We’ve just released Blockstream Talk #27 - Unlocking Bitcoin’s Potential with Layer-2 featuring Jeff Boortz, the Chief Product Officer at Blockstream where we explore:

👁️ Blockstream’s vision for trustless financial services
⚡️ Integrating layer-2 Bitcoin technologies
🌊 Institutional interest in Liquid

https://blockstream-talk-23225031.simplecast.com/episodes/blockstream-talk-27-unlocking-bitcoins-potential-with-layer-2s

Blockstream Finance, our financial division, continues to pioneer forward-thinking financial products, laying the foundation for Bitcoin-based capital markets. Building on the success of the Blockstream Mining Note (BMN), which secured $50M over 2021 and 2022, we have partnered with Luxembourg's STOKR—a premier marketplace for digital securities—to unveil our next Bitcoin-focused investment vehicle: the Blockstream ASIC (BASIC) Note.

The BASIC Note is a bitcoin-denominated vehicle that provides qualified investors an opportunity to capitalize on the potential upside of historically-low ASIC prices. Read more about its structure and the offering below:

https://blog.blockstream.com/introducing-the-basic-note-a-bitcoin-denominated-investment-in-undervalued-mining-assets/

We’ve just released Blockstream Talk #28 with our CFO & Co-Founder Erik Svenson! Hear stories about:

🥷 Meeting Cypherpunks like Adam Back, Pieter Wuille & GMax
⛑️ Surviving multiple #Bitcoin market cycles
🌊 Growing institutional interest in Liquid & Elements

https://blockstream-talk-23225031.simplecast.com/episodes/low-time-preference-bitcoin-infrastructure-development-blockstream-talk-28

Today, we welcome the latest Core Lightning⚡️release, v23.08, codenamed "Satoshi's Successor." The release has such an overwhelming array of changes that we are splitting it into three separate blog posts.

The first covers user experience: updated plugins (pay, reckless), new commands (setconfig, ignorefeelimits), and more.

https://blog.blockstream.com/core-lightning-v23-08-satoshis-successor/

The final post detailing the new CLN release is out! Dive into the experimental features of v23.08 and keep that reckless Lightning spirit alive! We cover:

⚡️ Dual funding upgrade
⚡️ Splicing, yes, splicing!
⚡️ Renepay

Read more👇

https://blog.blockstream.com/core-lightning-v23-08-satoshis-successor-part-iii-experimental-features/

Check out the latest Blockstream Talk podcast with the Director of Blockstream Research and #Bitcoin legend Andrew Poelstra to find out more about Codex32, a book that will teach you how to wield Shamir’s Secret Sharing schemes with paper computers.

https://blockstream-talk-23225031.simplecast.com/episodes/stewarding-blockstream-research-with-andrew-poelstra-blockstream-talk-29

In honor of Layer-2 Day at Baltic Honeybadger 2023, we've gone live with the new Core Lightning app on Start9! Manage channels, create Lightning invoices, and even use recurring BOLT12 offers with a simple, easy-to-use frontend.

Download and explore the new app today: https://marketplace.start9.com/marketplace/c-lightning

Any questions? Leave a comment in the BOL2 thread below and our team will be happy to discuss: https://community.corelightning.org/c/start-here/announcing-the-new-cln-app-on-start9

Introducing Codex32, a Shamir Secret Sharing scheme for managing data and Bitcoin secrets without electronic dependencies, using paper computers.

Blog: https://blog.blockstream.com/codex32-a-shamir-secret-sharing-scheme/

Store: https://store.blockstream.com/product/codex32-shamir-secret-sharing-scheme-book/

Last month marked the sixth anniversary of the activation of Segregated Witness (SegWit), underscoring the importance of open-source software and the value of running your own Bitcoin node. To honor this historic date, we are using this quarter's update to take an in-depth look at a few of our own open-source Bitcoin products and the progress made in their development over the past three months.

Among the highlights are the latest on evolving cypherpunk multi-tool Jade and a new partnership with ZeroSync to broadcast zero-knowledge proof systems over Blockstream Satellite. We also share updates on a range of other Blockstream-led open-source projects under development set to play a key role in the open infrastructure that will underlie a hyperbitcoinized future.

https://blog.blockstream.com/blockstream-quarterly-q2-23/

The latest Blockstream Talk podcast, episode #30, featuring the open-source VLS Project is now available.⚡️

Validating Lightning Signer contributor Ken Sedgwick guides us through:

⚖️ The current state of Lightning Network security
🔑 How VLS enhances node security with remote signing
👨‍💻 Implementation in Greenlight

Listen: https://tinyurl.com/blockstreamtalkVLS
Watch: https://youtu.be/brkfzPYPrDA

An improvement over the original MuSig protocol, MuSig2 offers greater privacy, and scalability by enabling a group of signers to produce a single signature representing their collective consent for a specific transaction. Each signer's key material is confidential and has veto power, meaning the transaction can only be approved if every signer in the group agrees. MuSig2 can also provide greater resistance against certain attacks, such as key cancellation, as well as rogue key and replay attacks.

Learn more in this short from Head of Blockstream Research, Andrew Poelstra:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-tqX9DfT4g

Just in: Blockstream Talk #31 featuring Max Keidun from Hodl Hodl!

