to-environmental-agency-to-tackle-btc
IMF loans Argentina US$45 billion with strict stipulations that Argentina must discourage bitcoin adoption; major private Argentinian banks were set to release bitcoin-related products as the national currency's annual inflation rate surpassed 50%, but Argentina's Central Bank banned this from occurring
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/argentina-bans-banks-from-offering-bitcoin
IMF expresses concerns over Central African Republic adopting bitcoin as legal tender, similar to the warning they issued to El Salvador for doing the same
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/imf-expresses-concern-central-african-114218017.html?_guc_consent_skip=1651891100
Goldman Sachs has offered its first ever lending facility backed by BTC as the Wall Street giant deepens its Bitcoin product offerings
https://cryptonews.com.au/goldman-sachs-makes-its-first-bitcoin-backed-loan
Fidelity offering up to 20% bitcoin allocation to their 401k (pension) funds
https://www.wsj.com/articles/fidelity-to-allow-retirement-savers-to-put-bitcoin-in-401-k-accounts-11650945661
MicroStrategy to be the first to offer employees bitcoin holding in their 401k pensions via Fidelity
https://twitter.com/saylor/status/1518932341418307584 AUSTRALIAN
Australian annual CPI at 5.1% as of March 2022
https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/price-indexes-and-inflation/consumer-price-index-australia/mar-2022
Labor unveils plan to provide equity contribution of up to 40% of the purchase price of a new home, and up to 30% for an existing home
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/apr/30/labor-to-help-low-and-middle-income-earners-buy-home-with-shared-ownership-scheme
Senator Bragg hosts an Ask Me Anything (AMA) on Reddit regarding his views on upcoming regulation for bitcoin and cryptocurrencies
https://www.reddit.com/r/AustralianPolitics/comments/uby7ao/i_am_senator_andrew_bragg_and_i_want_crypto/
Australian Bitcoin Industry Body confirms which Australian Federal election candidates support bitcoin or cryptocurrency
https://bitcoinindustrybody.org.au/2022-political-poll-results/
Australia's first three CBOE bitcoin and cryptocurrency ETFs delayed at the last minute, although these funds (plus more currently in development for ASX) are still expected to be released soon
https://cryptonews.com.au/australia-first-crypto-etfs-delayed-due-to-prime-broker
TECHNICALBIP119 (OP_CHECKTEMPLATEVERIFY / Covenants)
https://www.bip119.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAE5fOZ2Luw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcrisuPlknY
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our hosts:
https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
https://twitter.com/jeremy_m16
https://www.twitter.com/hardblockbtc
https://www.twitter.com/ausbitcoinpod
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
ReferencesHow to Upgrade Your Email Privacy
https://learn.hardblock.com.au/how-to-upgrade-your-email-privacy/
How to Upgrade Your Bitcoin and Online Privacy and Security With a Password Manager
https://learn.hardblock.com.au/how-to-upgrade-your-online-security-with-a-password-manager/
Opt Out Podcast with Bitwarden
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj7YoZRsqJk
Ian Coleman BIP39 Calculator
https://iancoleman.io/bip39/
Check if your passwords have been exposed in a data breach
https://haveibeenpwned.com/Passwords
Notes
Why use a password manager?
Humans are a terrible source of entropy/randomness
Humans are forgetful (remembering unique passwords paired with unique email aliases for every site you use is impossible!)
Storing passwords in your web browser is not secure (e.g., these passwords are stored in clear text and are accessible if someone has remote or physical access to your browser)
Password managers protect against the most common "hacks" (i.e., a data breach/leak leading to credential stuffing attack)
You can store more than passwords in a password manager (e.g., secure notes, credit card details, account numbers, etc)
What's a good password? Either 12-16 characters combining letters, numbers, and symbols, or 5-7 words from the short or long word list
Comparing Bitwarden, LastPass, and KeepassXC
Bitwarden features (apart from password management): can send encrypted text and files; Bitwarden is free, open source, end-to-end encrypted, available across all browsers, devices, and operating systems; Bitwarden includes self-hosting options, online and offline storage options, and has more advanced features for paid version (e.g., sending encrypted files, emergency access or pseudo inheritance planning, etc)
Control + Shift + L for the win!
