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OPSEC FEATURE ARTICLE

How to Limit Tracking from Your Phone Carrier

Whether you're actively using your phone or simply carrying it, your device can be a honeypot for extensive data collection.

This week we explore the types of data accessible to your cellular provider and offer practical solutions to help you safeguard your privacy.

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🏆 FEATURE STORIES

• Tuur Demeester of Adamant Research critiques a controversial European Central Bank paper released recently that frames early Bitcoin adopters as thieves of economic value from future adopters, calling the paper a ‘declaration of war’ (Oct 19 | 1 min read).

• Dr Murray A. Rudd, Allen Farrington, Freddie New, and Dennis Porter extensively critiques the ECB working paper, arguing that it contains flawed assumptions, methodological weaknesses, and demonstrates bias towards CBDCs while misunderstanding Bitcoin's technological advancements and broader societal impacts (Oct 22 | 21 min read).

• Omid Malekan, Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School, also rebuts the ECB piece in a more extensive article, addressing its assumptions and various misconceptions (Oct 21 | 11 min read).

• Simple Stacker reviews the Minneapolis Fed Bitcoin Paper, another controversial paper released recently, and argues that, while the paper's abstract initially seems anti-Bitcoin, the core conclusion is potentially positive for Bitcoiners (Oct 22 | 5 min read).

• John Carvalho, CEO at Synonym, writes an open letter to Michael Saylor, critizing him over his recent controversial dismissal of self-custody risks (which others defend as being tailored to a specific audience), highlighting concerns about government seizure risks, and Bitcoin's value proposition in regulated markets (Oct 21 | 3 min read).

• Shinobi highlights what he sees as inverted perceptions in the Bitcoin space where those supporting decentralized principles are labeled as ‘spooks,’ while those pushing centralized solutions like ETFs and custodial solutions are celebrated as ‘heroes,’ risking Bitcoin's core value (Oct 21 | 3 min read).

• 028559d218, a pseudonymous Bitcoiner, predicts a significant wealth transfer to Bitcoin holders over the next decade, citing Bitcoin's unique value as a financial asset compared to traditional currencies and highlighting its potential to revolutionize the economy (Oct 20 | 4 min read).

• Roy Sheinfeld, co-founder and CEO of Breez, argues that Bitcoin’s role as a store of value (SoV) depends on its function as a medium of exchange (MoE), emphasizing that these two concepts are inseparable for Bitcoin's long-term success (Oct 16 | 23 min read).

• Marty Bent ponders the possibility of Bitcoin as a solution to the housing crisis by enabling real estate developers to dual collateralize their debt, improving financial security and cash flow in a challenging market (Oct 15 | 5 min read).

• Tristan Bietsch, developer of BitEscrow, argues that using Bitcoin as collateral for credit cards offers a practical solution for mass adoption, bridging the gap between the Bitcoin ecosystem and traditional finance without requiring significant behavioral changes (Oct 18 | 4 min read).

• Che Kohler of The Bitcoin Manual argues that stablecoins enhance peer-to-peer bitcoin trading by providing standardized value, faster settlements, and lower fees, addressing challenges like mismatched orders and limited fiat options (Oct 14 | 7 min read).

• Supertestnet, a Bitcoin developer, argues that stablecoins and stablechannels suffer from all of bitcoin's problems while also suffering from the problems of fiat currencies like reliance on trusted third parties, ultimately hindering hyperbitcoinization (Oct 18 | 5 min read).

• Michael Saylor, co-Founder of MicroStrategy, publishes a Bitcoin crash course in which he outlines his compelling Bitcoin thesis and its potential as a revolutionary digital asset (Oct 14 | 56 min read).

• Dave Birnbaum, VP of Product at Coinbits, discusses for Forbes how bitcoin's market cap of $1.3T signals its growing role in reshaping global finance, with institutions increasingly adopting it as a strategic asset amid economic instability (Oct 19 | 6 min read).

• Jameson Lopp, co-founder & chief security officer at Casa, analyzes the effectiveness of slow block validation attacks on Bitcoin mining, revealing how adversarial miners can gain advantages through complex blocks while emphasizing the potential impact on transaction fees and network throughput (Oct 20 | 3 min read).

• Bitcoin pup, a Bitcoin educator on Stacker News, publishes a guide to #GetOnZero, presenting strategies for transitioning fully to Bitcoin while minimizing fiat exposure, emphasizing tailored approaches for various market conditions to maximize Bitcoin holdings (Oct 20 | 6 min read).

• Ben77 from Discoco Labs explores the evolution of liquidity in Bitcoin's Lightning Network, highlighting ongoing challenges in achieving true scalability and the impact of recent wallet and liquidity service provider closures on the ecosystem (Oct 16 | 23 min read).

• Korok Ray, Ph.D economist specializing in Bitcoin and multi-agent systems, examines for Forbes how Bitcoin will transform traditional money management by raising return expectations, diminishing conventional active management roles, and fostering a new focus on Bitcoin derivatives and speculation (Oct 20 | 2 min read).

