#Bitcoin @SparrowWallet GPG: E946 1833 4C67 4B40 Nostr: #npub1hea99yd4xt5tjx8jmjvpfz2g5v7nurdqw7ydwst0ww6vw520prnq6fg9v2
Cape Town
- Tweets 1,360
- Following 428
- Followers 13,188
- Likes 2,042
3 years today! Happy birthday @SparrowWallet 🐦
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There is still a scam ‘Sparrow Wallet’ app on the @Apple App Store, despite myself and others having reported it weeks ago.
Worse, you have to install it to report it.
Always go to the wallet’s website to find the link to download it. App stores will not protect you.
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🔥 BIP 329 has just been merged. It's a standard for the import and export of transaction, address and other wallet labels. If you've ever been frustrated trying to transfer your labels from one wallet to another, ask for implementation of this BIP!
github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob…
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Another scam “Sparrow Wallet” app on the @Apple app store (id 6477822491). Despite the app store photos this is the screen presented on launch. There is no iOS Sparrow app.
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Introducing Lark.
Lark is a Java port of HWI, a library used by many wallets to communicate over USB with with hardware wallets like @Coldcardwallet, @Ledger, @Trezor, @BitBoxSwiss and @BlockstreamJade.
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Love this succinct explanation of why all currency security derives from energy consumption by ZmnSCPxj. Bitcoin’s is simply more direct, measureable and therefore efficient.
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By far the most relevant issue affecting Bitcoin today👇
Yesterday, @zackbshapiro broke the news that a Brady letter showed that FinCEN told prosecutors that Samourai Wallet wasn't a money transmitter, yet the DoJ pressed such charges anyway.
I sat down with Shapiro to discuss the matter in detail.
(Link to video in comments.)
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Web browsers are designed to download and run arbitrary code from the internet. They are a poor fit for wallets. Use native applications with reproducible builds.
What we're seeing today is a (digital) supply chain attack against code that is used by many crypto projects.
JS library attacks aren't new, but this one seems worse than usual because the library is "hot loaded" rather than pinned to a version with an integrity check hash.
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Sparrow has left the nest!
Sparrow is a powerful desktop Bitcoin wallet, supporting:
1. Single and multisig wallets on all script types
2. Hardware wallets in USB and airgapped modes
3. PSBT
4. Transaction editor with script syntax highlighting
5. More!
sparrowwallet.com
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From many conversations I had at #Bitcoin2022, it’s clear that there is a) increasing understanding that privacy needs to be built into the tools we use, and b) increasing response from those building the tools to add privacy features such as coinjoin.
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Broadcast pool is a proposed feature for Bitcoin Core which would allow a node to keep a separate record of transactions sent directly to it from a wallet for broadcasting. This provides two key benefits 🧵
We need this Bitcoin Core feature github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/i…
My motivation is helping people migrate wallets without consolidating UTXOs and without doxing with timing analysis.
It's very simple and useful.
@bitcoinoptech @HRF
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To be clear, I am not opposed to CTV. The proposal itself is now well reviewed and has the potential to provide solutions in scaling, privacy and security (often with considerable accompanying complexity).
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Updated Electrum server performance report: sparrowwallet.com/docs/serve…
The tl;dr? Fulcrum, a previously untested implementation, has emerged a clear winner:
• 300x faster than Electrs loading wallets
• 2-3 days to build the index on an RPi4
• Low CPU utilisation serving queries
An important factor for any #Bitcoin wallet is loading transactions from the blockchain. @SparrowWallet is no different, depending on the address indexes provided by projects such as Electrs and ElectrumX.
They are not the same! A comparison: sparrowwallet.com/docs/serve…
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Every Bitcoiner should read this thread. Practice using RBF to change the destination address of your transaction. Mistakes are always possible, and unless you are ready, the outcome is final.
Just sent a life changing amount of sats to the wrong address.
Recovered them with rbf cuz the mempool was full.
Gonna go die from the heart attack I just had. It was nice knowing you all.
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First wallet to support receiving to Taproot addresses.
@SparrowWallet 🐦
So far, we've collected 13 responses regarding support for sending to Bech32m addresses.
Ready:
Bitcoin Core, C-Lightning, Electrum, LDK, Sparrow Wallet
Planned:
Armory, BitGo, BTCPay, NBitcoin, River, Rust Bitcoin, Trezor, Wasabi
Full table: en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Bech32_ad…
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The number of people working in Bitcoin is surprisingly small given it’s cultural impact and media status.
