In March, the European Bitcoin-only Relai app activated non-custodial Lightning transactions through Greenlight. Now, it has scaled its offering to over 100,000 users. Learn about the integration process, challenges, and solutions in this case study.

https://blog.blockstream.com/case-study-relais-integration-of-greenlight-by-blockstream/

The v24.05 release of Core Lightning, codenamed "The Infinitely Divisible Satoshi," is now final!

v24.05 focuses on stability and QoL improvements, as well as addressing pain points around the pay command and recent gossip updates. Other updates include:

⚡️renepay plugin refactored
⚡️file denoscriptor limit is now auto-increased
⚡️faster block processing while synchronizing
⚡️massive documentation overhaul for RPCs

See all updates in the latest release blog👇

https://blog.blockstream.com/core-lightning-v24-05-the-infinitely-divisible-satoshi/

Andrew Poelstra shares Blockstream's research on Bitcoin privacy and what ultimately led them to bulletproofs++.

BP++ is a type of zero-knowledge proof that enhances native privacy and offers a smaller, more efficient design—improving upon rangeproofs and the original BP scheme.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnAONP0BYSs

As Bitcoin mainchain fees rise, layer-2 solutions like Lightning and Liquid offer users lower costs and faster, more confidential transactions, making them ideal for stacking sats. 🌊⚡️

In our latest Deciphered episode, we share one of the cheapest ways to stack sats into cold storage, by using your Blockstream Green/Jade wallets with Boltz and free Lightning withdrawal apps like Strike and Cash App.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5tv9L818qc

Interested in going down the Bitcoin rabbit hole?

Explore the new Bitcoin Education blog and glossary, where you can learn best practices in node running and wallet use and explore more technical concepts, like MuSig2 and Shamir's Secret Sharing.

https://blog.blockstream.com/education/

Is OP_CAT happening?

The covenants proposal was recently assigned BIP 347, and now it's up to the community to decide. Blockstreamer Kiara Bickers breaks down the pros and cons and attempts to answer the question on most Bitcoiners' minds: Is it safe?

https://blog.blockstream.com/op_cat-the-purr-fect-solution-for-covenants/

In the latest from Blockstream Research, Andrew Poelstra summarizes the past six months of innovation in Bitcoin Script, including Mininoscript, Lamport signatures, BitVM, OP_CAT and discusses where they intersect.

https://blog.blockstream.com/noscript-state-from-lamport-signatures/

Today, we’re launching the next generation of Bitcoin mining investments: the Blockstream Mining Note 2 (BMN2). It offers investors direct exposure to hashrate generated at our Bitcoin mining facilities through a tradable security token on Liquid.

BMN2 builds on the success of BMN1, which recently matured, generating over 1,212 BTC with net returns of up to 102% over its three-year term. BMN2 offers a similar structure but extends the investment period to 48 months.

https://blog.blockstream.com/blockstream-mining-note-2-bmn2-debuts-on-stokr-offering-investment-opportunity-at-historically-low-hashprice/

Starting today, our fully open-source hardware wallet, Blockstream jade, supports Mininoscript.

Use timelocks and more complex multisig arrangements for greater peace of mind and planning by pairing Jade with the Liana software wallet.

Full details:

https://blog.blockstream.com/blockstream-jade-adds-support-for-mininoscript/

We have a new go-to resource for the Jade community.

Whether you're setting up your first device, tinkering with firmware, or moving into multisig and Liquid assets, visit this location as your go-to resource!
https://blockstream.com/jade/your-jade/

The ChillDKG BIP is currently in the draft stage, and we're looking for community feedback on design and implementation details. If approved, ChillDKG BIP can be used in combination with a BIP for FROST signing to bring the full power of FROST to Bitcoin, reducing transaction costs and improving the privacy of multisig wallets.

https://blog.blockstream.com/the-key-to-frost-what-is-distributed-key-generation/

Our newest release, v24.08, is here, bringing you the best Core Lightning experience yet. Here's what's new:

⚡️BOLT12 offers now support self-payments and blinded paths.

⚡️The renepay plugin now gives you more control over routing with new features like probability cost function and an exclude option.

⚡️The pay plugin has been upgraded with capacity checks, advanced error handling and logging, ensuring smoother and more transparent payment operations.

⚡️We've also optimized I/O, improved documentation, and refined gossipd and reckless.