Backup your password manager master password as if it were your bitcoin mnemonic seed (e.g., store it physically, maybe in steel, possibly in more than one location)
It's best to set up your password manager with a two-factor authentication (2FA) for added security, but be sure to backup the 2FA recovery too (and ideally
keep it separate from the backup of your master password!)
Guest: https://twitter.com/btc_shepherd of https://thebitcoinshepherd.com
Host: https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
Sponsor: HardBlock https://www.hardblock.com.au
NotesGLOBALThe Central African Republic becomes first country in Africa to adopt Bitcoin as a payment currency?
https://forbes.mc/article/first-african-country-adopt-bitcoin-legal-currency-central-african-republic
Elon Musk's take-over of Twitter
https://www.cnet.com/tech/musk-is-twitters-singular-solution-says-co-founder-jack-dorsey/
Sri Lanka defaults on $51 billion external debt
https://www.firstpost.com/world/sri-lanka-defaults-on-its-51-billion-external-debt-calls-it-last-resort-as-country-runs-out-of-foreign-exchange-10546651.html
IMF offers Argentina a loan with stipulations restricting cryptocurrency adoption
US CPI hits 8.5% in March 2022, the highest in 40 years
Germany's producer inflation jumps to 30.9% in March, the highest since 1949
https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/inflation-cpi
Janet Yellen (US Treasury Secretary) gives 30 minute speech about bitcoin and CBDCs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPQiPFqFwOU
American push-back on the Federal Reserve and CBDCs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fElE9EpMfg
Senator Bragg's comments on an Australian Sovereign Digital Currency
US bank Morgan Stanley report the bitcoin Lightning Network is superior in terms of transaction speed and cost when compared to payment giants like Visa
https://watcher.guru/news/morgan-stanley-says-bitcoin-lightning-network-is-superior-to-visa
UniSwap class action lawsuit for promoting scamcoins and not making proper disclosures
Robinhood CEO & Doge devs looking to make doge the currency of the people and internet with a blocksize of 1GB and rate of 1-10 minutes
New scientific analysis of Roman coins uncovers evidence financial crisis was worse than expected
https://phys.org/news/2022-04-analysis-roman-coins-uncovers-evidence.html
AUSTRALIAAustralian Financial Watchdog unveils cryptocurrency regulatory road-map
https://cointelegraph.com/news/australian-prudential-regulator-releases-roadmap-for-cryptocurrency-policy
AUSTRAC releases 2 new guides to help spot illicit cryptocurrency use
https://cointelegraph.com/news/austrac-releases-2-new-guides-to-help-spot-illicit-crypto-use
Government overreach, including Ukraine banning purchases of bitcoin in their local currency
Sen Bragg's comments on cryptocurrency in superannuation funds
Australia's #Bitcoin spot ETF gets the green light
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/australias-first-bitcoin-etf-to-list-next-week-report
Life is getting more expensive, but you can still save for a home deposit with traditional methods
https://www.smh.com.au/money/saving/life-is-getting-more-expensive-but-you-can-still-save-for-a-home-deposit-20220330-p5a9f4.html
‘Impulsive psychopaths like crypto’: Why some take risks on bitcoin
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/impulsive-psychopaths-like-crypto-why-some-take-risks-on-bitcoin-20220412-p5acv4.html
Alex Saunders from Nugget's News returns with an NFT collection
TECHNOLOGYNew Bitcoin Seed Calculator Tool (better than Ian Coleman’s BIP39 Utility?!)
https://bitcoiner.guide/seed
Lighting Network grew by 750% in one year
https://compassmining.io/education/lighting-network-grew-by-750-in-one-year-report
Lightning channels all time high capacity
https://twitter.com/Dennis_Porter_/status/1515833742522167298?s=20&t=PNyU_k5l_0T1x-eUSvnhpA
Taro protocol for tokens on Lightning Network
TSMC raises $3.5 bln for new chip foundry in Arizona
https://www.reuters.com/technology/taiwans-tsmc-raises-35-bln-bonds-new-us-plant-2022-04-20
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our guest:
https://twitter.com/pete_winn of https://bitcoinforhumans.com
Host:
https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au Notes
Beach swims and bouldering
Pete's history before discovering bitcoin
Sound versus unsound ladders
Corrupt intermediaries eroding aid money for humanitarian causes
Sound money is anti-corruption money
Community is an important part of the solution
Scale of organisations is a significant part of the problem
What would a bitcoin bank be like?
