Satoshi Scoop Weekly, 6 Sep 2024

Crypto Insights

P2P Economy: Leading a Blockchain Renaissance

UTXOStack discusses in P2P Economy: Leading a Blockchain Renaissance why Ethereum's decision of putting all business processes on-chain is a mistake and re-examines the fundamental principles of blockchain. It argues that blockchain serves as a tool to meet user needs, and that blockchain applications do not necessarily have to conduct all business on the chain. The key is to meet user needs, including monetary freedom, market freedom, content freedom, and social freedom.

Lightning Network on CKB Testnet Launched

Fiber Network, the common lightning network built on CKB, announced the commencement of its testnet, featuring:

• Open, update, and close channels between two nodes

• Support for ANY RGB++ Coin channels

• Cross-chain interoperability with the Bitcoin Lightning Network

Full test with multi-hop routing & Watchtower will be available in mid-September.

Starkware: The Path to General Computation on Bitcoin with OP_CAT

The article discusses how Covenants and STARK proofs can enable general computation on Bitcoin.

Covenants allow scripts to enforce specific conditions on how Bitcoin can be spent, thus enabling stateful smart contracts on Bitcoin. STARK proofs provide a method for executing and verifying off-chain computations on-chain, enhancing scalability and security while maintaining network integrity. Additionally, STARK proofs can impart extra properties to Bitcoin’s general computation, including scalability, expressiveness, on-chain security, and flexibility.

Building in Bitcoin is Tough (And Why We're Doing It Anyway)

“It’s hard because Bitcoin companies struggle to get bank accounts without facing rejection. It’s hard to explain to a non-technical VC with an MBA the significance of what we’re building, with no third-party dependencies. The laws for FinTech are designed to stifle Bitcoin's progress, just to ensure banks can continue profiting a little longer before Bitcoin reaches mass adoption. The developer libraries we need often don’t exist, so we have to build them ourselves. Lawyers don’t know how to approach or even secure licenses for companies that don’t fit traditional molds. Regulators, regardless of party, are lost in a sea of altcoin marketing, struggling to understand what Bitcoin developers actually need. And even if we have a solution for something that Lightning isn’t ready for, the average person still doesn’t care about Bitcoin.”

BitVM2: Dancing in Shackles

Open Source Film: Anatomy of Bitcoin

The Anatomy of Bitcoin is a community-funded open-source surrealist film that offers a visual exploration of how Bitcoin works.

Available segments include: network, nodes, blockchain, block, transaction, signature, and verification.

Nostriga 2024 Talk: Introducing and Building Niche Communities on Nostr

• People criticize the Nostr community, complaining about the overwhelming "GM" and Bitcoin content, while valuable content on other topics is scarce. Social platforms need a variety of topics and communities. It’s crucial to create niche communities on Nostr.

• Ditto (ditto.pub) is a Nostr-based alternative to Mastodon. It is highly customizable, allowing community initiators and managers to set their own standards for content moderation and discussion topics. Ditto doesn’t rely on Nostr to attract users; instead, it helps users discover and join communities of interest first, with Nostr being introduced later on as complementary. Ditto also integrates the Lightning Network for tipping, supporting the sustainability of the platform’s infrastructure and community moderators through features like zap splits.

Nostriga 2024 Talk: The Past, Present, and Future of Nostr

• Speaker Rabble emphasized that Nostr, like other open technologies and complex systems, is created and grown by the community rather than designed top-down.

• User Needs: Users want fun, creative, and social applications that foster a sense of connection with real people, ideally within a non-advertising-driven economic model. Nostr should adapt to these needs by providing user-friendly tools and platforms.

• Future Direction: Focus on maintaining diversity and openness, transitioning from “Bitcoin Meetups” to a more diverse community space. Nostr should build easy-to-use applications, offer more opportunities for user participation and collaboration, and support different interest groups.

How Do Intents Simplify System Complexity?

Yashas Naik explains how intents and resource machine can simplify transactions and state updates, by detailing the composition of intents, the functionalities of the resource machine, and uses specific examples to illustrate how intents can streamline cross-chain interactions.

Image via: Yashas Naik

OpenSea Receives SEC Notice, NFTs Considered Securities

OpenSea has received a notice from the SEC, which does not consider NFTs as art, collectibles, or other creative goods but rather as securities. As a result, these NFTs will be treated as unregistered securities illegally issued.

EU Proposal: Disclosure Required for Owning More Than 17 Mining Machines

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has released a 400+ page report proposing that Bitcoin miners exceeding an annual "proportionality threshold" of 500,000 kWh/year must be disclosed. According to Daniel Batten, this would limit miners to owning just 17 S21 machines (each requiring 3.5 kW), making mining operations extremely difficult and halt future commercial Bitcoin mining in the EU. If the EU adopts this report, ESMA may further push it to become a standard in other countries as well.

Image via: Daniel Batten

Top Reads on Blockchains and Beyond

Can Bitcoin Rollup Solutions Compete with Existing L2s like Lightning?

UTXO Management released the State of Bridges report, discussing issues such as whether bridges are necessary and whether Rollups can compete with existing L2s like Lightning.

Notably, although not explored in depth, the report also mentions alternative L2 solutions that do not rely on bridges, such as RGB++ (homomorphic binding), Arch (state chaining), and QED (zk-PARTH).

A summary of the report is also available: Summary of "State Of The Bridges: An Overview of Bridge Designs for Bitcoin L2s

Image via: UTXO Management

Research Paper on Mining With Landfill Methane Emissions

This paper An integrated landfill gas-to-energy and Bitcoin mining framework is innovative in that it highlights the relatively unfamiliar approach of landfill gas-to-energy (LFGTE). This method offers a unique opportunity to destroy methane emissions from landfills, converting a potent greenhouse gas into valuable energy that can be immediately monetized on the global market through Bitcoin mining.