If you contribute to Bitcoin, you are one of the few.
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It’s reasonable to seek privacy, and as more do it, it will become standard practice. #NormalizeCoinjoin
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Send this thread to anyone who hasn’t yet taken the step of getting their #Bitcoin off the exchange👇
HOW TO SELF CUSTODY BITCOIN USING LAPTOP OR DESKTOP PC. READ ENTIRE THREAD BEFORE ATTEMPTING AT HOME.
STEP 1: Download and install Sparrow Desktop. It is available for Windows, Mac and Linux.
sparrowwallet.com
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An important factor for any #Bitcoin wallet is loading transactions from the blockchain. @SparrowWallet is no different, depending on the address indexes provided by projects such as Electrs and ElectrumX.
They are not the same! A comparison: sparrowwallet.com/docs/serve…
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Whatever the proposal, I will continue to evaluate it on the key principles of self sovereignty. Without them, I believe we will simply end up in another fractional reserve, fiat world.
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Apart from the fact that the conclusion itself is false, this tweet demonstrates the kind of mindless maximalism that has become pervasive on Twitter.
Regardless of who built it, Fulcrum is simply a better engineering solution in the ways that matter.
I'm surprised how everybody seems to ditch #Electrs, a great #Bitcoin FOSS Electrum server built by @roman_zeyde.
For an alternative (#Fulcrum) built and paid for by BCashers, with Bitcoin added as an afterthought. All for some performance gains irrelevant for personal nodes.
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Great news for Bitcoin privacy. Wider application level support of popular privacy protocols leads to greater anonymity sets and increasing normalization of these techniques.
We are pleased to announce the release by Straylight of their Whirlpool 🌀🌀🌀 client library (FOSS, coded in Rust).
github.com/straylight-orbit/…
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Prediction: Using multiple accounts will become the norm. Simple and reasonably effective coin control. Will become a must have feature for all HWWs.
Sparrow v1.5.1 released with:
Add multiple accounts to a wallet
Lock open wallets for privacy
Core RPC over Tor support
Many Whirlpool related improvements
Changelog: github.com/sparrowwallet/spa…
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The default derivation path for single key Taproot scripts is m/86’/0’/0’
Really excited for the wallet design possibilities Taproot is opening up! 🥕🚀
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Huge. Have been waiting a year for this. Apart from the reduced storage, Electrs v0.9.0 uses far less CPU and can handle multiple large wallets with ease. Congrats to @roman_zeyde @kixunil for a great job 👏
electrs v0.9.0 is now released 🎉
Many thanks to all the contributors, reviewers and testers - much appreciated!
- Index DB uses ~60% less storage
- Faster incremental sync
- Electrum RPC batching support
- And a great new logo :)
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Privacy is a journey for us all.
When I created Sparrow, it supported private Electrum servers only.
Now, I've realised that greater change is possible by making it easy to start, and encouraging greater privacy through in-app education and a clear upgrade path.
🟡🟢🔵
Sparrow 1.2.0 released with:
Provide a list of preconfigured public servers to connect to
Update welcome dialog to explain risks and the privacy journey
Export transactions to CSV
Add signet support
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Lark is available as a command line application, and as a Java library for JVM-based applications. Hardware wallet manufacturers are invited to test their devices before it's integrated into @SparrowWallet.
See github.com/sparrowwallet/lar… for docs and binaries.
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Great to see this - repeating payments are a very good fit for BIP47, and this marks another milestone in its adoption. Expecting further applications of it in similar areas such as DCA focused exchanges and wage processors.
This is our 40th update since our public launch, September last year and this is one of the greatest.
Changing the privacy game for #Bitcoin miners and setting new standards for the industry.
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If you are running @SparrowWallet with Electrs, this will be a big upgrade 🚀
Node projects, consider prioritizing work on merging this - it uses considerably less resources and fixes a number of issues.
electrs v0.9.0-rc1 is released 🎉
Many thanks to all the contributors, reviewers and testers - much appreciated!
- Index DB uses ~60% less storage
- Faster incremental sync
- Electrum RPC batching support
See github.com/romanz/electrs/bl… for more details and upgrade instructions:
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#Nostr: npub1hea99yd4xt5tjx8jmjvpfz2g5v7nurdqw7ydwst0ww6vw520prnq6fg9v2
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If you don’t understand this, you haven’t done the research. Absolute state control over every individual’s wealth will corrupt absolutely.
The world is in the midst of an epic battle between individual rights and freedoms on one side, and (eventually) complete state control by the biggest thug on the other.