Who'll build the roads with no or less government?
Morals and acceptable behaviour conforms to the rules of the game being played
It's not about the left or right - there's a vertical liberty line too
Starting and working on bitcoin education (https://bitcoinforhumans.com)
Local institutions are key to a bitcoin solution (e.g., community-level banks or currency exchanges)
Investing back into the community (in cash flow businesses), while storing long-term wealth in bitcoin
Good money allows specialisation and division of labour
Focusing career/vocation on education, exploring ways to generate dividends from bitcoin, helping people start with bitcoin and custody their keys
Educating people early is important, because the shitcoin allure can be very distracting
Shitcoins are a metaphoric eclipse attack on pre-coiners
Orange pill strategies: understanding their position and identifying the problem
What's the thing you're most disappointed about in life?
Being a fiat debt slave
Nobody really knows what they're doing
Living in a super capitalist cult with a clubhouse in the middle
Figuring out where to stand in an earthquake and teaching others to think the same way
Currency and debt catastrophes are escalating
Deflation is a good thing, except for in a debt-based economy
It's impossible to measure and organise a complex system using a linear or flawed unit of account (e.g., GDP, CPI)
Decentralizing power and building local small businesses and institutions will be the key to a hyperbitcoinized world
It's still early to change to a bitcoin vocation
Using CFDs with DLCs to smooth out bitcoin price volatility
Being unbanked blocks people from society
Censorship-resistance and permissionless are two of bitcoin's most important qualities
Bitcoin is a mirror that encourages you to figure out a better moral framework
Becoming an anarchist in a polo shirt
Bitcoiners are generally a valid and reliable sounding board
Preparing for the citadel building stage
Statism is based on a logical fallacy
Central planning cannot work in an emergent system
Voluntaryism and anarchism are a more dynamic and responsive way to organise society
Get involved in bitcoin - just dip your toe in!
Thanks to our hosts:
https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
https://twitter.com/jeremy_m16
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Notes & References
Bitcoin 2022 Conference
Highlights - too many to list! Just listen to the first 20 minutes! In sum: bitcoin mining, privacy, and institutional investment are all barrelling ahead.
Samson Mow's announcements:
Prospera, jurisdiction on the Roatán island off of the northern coast of Honduras, is adopting bitcoin as legal tender
Madeira, an autonomous region in Portugal, is adopting bitcoin as legal tender
Mexico is proposing a bill for legal tender
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ninabambysheva/2022/04/07/two-new-territories-are-adopting-bitcoin/
Jack Mallers' Strike partners with Shopify, NCR, and Blackhawk
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/04/07/jack-mallers-strike-announces-shopify-integration-for-bitcoin-lightning-payments/
Tesla, Block, and Blockstream to setup 100% solar-powered bitcoin mine in Texas
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/08/tesla-block-blockstream-to-mine-bitcoin-off-solar-power-in-texas.html
Australian NewsOTR accepting bitcoin payments starting in July (through Crypto.com system)
https://twitter.com/HardBlockBTC/status/1510789927944200192
RBA to audit 10% of their 80 tonnes of gold in Bank of England
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/a-golden-audit-rba-to-check-on-its-6-billion-in-bullion-20220406-p5abf3.html
Bengal Energy, a Canadian oil and gas business, is dabbling in Bitcoin (BTC) mining as a way to tap into the untapped energy from its gas wells in the Australian outback
https://news.coincu.com/77167-bengal-energy-plans-mine-bitcoin-australias/
DazBea1 and others release the Looking Glass Financial Education platform
https://lookingglasseducation.com/
Global NewsEU Parliament passes privacy-busting crypto rules despite industry criticism
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/03/31/eu-parliament-votes-on-privacy-busting-crypto-rules-industry-rails-against-proposals/
“Beware of wartime fake news triggering a run”, EU banks told
https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/beware-wartime-fake-news-triggering-run-eu-banks-told-2022-04-01/
Greenpeace paid $5 million by Chris Larson (co-founder of XRP/Ripple) to campaign for bitcoin to change from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/bitcoiners-scoff-at-chris-larsens-dollar5m-campaign-to-force-a-btc-code-change/ar-AAVD5I5
Trezor customer email address list compromised via Mailchimp
