Blockstream Monthly is a newsletter delivered directly to your inbox to help you stay up-to-date on the most cutting-edge Bitcoin development and announcements from Blockstream.
- Core Lightning releases v0.12.0 with collaborations from over 31 developers that bring a slew of new updates and bug fixes.
- We share some of the major developments happening on the Fedimint FOSS project and explore its community-focused approach to custody.
- The Liquid Federation explores SideSwap, a purpose-built app for peer-to-peer trading and self-custodying assets issued on the Liquid Network.
- Blockstream Talk welcomes Assaf Gilboa, Blockstream Executive Vice President of Hardware Engineering, and Alyse Killeen, founder and managing director of Stillmark, a Bitcoin-focused venture capital firm to the podcast.
- In this month’s Layer-2 Roundup we guide you through the messaging process using our general-purpose API available on the Blockstream website while also learning how it works behind the scenes.
Core Lightning v0.12.0
The Core Lightning team released v0.12.0, which brings new bookkeeper and commando plugins, emergency channel backups, zeroconf channels, Apple M1 support, various bug fixes, and more.
Fedimint Development Update
Much has happened since we last wrote about Fedimint, the open-source federated e-cash protocol that Blockstream collaborates on. We bring you up to speed and share some of the major developments on Fedimint and explore its community-focused approach to custody.
SideSwap: The Future of Atomic Swaps
The Liquid Federation explores SideSwap, a purpose-built app for peer-to-peer trading and self-custodying assets issued on the Liquid Network. Unlike centralized exchanges or decentralized-in-name-only smart contracts on other platforms, atomic swaps on Liquid have no middlemen or centralized coordinators that can stop your trading. They are purely P2P among only the parties concerned with a particular trade. Learn more.
Blockstream Talk: Roadmap for Blockstream’s ASIC Bitcoin Miner
In this Talk episode, we have a conversation with Assaf Gilboa, Blockstream Executive Vice President of Hardware Engineering. We discuss Blockstream's acquisition of ASIC manufacturer Spondoolies and the new synergy created. We also go in-depth on the centralization around the semiconductor foundry business, the TSMC and Samsung bottleneck, equipment order logistics, and whether energy is the big pinch point constraining hash rate growth.
Blockstream Talk: Bitcoin Venture Investing
We welcome Alyse Killeen, founder and managing director of Stillmark, a Bitcoin-focused venture capital firm. Alyse is very clear about the distinction that needs to be made between Bitcoin and crypto. We discuss how this applies to capital allocation within the venture capital industry and how Bitcoin VC differs from traditional internet-focused VC and often more narrative-driven crypto VC.
Layer-2 Roundup: Broadcasting Messages in Space with Lightning
We explore an underutilized function of the Blockstream Satellite, the ability to broadcast public and private messages over the network using Lightning payments. By running the Blockstream Satellite API, users can beam text-based messages, audio, video, and other data into space with little more than a Lightning wallet. In this month’s issue, we guide you through the messaging process using our general-purpose API available on the Blockstream website while also learning how it works behind the scenes.