I know which side I'm on.
#bitcoin - for humanity.
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Fantastic introductory video. If you have held off from seeking privacy because it seems complex, give this a watch.
NEW TUTORIAL:
How to use @SamouraiWallet Whirlpool Within @SparrowWallet, including mixing directly to cold storage (@COLDCARDwallet)
🐦🥷🐦🥷🐦🥷
piped.video/6TcUY2yU41w
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A significant result - it may take slightly longer to index than Electrs, but the reward for those extra few hours is a highly performant server that will power Sparrow, Dojo, Mempool, BTC RPC Explorer, Electrum and more. #Fulcrum 🚀
Got the first sync of #Fulcrum completed within 48 hours on the RPi4 where ElectrumX took 6.5 days: nitter.app/openoms/status/1487099…
with these settings: github.com/openoms/bitcoin-t…
Make sure to disable the peer discovery and public server options to avoid it announcing the local IP address.
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If you're a dev looking to get into #Bitcoin, here's something that's really needed:
Cross-platform desktop software that makes verifying a download using GPG dead simple. It's too intimidating and many won't do it. And it should be done!
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Electrs simply doesn’t scale as the wallet depth increases. It is not scalable to reparse all the blocks your wallet has transactions in, on the fly, every time you need to look them up.
This is hardly irrelevant - it is critical for anyone actually transacting regularly.
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2. Broadcasts can be future-dated, meaning the transactions will only be submitted to the mempool after a delay. This is particularly useful for privacy, for example in migrating UTXOs separately from one wallet to another without broadcasting all the transactions at once.
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This is why it is critical to get the voting population to self custody, and make it politically unpalatable
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In Whirlpool, the your anonymity set is not only determined by your own mixes, but by those of your mix peers too.
Great explanation 👇
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Smaller signatures not only save on blockchain space and fees, but make it easier for wallets to estimate the fee accurately.
It also means the nonce generation is done in the same way as Bitcoin Core, which further minimizes trust in the implementation.
COLDCARD Firmware 4.1.2🍄⏫
-QR for BIP-85; @opennoms idea. 12/18/24 words, XPRV, private key & even hex
-QR in other places; XPUB, Seed, TXID, backup pw
-Smaller signatures. @craigraw for detecting this
-Seed XOR feature bugfix
-Red light bugfix
-coldcardwallet.com/docs/upgr…
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Requiring a laptop, plus the disk space required, plus the bandwidth required, plus the time to scan the chain. Big assumptions for many less fortunate in this world, for whom BIP47 already provides a practical way to receive funds non-interactively.
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Well this is fun - Sparrow user ‘James B.’ has an issue, creates a Slashdot listing to post a terrible review, and even though I’ve claimed the page there’s no way to respond and help them. Thanks @slashdot :/
@craigraw FYI (not sure if you can/want to respond to this poor review!) slashdot.org/software/p/Spar…
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However, with all the wealth stored on hardware wallets (especially those that can only communicate over USB) it's important to have multiple implementations. Lark represents the first complete reimplementation of all common USB HWW clients in a language other than Python.
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Couldn’t agree more. Testnet sounds scary, but it couldn’t be simpler.
On Sparrow:
1. Tools > Restart in Testnet
2. Use the provided public server
3. Receive tBTC from one of these faucets: bitcointalk.org/index.php?to…
4. Practice! RBF, privacy optimized transactions, even Whirlpool
Transacting and storing wealth securely in Bitcoin is scary...
If you haven't practiced enough.
@SamouraiWallet + @SparrowWallet both have testnet settings. Get stuck in, make mistakes and learn. Happy to send tBTC if you want to get started.
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My thinking at the time was that the threat of banning “unhosted” wallets completely was greater than that of streamlining address ownership proofs. Not the right call - easier to see now than it was then!
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Finally, the derivation paths widely adopted for Segwit multisig wallets are documented in a BIP.
Standards are important to maintain compatibility between wallets - this is another step forward for safer multisig.
Thanks @Fonta1n3!
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The @RaspiBolt guide is how I setup my first node many years ago, and it’s still the guide I trust for the nodes I setup today. An honour for @SparrowWallet to be included.
BREAKING: @SparrowWallet is now part of the @RaspiBolt guide!
It aligns well with our ethos: easy to connect to your own #Bitcoin node, and it gives great insights into its inner workings.
Use it with your hardware wallet.