https://nitter.net/Trezor/status/1510558771944333312
Tennessee Titans becomes first NFL team to adopt a bitcoin standard
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/tennessee-titans-become-first-nfl-team-to-accept-bitcoin
TechnologyBitcoin Bounty Website
https://bitcoinbounties.org/
Econoalchemist's article on how Whirlpool mixing fixes the Canadian trucker protest problem
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/freedom-convoy-should-whirlpool-bitcoin
Mining stats/insights added to mempool.space
https://mempool.space/mining
Intel launches their new bitcoin mining chip
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/intel-launches-new-bitcoin-mining-chip-blockscale
Taro on Taproot enables issuance of stablecoins and shitcoins on bitcoin
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/04/05/lightning-labs-raises-70m-to-bring-stablecoins-to-bitcoin/
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our hosts:
https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
https://twitter.com/jeremy_m16
https://www.twitter.com/hardblockbtc
https://www.twitter.com/ausbitcoinpod
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
References
https://learn.hardblock.com.au/how-to-upgrade-your-email-privacy/
* Please note that CTemplar closed down as of May 2022.*
Notes- OnTheRun to accept bitcoin payments in Australia
Overton window shifting to include bitcoin, inflation, and the debt crisis
Why upgrade your email privacy?
Google is monitoring you, censoring content, and feeding/teaching their artificial intelligence systems with your data
What to look for in a private email provider?
End-to-end and zero-knowledge encryption, free and open source, and good reputation
What's the easiest way to make the move to a private email account?
Having a Password Manager can make transitioning to private email easier
Keep your old email account open and gradually transfer data and subscriptions across to your newer private email service - this makes the process easier and reduces the chance of forgetting to transfer something across
Step 1: Sign-up to a private email provider, eg, ProtonMail, Tutanota, or CTemplar
ProtonMail is a good all-round choice (easy to sign-up privately, more features than others, long-term reputation, and continuing to build a privacy-focused ecosystem including calendar, cloud storage, VPN service, etc)
Try to sign-up without linking the new email address to an email, phone number, or IP address already associated with you - this is probably unnecessary, but good for privacy practice!
How to choose a username for your new private email address (full name, first name, pseudonym or otherwise)?
Step 2: Sign-up to an email alias forwarding service, eg, AnonAddy or SimpleLogin
How do email alias forwarding services work?
What username to choose for email alias forwarding services?
Step 3: Provide an email alias for every website you sign-up to in future
How else can you use email alias forwarding service (eg, replying from the alias and disabling aliases)?
Checking yourself out on www.haveibeenpwned.com to see if any of your emails or passwords have been compromised in known data breaches
Good privacy can result in better security, eg, protecting against credential stuffing attacks based on data breaches
Recent MailChimp and HubSpot data breaches
Social engineering attacks are harder to employ against someone who uses a private email, email alias forwarding service, and a password manager
Which password manager should you use? BitWarden - although there'll be a separate podcast and article released about that soon
If you're missing Google Meets audio and video calling, then look into Jitsi, Signal, or Impervious.ai's upcoming browser
Don't let perfect be the enemy of good! Start today and make gradual steps over time
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our guest:
https://twitter.com/_k3tan
https://twitter.com/ministryofnodes
Host: https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
Notes
k3tan's personal bitcoin journey
Ministry of Nodes (helping clients hold their own keys, run their own node, and follow privacy best-practices)
similarities between bitcoin distributed ledger and BitTorrent filesharing
what is privacy?
is bitcoin private by default?
increased security through improved privacy
data leaks (eg, Ledger, HubSpot)
things to consider with bitcoin privacy: KYC vs no KYC, on-chain transactions, and network-level privacy
KYC vs no KYC: pros and cons, and methods
SatsSpend Australian Bitcoin Business list
tips to improve bitcoin privacy: keep your mouth shut, don't reuse receiving addresses, and use UTXO management (eg, labeling and coin control/selection)
what is a UTXO (unspent transaction output)?
