Bitcoin Explained - The Technical Side of Bitcoin

Aaron and Sjors dive into the proposal of removing the OP_RETURN limit in Bitcoin Core, exploring its implications for transaction management. The hosts humorously link life’s annoyances, like smoke alarms, to Bitcoin's technical aspects. They examine the evolution of OP_RETURN, the challenges of data storage on the blockchain, and how recent protocol changes impact decentralization. The discussion also touches on the philosophical debate of governance in Bitcoin, revealing the ongoing negotiation between innovation and established practices.

Aaron and Sjors talk about the new Bitcoin Core 29.0 release..===This episode’s sponsor: CoinKite, maker of the ColdCard.Aaron’s Nostr: ⁠npub1art8cs66ffvnqns5zs5qa9fwlctmusj5lj38j94lv0ulw0j54wjqhpm0w5⁠Sjors’ Nostr: ⁠nprofile1qyvhwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnnwpex7an0daehgtnwdshsqgyxsh477ejn8rwkjv0zen0ncxwe7rj6zpnujx8j9ecgrsj43786lqyul0f2

Discover the latest innovations aimed at decentralizing Bitcoin mining, including the Stratum V2 and DATUM protocols. The discussion highlights the open-source Bitaxe miner and explores emerging decentralized mining pool models like P2Pool. Delve into the implications of mining centralization and the importance of censorship resistance. Listen as the hosts analyze the technical aspects of decentralized systems and share insights on fostering a healthier mining landscape amidst regulatory challenges.

In Bitcoin, Explained 95, Aaron and Sjors discuss the new Bitcoin Core 28.0 release. Specifically, they cover upgrades to Bitcoin’s testnet (testnet 4), new mempool policies, full RBF integration, the introduction of assume UTXO, improved wallet migration support and the implementation of block file XOR. https://bitcoincore.org/en/download/ Release notes: https://bitcoincore.org/en/releases/28.0/ This episode’s sponsor: CoinKite, maker of the ColdCard. Aaron’s Twitter: @AaronvanW Aaron’s Nostr: npub1art8cs66ffvnqns5zs5qa9fwlctmusj5lj38j94lv0ulw0j54wjqhpm0w5 Sjors’ Nostr: nprofile1qyvhwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnnwpex7an0daehgtnwdshsqgyxsh477ejn8rwkjv0zen0ncxwe7rj6zpnujx8j9ecgrsj43786lqyul0f2

Ruben Somsen, a developer behind the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal for Silent Payments, joins Josie, a privacy enthusiast, to dive deep into BIP 352. They discuss how Silent Payments enhance user privacy by allowing the creation of temporary addresses for transactions. The conversation touches on the implementation details for light clients, compatibility with CoinJoin, and the advantages of using blind Diffie-Hellman protocols. They also emphasize the importance of innovation and collaboration in ensuring secure and efficient cryptocurrency transactions.

Discussing the Great Consensus Cleanup Revival proposal to fix Bitcoin protocol bugs. Updates on Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet arrests. Emphasis on legal implications of non-custodial systems and addressing slow block validation in the network.

In this episode of Bitcoin, Explained, Aaron and Sjors explain what new features are included in the upcoming Bitcoin Core 27.0 release. https://github.com/bitcoin-core/bitcoin-devwiki/wiki/27.0-Release-Candidate-Testing-Guide === This episode’s sponsor: ⁠⁠⁠⁠CoinKite⁠⁠⁠⁠, maker of the ColdCard Aaron's Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@AaronvanW⁠⁠⁠⁠ Aaron’s Nostr: npub1art8cs66ffvnqns5zs5qa9fwlctmusj5lj38j94lv0ulw0j54wjqhpm0w5 Sjors’ Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@provoost⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sjors’ Nostr: npub1s6z7hmmx2vud66f3utxd70qem8cwtggx0jgc7gh8pqwz2k8cltuqrdwk4c If you’d like to sponsor the show, please email info at bitcoinexplainedpodcast.com. ⁠https://bitcoinexplainedpodcast.com/

In this episode of Bitcoin, Explained, Aaron and Sjors are once more joined by Breez developer Jesse de Wit, this time to explain splicing. Splicing allows users of the Lightning Network to effectively add or remove funds from an active channel, allowing for continuous payment and routing activity. Aaron, Sjors and Jesse discuss what challenges this entails, and how these challenges are overcome. At the beginning of the episode, Sjors also gives a brief update on the ongoing TornadoCash trial in the Netherlands, and he addresses a recent block mined by Mara Pool. === This episode’s sponsor: ⁠⁠⁠CoinKite⁠⁠⁠, maker of the ColdCard Jesse’s Twitter: ⁠@WitDeJesse⁠ Jesse's Nostr: npub18hwpk5qep3ptnmzatq22ptwr9mth7ccrku56rdntwpxjxlkfyr2qrav8du Aaron's Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠@AaronvanW⁠⁠⁠ Aaron’s Nostr: npub1art8cs66ffvnqns5zs5qa9fwlctmusj5lj38j94lv0ulw0j54wjqhpm0w5 Sjors’ Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠@provoost⁠⁠⁠ Sjors’ Nostr: npub1s6z7hmmx2vud66f3utxd70qem8cwtggx0jgc7gh8pqwz2k8cltuqrdwk4c If you’d like to sponsor the show, please email info at bitcoinexplainedpodcast.com. https://bitcoinexplainedpodcast.com/

Jesse de Wit, a Breez developer, joins Aaron and Sjors to discuss asynchronous lightning payments, PTLCs, and Trampoline Payments. They explore the complexities of asynchronous payments in the Lightning Network, security advantages of PTLCs over HTLC, and the role of Lightning Service Providers. The episode also delves into Lightning Improvement Proposals, network compatibility, and challenges surrounding the implementation of asynchronous lightning payments.

The hosts discuss early electronic cash proposals, including B-Money and Arpow, and their influence on Bitcoin's design. They explore the challenges of preventing double spending, decentralized networks, and stable purchasing power. They also cover concepts like invalidation, issuance, remote attestation, and running the same software on multiple computers.