Check out the blog post for full details. 👇

https://blog.blockstream.com/core-lightning-v24-08-steel-backed-up-channels/

Blockstream Mining Note 2 (BMN2) opens its third series today with a four-year fixed cost of $31,000 PH/s.

Each BMN2 security token ennoscripts holders to the bitcoin produced by 1 PH/s (petahash per second) of Blockstream's mining hashrate, providing a well-timed onramp for investors to take advantage of historically low hashprices.

BMN2 is offered at a set hashprice of $21.23 for 48 months, priced attractively below the current spot market hashprice to incentivize bitcoin holders, investors, and businesses to directly participate in Bitcoin's proof-of-work.

Full details in the press release:

https://blockstream.com/press-releases/2024-09-05-blockstream-mining-note-bmn2-series3/

🚨 Reminder! 🚨 Never give your seed phrase to anyone and never enter it on a website/software given to you via DM or email. Do not accept DMs from people claiming to work for Blockstream.

Open a ticket at http://help.blockstream.com for assistance with any issue or bug so we can properly keep track of it and troubleshoot, while ensuring you are speaking with a real Blockstream employee.

In the latest Elements release, we add initial support for discounted Confidential Transactions (CT) fees. This new policy reduces fees by nearly 90%, from around 250 sats to 25 sats, achieving close to what it would be on non-CT transactions.

The 23.2.3 release activates the new fee policy for relay on Liquid testnet. This allows Liquid wallets and platforms to begin integration and testing, with a production release expected in the near future.

The new fee policy will make Liquid’s confidentiality even more economical, particularly when stacking bitcoin in high-fee environments, swapping to Lightning, or sending cross-border stablecoin remittances.

Learn more about the discounted CT fee and read more updates from the release in the blog post. 👇

https://blog.blockstream.com/elements-23-2-3-discounted-fees-for-confidential-transactions/

BMN2 Series 4 is now live on STOKR, priced at USD $35,000 per BMN2.

Performance details to date:

⛏️ 0.02386279 BTC mined per BMN2
💵 USD $1,482.62 value of BTC mined
➡️ +103% ROI (in USD)

STOKR: https://stokr.io/blockstream-mining2/

Live Performance Dashboard: https://bmn2.mining.blockstream.com/

Back in 2017, when we first introduced Simplicity, our mission was to build a smart contracting language that outperforms Bitcoin Script and Ethereum's EVM, offering more expressiveness with stronger safety assurances.

Seven years later, we believe we have done it. From today, Simplicity is live on Liquid testnet and Bitcoin developers can start building powerful next-gen contracts using a new IDE.

https://blog.blockstream.com/simplicity-arrives-on-liquid-testnet/

Blockstream has closed a $210M convertible note financing round led by Fulgur Ventures, driving our mission to bring Bitcoin into global finance.

This capital accelerates layer-2 development, expands mining ahead of the next Bitcoin cycle, and grows one of the world’s largest BTC treasuries.

Our layer-2 solutions, the Liquid Network and Greenlight, bring secure, scalable Bitcoin tools to meet rising enterprise demand for Bitcoin-powered finance. Liquid builds the core infrastructure for asset tokenization on Bitcoin, while Greenlight enables non-custodial Lightning Network payments for developers and businesses.

On the fundraise, Blockstream CEO Dr. Adam Back said, “This fundraise is pivotal in our journey to bridge Bitcoin with broader finance. We're excited to bring on Michael Minkevich as COO, and to have Fulgur Ventures’ support in advancing Bitcoin finance.”

With over 20 years in product engineering for finance, Michael Minkevich brings the expertise to deepen our fintech impact. At Luxoft, he led product engineering for Fortune 500 clients and drove the company’s US IPO.

Get all the details on the $210M convertible note raise here. ⬇️

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-15/blockstream-raises-210-million-through-fulgur-led-convertible-note-offering?srnd=phx-crypto

ColliderScript introduces Bitcoin covenants without needing a fork, sparking intense discussion among developers. Head of Blockstream Research, Andrew Poelstra, dives deep into this game-changer in our latest article in Bitcoin Magazine:

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/collidernoscript-a-50m-bitcoin-covenant-with-no-new-opcodes

We're excited to lead another Liquid developer bootcamp alongside the Liquid Federation next week in Taipei, Taiwan. We have a few spots still open and encourage those with a passion for Bitcoin and some noscripting experience to apply! 🌊⚡️

https://lu.ma/56spggvv