Max takes us through his journey with Hodl Hodl, Baltic Honeybadger and the launch of Debifi, non-custodial #Bitcoin lending with an institutional twist.

Get insights on liquidity, yields, and the role of Liquid and Lightning as we march towards hyperbitcoinization.

🎧 Listen: https://tinyurl.com/blockstreamtalk31

https://youtu.be/pR9cQEI7kyg

Look out for the Blockstream booth at Pacific Bitcoin by Swan this weekend to get your hands on the new Blockstream Jade stock!

Take self-custody of your Bitcoin with our fully open-source bitcoin-only hardware wallet and join us on the journey towards a bright orange future!

Good key management lies at the heart of proper bitcoin custody and keeping your funds safe. This is why we have always been passionate about building better custody solutions, whether through creating feature-rich wallets like Green and Jade, contributing to open-source federated networks such as Fedimint and Liquid, or developing cutting-edge signature schemes like MuSig2 and ROAST.

Our new partnership with Swan, which helps bring collaborative custody to Bitcoin novices and veterans alike, continues this tradition. At the center of the initiative is Blockstream Jade, our entirely open-source hardware wallet, which will be the sole signing device featured in Swan Vault upon its debut.

Read more about the partnership and what makes Jade so special.👇💠

https://blog.blockstream.com/blockstream-jade-to-power-swans-new-collaborative-custody-solution/

We’ve just released #BlockstreamTalk 32 where we caught up with Andrew Camilleri and Pavlenex from BTCPay Server to learn more about the Lightning Network solution they brought to merchants at this years Baltic Honeybadger conference by hodl hodl. We spoke about:

🤝 sideshiftai and Prism plugins
⚡️ Custodial vs non-custodial
🇱🇻 Onboarding merchants at #BH2023

Listen: https://tinyurl.com/blockstreamtalk32
https://youtu.be/Q-i2xiLyXjE

After several months of gathering feedback and additional testing, Greenlight is now officially available for commercial use worldwide.

Greenlight is a Lightning-as-a-Service (LaaS) solution that offloads the complexities of operating a Lightning node to Blockstream experts while keeping keys in the user's control for greater security. For ⚡️ developers, this not only reduces the risk and liability of holding user funds but frees up resources that would otherwise go to node operations—so that you can focus on your business.

In the spirit of Bitcoin and to encourage the growth of the non-custodial Lightning options, we are offering a free Greenlight plan designed to empower small businesses. The plan allows developers to deploy up to 1,000 on-demand nodes.

For enterprises with higher volumes, we offer custom pricing plans that expand the node limits and provide uptime and availability guarantees.

Read the full announcement: https://blog.blockstream.com/greenlight-is-now-open-for-business/

Sign up and access the Greenlight Developer Console: https://greenlight.blockstream.com/

Blockstream CEO Dr. Adam Back and James Macedonio, the Global Head of Mining Sales and Business Development at Blockstream, join Swan Signal Live in less than an hour to discuss the new Swan Vault partnership, scaling Bitcoin, and the latest on the BASIC Note.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SalKStlbILo

Update: The first series of Blockstream ASIC Note (BASIC) has successfully closed! We thank investors for their support in bringing this bitcoin-denominated vehicle to market and are excited about the next steps for those seeking a bitcoin-on-bitcoin return.

The BASIC Note is a digital security issued on the Liquid Network that allows investors to capitalize on the potential upside of historically low ASIC miner prices. Invest in bitcoin, and if we only track the market, you pay no extra fees. Outperforming the trend is our goal, and only then do we share the success.

Keep your eyes on the horizon for the next series of the BASIC Note on STOKR. You can learn more below.

https://blockstream.com/finance/basic/

Blockstreamer Randy Naar, in a new article, compares the covenant opcodes currently in production on the Liquid Network with the leading covenant proposals for Bitcoin, including APO, CTV, VAULT, and others. He also covers:

💡 Simplifying covenant construction with introspection opcodes.

🔐 How Liquid's CSFS and CAT opcodes can achieve similar functionality to CTV and VAULT.

🏗 How developers are building options contracts, confidential asset-based loans, Bitcoin stablecoins like FUSD, and more with covenant opcodes on Liquid.

🧠 The role next-gen blockchain language Simplicity could play in bringing covenant-like functionality to Bitcoin without the need for multiple smaller soft forks.

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/before-they-were-cool-covenants-in-production-on-liquid

You can now trustlessly place limit and market orders directly from the Blockstream Jade hardware wallet, allowing for offline swaps via cold storage.

Head over to the non-custodial swap platform https://sideswap.io and exchange Liquid Bitcoin and other Liquid assets like USD and EUR stablecoins confidentially, directly from your Jade.

More info in the official announcement from SideSwap: https://sideswap.io/news/sideswap-jade-integration/

As interest in Bitcoin surges, there is more focus on creating layer-2 solutions to enhance its usability. At Blockstream, we count ourselves among those committed to building next-generation financial infrastructure based on Bitcoin’s strong foundation. As these solutions continue to evolve and mature, we can expect Bitcoin to serve an increasingly broad range of market needs. The latest from the team:

https://blog.blockstream.com/bitcoins-layered-design-the-key-to-greater-utility/