HardBlock's auto-send feature and not reusing receiving addresses
Sparrow and Samourai Wallet for privacy features
Whirlpool coinjoin mixing
chain heuristics: address reuse, common input ownership, self-spends, round-number, largest output, change position, change vs spend address/script type, multi- vs single-signature)
anti-fingerprinting features (change output position randomisation, and same-type spend and change outputs)
BIP47 (PayNym) reusable static stealth addresses
post-mix coinjoin spend tools (eg, Stonewall, Stonewall 2X, Stowaway, Ricochet)
is Lightning Network private (eg, multiple hops through custodial services or BoltzExchange)?
network-level privacy
running your own node
what is Tor?
what is a VPN?
using Tor and a VPN to improve privacy
nodes to consider: RoninDojo, RaspiBlitz, MyNode, Umbrel, Citadel, Start9, or Ministry of Nodes custom multi-use build
Australian ISP data logging and metadata retention
planning for privacy is low time preference
privacy is fundamental in the cypherpunk and bitcoin ethos
using Australia Post parcel locker for bitcoin-related deliveries
being bullish on bitcoin privacy
attacks on bitcoin privacy and fungibility important to keep in mind and fight against
self-hosting maximalism
running a pfSense free and open source software (FOSS) router
References
https://www.ministryofnodes.com.au/
https://www.youtube.com/c/MinistryofNodes
https://github.com/Daunus/SatsSpend
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our hosts:
https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
https://twitter.com/jeremy_m16
https://www.twitter.com/hardblockbtc
https://www.twitter.com/ausbitcoinpod
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au Notes
Bitcoin Bush Bash reflections
Privacy news
RoboSats
CoinSwap protocol ("Teleport Transactions")
BIP47 adoption
Whisper Addresses
Wasabi wallet fiasco
HubSpot data breach
American and Australian inflation "pumping" and governments using Modern Monetary Theory
El Salvador bond
South Korean President bullish on bitcoin
Potential announcements at Bitcoin Miami 2022
Russia accepting bitcoin for energy resources
Exxon mining bitcoin
Thailand bans merchants accepting bitcoin
Sri Lanka financial and economic crisis
Google Chrome high severity zero day vulnerability - use Firefox, Brave, Tor, or LibreWolf instead!
Arkon Energy bitcoin mining company sets Australian pre-seed funding record
ANZ issues first Australian dollar stablecoin
JP Morgan Coin
Upcoming Australian cryptocurrency exchange regulations
Referenceshttps://github.com/Reckless-Satoshi/robosats
https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/pipermail/bitcoin-dev/2022-February/020026.html
https://tftc.io/martys-bent/issue-1182-bdk-plans-to-add-bip47-support/
https://github.com/rust-bitcoin/rust-bip47
https://github.com/sparrowwallet/sparrow/releases/tag/1.6.2
https://github.com/BlueWallet/BlueWallet/issues/2883
https://github.com/supertestnet/whisper-addresses
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/wasabi-wallet-explains-new-bitcoin-censorship
https://twitter.com/stephanlivera/status/1506293002536427526?s=20&t=6iLXaYQ5bMfKRkJOmYRd3w
https://stephanlivera.com/episode/358/
https://www.hubspot.com/en-us/march-2022-security-incident
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2022/03/10/us-inflation-rises-to-79-in-february-fresh-4-decade-high/
https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/consumer-price-index-cpi
https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/producer-prices
https://learn.hardblock.com.au/getting-ahead-of-inflation/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/el-salvador-e2-80-99s-bitcoin-bond-issuance-apparently-delayed/ar-AAVfp1u
https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/new-south-korean-president-seeks-to-give-a-local-crypto-push/
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/24/russia-might-take-bitcoin-as-payment-for-oil-and-gas-as-sanctions-rise.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/26/exxon-mining-bitcoin-with-crusoe-energy-in-north-dakota-bakken-region.html
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/thailand-announces-medium-of-payment-ban-for-bitcoin-and-crypto
https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2022/03/28/whats-behind-sri-lankas-economic-crisis/
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/emergency-google-chrome-update-fixes-zero-day-used-in-attacks
https://www.investordaily.com.au/markets/50846-aussie-bitcoin-mining-startup-sets-pre-seed-funding-record
https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/anz-the-first-bank-to-mint-an-australian-dollar-stablecoin-the-a-dc-20220323-p5a743
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/senator-bragg-speech-industry-support-for-crypto-regulation
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our hosts:
https://www.twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
https://www.twitter.com/jeremy_m16
https://www.twitter.com/ausbitcoinpod
