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🚀 Lighting Takes off on Binance, 🏝 Cayman Islands BTC Golden Visas, 🤐 CoinDesk Retracts Chainalysis Article

🚀 Lighting Takes off on Binance, 🏝 Cayman Islands BTC Golden Visas, 🤐 CoinDesk Retracts Chainalysis Article

Naiw
August 28, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 16 minutes

Greetings Earthling,

Welcome to issue #29 of the Bitcoin Breakdown, the premier newsletter empowering sovereign individuals to opt out of financial tyranny.

This Quick Bits feature is again jam-packed.

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HEADLINES

Lightning Network on Binance records one of the fastest rates of adoption less than two month after its integration on the exchange, according to data from the analytics platform Amboss. Binance's Lightning node has rapidly grown and is currently ranked 14th in terms of capacity, holding 77.7 BTC out of the network's total of 4,873.39 BTC. Inaccurate reporting earlier on Binance’s implementation of Lightning regarding low channel creation was addressed by Amboss, which explained that Binance's node connection details aren't publicly available for direct channels, unlike some competitors. Other exchanges like Kraken, Bitfinex, OKX, and BitStamp have also embraced the Lightning Network to manage the growing BTC demand.

Bitcoin-backed financial services firm, Ledn, has been authorized by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority to offer BTC-backed loans to buy real estate on the islands. Through a partnership with local real estate agency, Parallel, buyers can now finance property purchases without converting to filthy fiat. Investments over $2.4 million in Cayman Islands real estate grant buyers permanent residency. While other countries like Vanuatu, Portugal, Malta, and El Salvador have explored similar residency options, this initiative offers a unique path for bitcoiners to gain real estate-based ‘golden visas’ in the Cayman Islands.

CoinDesk retracts article critical of controversial blockchain analysis company, Chainalysis, that details an expert testimony given by the company’s head of investigations Elizabeth Bisbee, in which she admits to having no scientific evidence of the software's accuracy. According to the article’s author, L0la L33tz, Coindesk did not inform them of the retraction nor did it disclose the substantial investment its parent company, DCG, has in Chainalysis Inc. You can still read the article here.