• MacroJack, a Bitcoin-focused macro researcher, explores the hidden costs of Bitcoin custody, highlighting the risks associated with third-party and self-custody options, and advocates for multi-institution custody as a secure solution for protecting Bitcoin investments (Oct 19 | 6 min read).

• BitBox delves into the complexities of using an optional passphrase with hardware wallets, outlining its potential security benefits and risks while maintaining that it is important to understand trade-offs of various Bitcoin storage methods (Oct 16 | 1 min read).

• Nym, a privacy advocate, compiles a detailed timeline of Satoshi Nakamoto's early emails, documenting pivotal moments in Bitcoin's development from its inception in 2008 to key technical milestones in 2010 (Oct 14 | 10 min read).

• Olaoluwa Osuntokun, CTO of Lightning Labs, is revolutionizing Bitcoin scalability and global finance through innovations like the Lightning Network and the Taro protocol, enabling faster, cheaper, and more inclusive digital transactions worldwide (Oct 11 | 3 min read).

• Ripcache, a pseudonymous artist, gives his thoughts on the intersection of privacy, ownership and surveillance through decentralized art on Bitcoin, and challenging traditional power structures in an interview with Bitcoin Magazine’s Dennis Koch (Oct 16 | 3 min read).

• Roasbeef, a Lightning Network developer, summarizes key discussions and outcomes from the recent Lightning Developer Summit in Tokyo, where over 30 developers and researchers focused on the Lightning protocol's current state and future evolution (Oct 16 | 32 min read).

• Singal312, a Stacker News user, calls attention to the importance of using peer-to-peer exchanges like Robosats for buying bitcoin to maintain privacy, offering a step-by-step guide on how to navigate the platform securely (Oct 17 | 4 min read).

• Nicky of The Bitcoin Manual surveys the landscape of Bitcoin self-custody solutions and writes about the importance of securing private keys against digital and physical threats while highlighting innovations like Casa, Liana, and BitVault for enhanced protection (Oct 16 | 5 min read).

• Colin Harper of The Mining pod compares OCEAN's DATUM and Stratum V2, highlighting that DATUM requires miners to broadcast their own blocks, which could limit its adoption among larger mining pools due to regulatory pressures (Oct 16 | 3 min read).

• SimpleX, a messaging and application platform, addresses the recent biased portrayal of them by Wired magazine, arguing that their strong privacy protections benefit vulnerable users and should not be condemned merely because some may misuse the platform (Oct 16 | 3 min read).

• Daniel Batten, a researcher on Bitcoin mining’s environmental impact, explores how Bitcoin can overcome energy misinformation and achieve mainstream adoption by addressing environmental concerns, enabling institutional investment, and demonstrating its role as a sustainable and innovative technology (Oct 19 | 12 min read).

• Super Testnet reviews Zman's SuperScalar, a new layer two proposal that enhances off-chain liquidity management using a decrementing timelock mechanism, improving on the Ark model while introducing new coordination challenges (Oct 15 | 3 min read).

• Agora, a Stacker News marketplace for Bitcoiners, explores the distinctions between classified ads and listings within the Nostr protocol, emphasizing their roles, standardizations through NIP-15 and NIP-99, and the potential for a more user-driven advertising approach (Oct 20 | 3 min read).

• Gordon Brander, a tech writer, explores previous attempts at building something like Nostr and explains how the protocol simplifies decentralized networking by using relay servers to enhance user ownership and autonomy (Oct 14 | 8 min read).

• Luis Lopez of Bitcoin News explains how Bitcoin address lookups enable transparency while preserving privacy, allowing users to track transactions and verify balances on the blockchain, promoting financial sovereignty without relying on centralized institutions (Oct 15 | 3 min read).

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🛠️ TOOLS & PROJECTS

• River Financial announces its Bitcoin Interest on Cash feature which offers a 3.8% interest rate in bitcoin on the filthy fiat you leave in custody with them.

• Unchained introduces email confirmation for bitcoin deposit addresses to enhance security against malware attacks targeting browser-based wallets.

• Strike announces a revamped referral program, offering customers in the US and EU $500 (or €500) in fee-free stacking for both the referrer and the referred friend when the friend joins and buys bitcoin.

• Weikeng Chen implements ‘Circle Plonk’ on Bitcoin signet making Bitcoin Script more dynamic and advancing bringing STARKs to Bitcoin.

• Boundless launches decentralized eSIM service with private and pseudonymous 5G access.

• HodlHodl discontinues support for most sh!tcoins as payment methods.

• The LNhance proposal, which aims to improve Bitcoin's scalability, privacy, and flexibility by introducing four new opcodes, now has a website.

• Darthcoin, a prominent Bitcoin educator, posts a comprehensive list of Lightning Network node operator resources.

• Cake Pay Web now supports Lightning network transactions for buying gift cards online.

• Bitcoin Indonesia is offering an 8-week intermediate cohort, ‘Learn Bitcoin From The Command Line,’ starting November 22nd, 2024, teaching participants to interact with Bitcoin Core using the CLI.

• Lightning Welder converts Bolt 12 offers to Bolt 11 invoices, ensuring compatibility across all Lightning wallets.

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