From easy to expert level!
raspibolt.org/guide/bitcoin/…
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Very happy to see Fulcrum becoming more readily available. Dojo users need to enable it in docker-indexer.conf. It will take a little longer to index, but it’s so worth it 🔥
Samourai Dojo v1.15.0 has been released.
Most notable feature of this release is integration of Fulcrum - a performant Electrum server implementation.
Thanks to all the contributors.
code.samourai.io/dojo/samour…
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1. Wallets can retrieve previously broadcasted transactions regardless of mempool fee conditions, while still respecting RBF rules. Without this, rising fee rates can cause a broadcasted transaction to be evicted from the mempool, making it harder to find and fee bump.
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My point was rather that if we hyperfocus on rapid scaling, there is a risk of compromise of key principles around self custody and permissionless access.
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Sparrow v1.5.0 released with:
Samourai Whirlpool coinjoin integration
Mix to cold storage
Optimize transactions for privacy (STONEWALL)
Privacy analysis before sending
Reproducible binaries
More: github.com/sparrowwallet/spa…
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I find myself wondering what accounting software central banks run that allow them to do single entry bookkeeping?
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More polish is always possible, but I’m pretty happy with where it’s at. 💯% Bitcoiners wallet.
Time to start planning the next feature set!
Sparrow v1.3.2 released with:
Minimize to tray functionality (View menu)
SSL server certificate pinning
Export addresses as CSV (Addresses screen)
Automatically switch between internal and external Tor as required
Upgrade to HWI 2.0.1
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It’s not for everyone, but #Raspibolt is how I setup all my nodes. It’s an excellent guide to configuring and securing key components of a sovereign Bitcoin server. Happy to see it updated!
Three's the charm: check out the completely revamped #RaspiBolt version 3 in glorious raspberry pink! 🎉
With this guide, you can set up a #Bitcoin and Lightning ⚡ node from scratch, doing everything yourself.
raspibolt.org/
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No, Sparrow does not do any user tracking. I don’t even have analytics on the website.
I also agree that browsers are not a good fit for wallets (including extensions and electron apps).
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This is a clear and concise guide to using @SparrowWallet - recommended!
Given my @SparrowWallet 101 a big update. The new version covers...
- Main features
- Download verification
- Initial setup
- Importing, receiving + sending w/ @COLDCARDwallet
- Creating a 2-of-3 multisig w/ Coldcard @CoboVault + @SpecterWallet DIY
bitcoiner.guide/sparrow
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Don’t trade security for simplicity.
UX that can reveal detail and teach over time will leave you in far better control of your #Bitcoin.
The best #Bitcoin wallet UX is the one that stops you getting hacked.
(eg. @COLDCARDwallet, @CasaHODL
@unchainedcap, @SparrowWallet)
Don't trade security for simplicity.
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All common commands are already supported, and there is some additional functionality, such as retrieving a wallet registration from Ledger devices to avoid re-registration on every signing.
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Some credits are in order:
@jimmysong for showing transactions are easier to understand with good color highlighting (here is a relative time locked P2SH-P2WSH):
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If only there was a standard for importing and exporting wallet labels 😏
github.com/craigraw/bips/blo…
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Cheers @mflaxman :) Interacting with users is the best way to improve things, and there's a good community over at t.me/SparrowWallet to help.
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Not comfortable with it, and happy to take it out. It’s actually pretty meaningless though (you’re on the hook for those KYC funds anyway). My thought at the time was that the threat against “unhosted” wallets was real - even worse than KYC is exchange only wallets.
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As an application developer I am time constrained to reviewing and building on top of these proposals, not actively developing them. I tend to favour things that I know people will have an immediate use for - for example, OP_VAULT, which uses CTV.
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Even though HWW manufacturers have used a dizzying array of different communication protocols and standards, Lark seeks to be identical to the HWI API, providing direct interchangeability and a more robust ecosystem.
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Some great innovation here - in particular UR as a format for sending PSBTs and key information over QR. Standards like this make it easier to interoperate and help everyone move forward.
Blockchain Commons is working to advance the state of cryptocurrency wallets with interoperable specifications. We've got many different ongoing initiatives, so we recently produced a video to introduce them all. [1/14] piped.video/watch?v=RYgOFSdU…
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This concern drives me above all others. A ban of self-custody in too many places will allow low risk rehypothecation and directly affect scarcity. Yes, NgU!
The solution is to make it politically unpalatable by getting many people to self custody. This is the fight.