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QUICK BITS

Washington Post idiotically recommends ‘server farms switch out Bitcoin for AI’ because Bitcoin has supposedly ‘failed to add much value to the world.’
Orange Pill App secures $250K pre-seed funding to pioneer real-world Bitcoin connections. (Sign up to the app here if you haven’t already).
Tor Network now uses proof of work tech to guard against attacks.
Arkham Intelligence doxxes the ‘mysterious Bitcoin wallet’ that suddenly became the third-largest holder of BTC as belonging to Robinhood.
Super Testnet releases Zaplocker, a self-custodial Lightning address server that doesn’t require a node.
Unchained releases first video in a new series showing a time-lapse painting that tells the story of why money converges to one (1:25 min watch).
GBTC shareholders sue Grayscale for excessive fees and preventing redemptions of their BTC.
Nodal Power raises $13M to mitigate methane emissions from landfills by using the gas to power Bitcoin mining data centers.
Nostr.Directory: Easily find your Twitter follows on nostr.
ByteFederal Australia launches its Bitcoin ATM network, offering a range of products, including Smart Kiosks, digital wallets, and merchant terminals.
Reclaim The Net releases video ‘The Secret Social Media Surveillance Blacklists Used By Banks’ (12:28 min watch).
Tornado Cash founders charged by US federal courts.
Bitcoin mining difficulty reaches an all-time high, despite the recent dip in BTC's price.
Reserve Bank of Australia explores use cases for CBDCs.
Worldcoin whistleblower steps forward, says they’re aiding authorities.
JPMorgan says Bitcoin miners are diversifying ahead of halving.
Bitget, a Seychelles-based exchange, tightens its KYC requirements for users.
Thai Political Party wants to issue a digital currency that expires after six months and can only be spent close to citizens’ homes.
Bill Gates Foundation pushes for universal digital identification framework, especially targeting low to middle-income economies.
Prime Trust locked itself out of its own hardware Etherium wallet, a filing with the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware shows.
CoinGecko: Mining one BTC in Lebanon is 783 times cheaper than in Italy.
Simply Bitcoin releases spoof video, ‘Leaked footage of Worldcoin Marketing Meeting’ (2:04 min watch).
UK researchers claim new tech supercharges Bitcoin mining with 260% faster hash detection and slashes energy use.
Brazil reports record 3.3M crypto users in June as Bitcoin adoption surges.
CoinDesk to lay off part of its editorial staff in preparation for sale of stake.
Bitcoin Frontier Fund debuts revolutionary ordinals accelerator.
Coinbase rolls out crypto services in Canada.
Magic Eden released an API for BRC-20s that allows developers to access and build on top of indexed Bitcoin data.
Richard releases ‘Frank Ocean - The Confession (Fiat's Interlude)’ (0:56 min watch).
Liquid Federation open-sources its functionary code.
Nodeless open-sources its code.
Terence Michael shares a collection of Bitcoin threads to orange-pill your precoiner friends with.
Bitshala is a new education initiative led by Indian bitcoiners to provide guidance and resources for new developers.
PayPal UK to halt Bitcoin purchases until early 2024.
BitGo secures $100M in Series C round at $1.75B valuation.
Binance to shut down crypto payments service amid refocus on core products.
Gotoshi.ca is a Bitcoin marketplace for Canadians.
Ledger adds PayPal as on-ramp for BTC purchases.
Bank of America: PayPal’s stablecoin not likely to be used widely anytime soon.
Geyser can now be installed as a progressive web app.
Parker Lewis and Will Cole join Zaprite.
CoinGecko now has a tracker for unregistered securities. (🤣)
UK FCA sets out expectations for UK cryptoasset businesses complying with the Travel Rule.
Bank for International Settlements warns emerging economies about financial stability risks associated with embracing Bitcoin. (🤡)
FBI says North Korean hackers may try to sell $40M of BTC.
Chinese official sentenced to life in prison for Bitcoin mining and corruption.
Bitcoiner Bio is a cool Linktree alternative for bitcoiners.
Binance is considering legal action after Checkout.com ends its services because of regulatory and AML concerns.
Daniel Batten shows it takes only $450M of Bitcoin landfill gas mining infrastructure to make Bitcoin carbon negative.
Craig Wright basically admits he stole 80K BTC from Mt Gox even though everybody knows suspects he is lying.
PlanB on RSI: BTC to $300K? (11:11 min watch).
Simply Bitcoin publishes video on why buying Bitcoin now is like buying the internet in 1990 (10:09 min watch).
Coincenter says new Tornado Cash indictments run counter to FinCEN guidance; an anonymizing software provider is not a money transmitter.
Samourai Wallet also releases statement on legality of CoinJoin and other privacy tools.
Richard releases new song, ‘Travis Scott - Words’ (1:57 min watch).
Digital Energy Council officially launches to act as a sort of interest group for Bitcoin miners.
Trezor Model One implements coinjoin.
New York State Senator wants biometric digital ID scans for alcohol and tobacco purchases.
Coinjoins.org educates users about the nuances of collaborative transaction privacy.
Swan Bitcoin releases video, ‘Bitcoin Going Mainstream!? | Argentina & the Overton Window’ (11:55 min watch).
Judge grants SEC request to file motion for appeal in Ripple case.
Cuba Central Bank will stop issuing print money and every purchase will be automatically informed to the authorities.
Jimmy Song releases trailer for new book, ‘Fiat Ruins Everything’ (1:15 min watch).
Machankura is now available on WhatsApp.
Binance is being investigated by the DOJ over potential US sanctions violations concerning Russia.
Super Testnet releases Pulsar, a private nostr chat app that protects your metadata.
Scammers convinced local store manager to send them $13K from the safe through Bitcoin.
Bull Bitcoin partners with Bitcoin Jungle to offer the ability to order any local food or drink in Costa Rica using Non-KYC BTC.
Swan Bitcoin releases video, ‘Ethereum's Backdoor Problem’ (7:40 min watch).

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