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our guest:
https://twitter.com/CBO_21
https://twitter.com/PerthHeat
Host: https://twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, round-table discussions about recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our hosts:
https://www.twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
https://www.twitter.com/jeremy_m16
https://www.twitter.com/ausbitcoinpod
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, round-table discussions about recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our hosts:
https://www.twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
https://www.twitter.com/danWilcz
https://www.twitter.com/ausbitcoinpod
References
https://stephanlivera.com/episode/254/
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, round-table discussions about recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our hosts:
https://www.twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
https://www.twitter.com/danWilcz
https://www.twitter.com/jeremy_m16
https://www.twitter.com/ausbitcoinpod
News References
https://github.com/Daunus/SatsSpend
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/russia-submits-first-bitcoin-bill-proposal
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/ukraine-legalizes-bitcoin
https://bitcoinist.com/mastercard-visa-paypal-suspend-russian-operations/
https://theintercept.com/2022/02/11/afghanistan-frozen-assets-economy/
https://bitcoinist.com/iranian-venezuelan-opensea-users/
https://cointelegraph.com/news/thailand-scraps-15-crypto-capital-gains-tax-following-public-backlash
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/02/24/chinas-supreme-court-rules-crypto-transactions-constitute-illegal-fundraising/
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/lugano-switzerland-will-make-bitcoin-legal-tender
https://cointelegraph.com/news/tourism-in-el-salvador-up-30-since-bitcoin-adoption-minister-says
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/intel-details-bitcoin-mining-chip-bonanza-mine
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/middle-income-australians-locked-out-property-government-report
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, round-table discussions about recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our guest: https://www.twitter.com/bayanimills (of https://koined.store)
Host: https://www.twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, round-table discussions about recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our hosts:
https://www.twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
https://www.twitter.com/danWilcz
https://www.twitter.com/ausbitcoinpod
https://www.twitter.com/hardblockbtc
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, round-table discussions about recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our hosts:
https://www.twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
https://www.twitter.com/jeremy_m16
https://www.twitter.com/ausbitcoinpod
https://www.twitter.com/hardblockbtc
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bank_runs
https://abytesjourney.com/lightning-privacy/
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, round-table discussions about recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our hosts:
https://www.twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
https://www.twitter.com/danWilcz
https://www.twitter.com/jeremy_m16
https://www.twitter.com/ausbitcoinpod
https://www.twitter.com/hardblockbtc
News References
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/russia-shares-plan-to-regulate-bitcoin-crypto
https://news.bitcoin.com/turkey-reveals-scheme-that-encourages-the-conversion-of-gold-deposits-into-lira-time-deposits/
https://thehackernews.com/2022/02/us-arrests-two-and-seizes-36-million-in.html
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/canada-kpmg-adds-bitcoin-to-its-treasury
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2022/02/07/teslas-bitcoin-investment-hits-nearly-2-billion-heres-how-that-compares-to-billionaire-novogratzs-galaxy-dorseys-square-and-more/
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-10/cryptocurrency-scam-australia-targets-crypto-investors/100810352
https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/costs/sydney-mans-plan-to-retire-at-58-backfires-after-epic-crypto-hack/news-story/0ebfe584d7e3c3fe20d6d8c7933a9cf7
https://learn.hardblock.com.au/getting-ahead-of-inflation/
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au
The Australian Bitcoin Podcast is focused on Australian bitcoin and privacy content, including educational episodes, round-table discussions about recent news, and guest interviews.
Thanks to our hosts:
https://www.twitter.com/mission_bitcoin
https://www.twitter.com/danWilcz
https://www.twitter.com/jeremy_m16
https://www.twitter.com/ausbitcoinpod
https://www.twitter.com/hardblockbtc
Sponsored by HardBlock - Australia's first and oldest bitcoin-only exchange: https://www.hardblock.com.au