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Although Electrs indexes a smaller index quicker (32Gb vs 102Gb for Fulcrum), once this index is built the benefits in query performance, reliability and prolonged hardware lifespan will soon outweigh this cost.
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Love the pic on this article, kudos to the artist!
1/32 Whirlpool your #bitcoin from desktop with @SparrowWallet and mix straight to cold storage with @COLDCARDwallet or @foundationhq
A great solution for iPhone users who don't have @SamouraiWallet or a @RoninDojoNode
Full article @BitcoinMagazine:
bitcoinmagazine.com/technica…
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Yes, I think it’s a valid concern - there’s something to be said for making a principaled stand, even if technically there nothing more to this than a shortcut to message signing functionality.
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After reflecting on this I've proposed adding an optional 'origin' property to BIP329, which allows a label to reference the wallet it was exported from via key origin information as used in output descriptors.
github.com/bitcoin/bips/pull…
How does this deal with a user having the same transaction in two accounts, e.g. sending coins from A to B in the same wallet? If there is only one file for the whole wallet, the tx label would be the same in both accounts, which is not desirable.
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Both native Segwit and Taproot working well. The developer appears relatively chain agnostic.
It would be interesting to see if ZRAM can improve indexing time with the Fulcrum fast sync parameter!
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The need to backup the wallet file or the output descriptor is the key “gotcha” with multisig wallets. It does get discussed regularly, but we can always do more.
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Great guide to running the Fulcrum Electrum server on an RPi, using zram for faster indexing 🚀
We are happy to announce that Fulcrum is officially part of a #Bitcoin bonus guide!
It is an alternative to Electrum servers, being the most performant and completely worth the sync time!
raspibolt.org/guide/bonus/bi…
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It’s input & output order, which personally I needed last year for testing/bugfixing. Regardless, been meaning to add it for years, given you can edit every other part of the tx already. It’s also useful for docs & some want it for privacy reasons. I have no interest in ordinals.
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If you need a place to start, here is the head of the BIS talking about the future of cash. CBDCs mean every transaction is visible to the state, your money can be confiscated arbitrarily, and there is no lower bound on negative interest rates.
In case it wasn’t obvious to you yet, here’s the head of the Bank of International Settlements clarifying that the difference between cash and CBDCs is that the former provides privacy while the latter gives the central bank “absolute control” 🥶
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Watching this vid, I was impressed how far SeedSigner’s UX has come in recent months. Great work!
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Replace By Fee is a great tool to master - you can not only save on fees, but recover from mistakes.
Low fee tx taking too long to confirm? RBF it to a higher fee rate.
Sent a transaction to the wrong address? If it's still in the mempool, just RBF to the right one.
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I’ve been following this series from @econoalchemist all week, and it’s proving to be as good as expected.
Here, he does a great job of introducing @SparrowWallet. Bravo and thank you!
Part 4 of a 5-part series: Installing, securing, & using @SparrowWallet on desktop.
A thread for total Bitcoin beginners who want to use a #Bitcoin wallet on desktop.
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Is it possible for an address index to be performant in both initial indexing and handling the needs of deep wallets?
I believe so! Hopefully in learning from the choices these implementations have made, we can improve performance to match our growing needs. 🚀
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The main pushback to half-aggregrate CISA seems to be that it doesn't do enough, but I think that ignores the incentives.
The ~8% reduction in fees is for the current average of 2-3 inputs and outputs. An incentive to reduce fees in a high fee rate environment would likely increase this, while reducing the effectiveness of the common input ownership heuristic.
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Indeed - education on the benefits of privacy (leading to further adoption) is a goal we all share. All anonsets start small.
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Docs frequently include screenshots showing the transaction diagram. Specific ordering there can make things easier to understand.
Personally I believe that random is always better for privacy, but my philosophy is have good defaults but don’t dictate. Can’t know every use case
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A few percent cheaper may not seem like much, but I have no doubt Sparrow would be defaulting to Taproot for singlesig wallets if half agg CISA was supported. As it stands, Native Segwit costs much the same with a much larger anonset.
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It’s a re-implementation of the clients that communicate with common HWWs over USB. It’s as secure as the existing clients, and should be faster than HWI once integrated into Sparrow.
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A reason BIP47 has adoption is because it is compatible with light clients, such as those that support the Electrum protocol. Silent Payments is not so much an updated protocol as one with a different set of tradeoffs, one of which is lack of native light client support.
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Yes single or multiple UTXOs can be selected in the UTXO panel. When sending, coin selection is indicated by the lock icon on the left in the transaction diagram:
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