lopp-1

Massive props to @achow101 for spending FIVE HOURS yesterday going through the decade-long history of the OP_RETURN debate and its many nuances.

This is also a great opportunity for folks to gain a perspective of how Bitcoin Core maintainers think.
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2451181919

A drug dealer bought 6,000 BTC back in 2011 & 2012. He stored his keys in a fishing rod case, but while he was imprisoned for 5 years the landlord threw out all his belongings.

Another $500M sent to the landfill.
Another reason to make off-site backups!
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/drug-dealer-loses-46m-bitcoin-21556546

The crypto regulatory landscape is in flux due to the rapid pace of technological development. Several firms and individuals focus on this sector and keep us updated with their interpretation of recent legal activity. You can find them at https://www.lopp.net/bitcoin-information/legal.html

Welcome to Bitcoin! Here's your FAQ:

Q: Who should I trust?
A: Nobody.

Q: When should I sell?
A: Never.

Q: Is Bitcoin dying because ____?
A: No.

Q: What have I gotten myself into?
A: Nobody knows.

Q: How do I learn more?
A: https://bitcoin.page

Bitcoin Core has a neat feature that massively speeds up sync times. However, it's not straightforward to use.

In this article I explain UTXO snapshots, how to use them, and what performance gain to expect. #repost
https://blog.lopp.net/bitcoin-node-sync-with-utxo-snapshots/

A false claim has been spread that my investment in Citrea created a conflict of interest regarding the max OP_RETURN size policy. I've been explaining why that's not the case to any who made the claim, but if you don't believe me then feel free to listen to Sjors.

The father of a crypto millionaire was kidnapped in broad daylight in Paris on Thursday. Similar to the David Balland attack, a ransom of 5M EUR was demanded and one of the victim's fingers was amputated.
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2025/05/04/abducted-dad-of-crypto-firm-boss-freed-in-french-police-raid_6740891_7.html

The father of a crypto millionaire was kidnapped in broad daylight in Paris on Thursday. Similar to the David Balland attack, a ransom of 5M EUR was demanded and one of the victim's fingers was amputated.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/kidnapped-father-of-french-crypto-millionaire-rescued/ar-AA1E8UmN

Bitcoin did not appear out of thin air. A rich history of efforts (and failures) by cypherpunks helped us arrive to where we are today. #repost https://blog.lopp.net/bitcoin-and-the-rise-of-the-cypherpunks/

Every time you instruct your wallet to spend bitcoin, it needs to select which UTXOs to spend. It turns out there are many ways to choose UXTOs and they each have their own trade-offs. #repost https://blog.lopp.net/the-challenges-of-optimizing-unspent-output-selection/

Are you upset about spam being stored in the Bitcoin blockchain?

The most effective decentralized spam filter is imposing a cost on resources.

To increase the cost of block space we must increase demand for it.

Convince your friends & family to take custody of their BTC.

Lessons learned from spending 3 years writing and maintaining blockchain indexing services. #repost https://blog.lopp.net/the-challenges-of-block-chain-indexing/

The freedom of node operators is to choose which implementation they run. The fact that 96% of nodes run Bitcoin Core is suboptimal IMO.

However, there is a major problem with most alternatives: they tend to be unmaintained or only maintained by 1 dev with no peer review.

From looking at repository activity, it appears that the most actively developed non-Core implementations are Floresta and btcd.

"Bitcoin Core devs are elitist"

It's an issue worth exploring. Anyone is free to contribute, but when a dev with a decade of experience is discussing with someone inexperienced, there can be massive disconnects.

No one is obligated to spend their time doing knowledge transfer.

Censorship resistant currency enables us to send money directly to those who need it. We no longer need worry about corrupt governments or fickle middlemen intercepting funds. If you're looking for charities that will accept your BTC, check out https://www.lopp.net/bitcoin-information/charity.html