Latest news with #BitcoinCore
Arabian Post
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Arabian Post
El Salvador Arrests Bitcoin Developer Over Neighbour Altercation
Bitcoin Core developer Jon Atack was briefly arrested in El Salvador this weekend after his neighbour lodged a complaint stemming from a heated dispute over property boundaries. Police detained Atack under a statute protecting women from violence, but released him about an hour later, returning his phone and passport. He described the officers as 'professional and friendly', emphasising the incident was unrelated to his work in cryptocurrency. Atack, a long‑time contributor to Bitcoin Core and a United States citizen, said the altercation began when he and a neighbour argued over perceived encroachment on property lines. During the exchange, he allegedly used insulting language, prompting the neighbour to report him for 'violence against women'—an offence under El Salvador's Special Comprehensive Law for a Life Free of Violence for Women, introduced in 2012. Law enforcement briefly held Atack. He posted on X that officers confiscated his phone and passport, which he said cut him off from communication. The neighbour's allegation triggered the arrest, which could have led to imprisonment according to the law invoked. However, no charges were formally pressed, and he was released within the hour. ADVERTISEMENT Atack explained the conversation escalated when he referred to the neighbour as 'stupid', a comment she perceived as aggressive. Under local defamation statutes, such insults can carry severe legal consequences, including up to eight years in prison. Communication from the Bitcoin community amplified concern over Atack's detainment. Prominent developers expressed support on social media, viewing the suspension of his civil liberties—even temporarily—as disproportionate to the circumstances. One post highlighted that the law in question is often criticised for its broad and punitive scope. The incident has reignited debate in the crypto ecosystem regarding legal vulnerability when community figures travel abroad. Advocates argue that Atack's detainment underscores the importance of cultural and legal awareness for global actors, particularly in jurisdictions known for rigorous enforcement of social protection measures. El Salvador's government has actively positioned the country as a beacon for Bitcoin regulation since adopting the cryptocurrency as legal tender in 2021. Yet critics have argued that reliance on strict social legislation could introduce uncertainty for international visitors, investors and developers. Atack's predicament brought this into stark focus, especially as he noted the incident was rooted in personal disagreement rather than political or financial motivations. During the brief detention, Atack described the authorities as courteous, with one officer telling him he 'might have to stay in jail', but ultimately releasing him after confirmation that no threats had been made. He said he was relieved and treated fairly, though the experience left him shaken. Atack is now back with his belongings and resuming his work, having reaffirmed his gratitude online. He wrote: 'This was the first time I've been in cuffs and God willing also the last time.' Legal experts in El Salvador note that the LEIV law was intended to address a persistent issue of gender‑based violence. However, its application to verbal altercations—including insults—has drawn criticism as overly broad. The law's defenders argue that it safeguards women's dignity, while detractors claim it grants excessive prosecutorial discretion over matters that could be resolved civilly. The crypto community is watching closely as this story unfolds. For developers and investors engaged in global travel, Atack's experience serves as a cautionary tale about how social and legal norms interact with professional mobility. While El Salvador markets itself as a forward‑looking nation for digital assets, Atack's case suggests that everyday disputes can escalate swiftly under local statutes. Atack has no ongoing legal proceeding and intends to remain in the country. He said his focus remains on his Bitcoin Core contributions, and he expressed hope that the episode would spur discussion over legal clarity for international tech practitioners operating under unfamiliar jurisdictions. Observers stress that Atack's swift release and the respectful treatment he received may reflect positively on the impartiality of Salvadoran law enforcement. Yet, they also warn that the preventive seizure of personal documents and potential for detention highlight essential areas for legal and diplomatic safeguards to protect visiting professionals.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fractal Bitcoin is creating a programmable layer secured by Bitcoin miners
Fractal Bitcoin is creating a programmable layer secured by Bitcoin miners originally appeared on TheStreet. In an interview with TheStreet Roundtable, Spencer Yang, co-founder of Fractal Bitcoin and managing partner of BlockSpaceForce, traced his journey from building CoinMarketCap and leading retail products at Coinbase to redefining Bitcoin's potential. After two and a half years ago, he saw a gap: while Bitcoin excels as a store of value, it can also power payments, applications and new protocols — if the right infrastructure is in place. At Bitcoin 2025, many scaling solutions vie for attention. Yang insists Fractal's edge lies in respecting Bitcoin's core. By merge-mining with major pools Fractal aligns miner incentives and reuses Bitcoin Core software. 'About 90% of Bitcoin hash rate from mining pools like Foundry, F2Pool, Antpool and ViaBTC are merge-mining Fractal and securing Fractal network on top of securing and receiving rewards for securing a Bitcoin network,' he said. Developers building on Fractal tap directly into Bitcoin's security — giving them a familiar, safe sandbox for innovation. Yang outlined three guiding principles behind Fractal's protocol design. First, miners securing Bitcoin today also receive Fractal block rewards, ensuring strong incentives. Second, Fractal uses Bitcoin Script so any developer building on Fractal also contributes to Bitcoin's security. Third, the network makes it seamless to move assets between Bitcoin and Fractal — opening paths for productive use rather than passive holding. When asked to explain Fractal's approach, Yang compared it to a skyscraper full of elevators. 'Bitcoin is the first level. But if users want to do something that is maybe a little bit faster, then you go to the second level, and then you go to the third level,' he said. 'What I am very optimistic about in the next five years is more innovations, not just in the on-chain parts of the space, which we are very, very strong in,' Yang said. He urged developers to explore on-chain markets and contribute to the next wave of Bitcoin-powered products. Fractal Bitcoin is creating a programmable layer secured by Bitcoin miners first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 11, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bitcoin Core 30 to Increase OP_RETURN Data Limit After Developer Debate Concludes
The developers of Bitcoin Core, the primary open-source software for connecting the blockchain behind the world's largest cryptocurrency, said October's version 30 release will increase the default limit for OP_RETURN data transactions from the current 80 bytes to nearly 4MB, a limit imposed by Bitcoin's block size. The proposal for the change, which was confirmed in an update on GitHub, had sparked debate within the Bitcoin community. Critics argued that removing the limit could encourage increased embedding of arbitrary data, potentially leading to network spam and a shift from bitcoin's BTC primary function as a financial tool. This decision to go ahead marks another significant moment in the community's debate about blockchain usage, highlighting persistent tensions between network efficiency, practical use cases and ideological principles. The OP_RETURN code allows Bitcoin users to include data in transactions. The functionality is conceptually similar to, though technically distinct from, the way Inscriptions embed images and text directly into the blockchain using Ordinals and witness data. Some argue that adding this transaction data is "arbitrary" and contradicts the original vision for the Bitcoin blockchain as proposed by Satoshi Nakamoto. The 80-byte limit on OP_RETURN encouraged alternative methods of data storage, some of which caused issues like bloating the unspent transaction output (UTXO) set. In a detailed GitHub summary and subsequent X post, Bitcoin Core developer Gloria Zhao outlined the reasoning behind the change. Zhao emphasized the intention to mitigate unintended consequences of the existing limit, noting, 'The primary motivation for this [change] is to correct a mismatch between the harmfulness and standardness of data storage techniques.' Developer Greg Sanders, who authored the merged pull request, said in GitHub discussions that the removal of the limit 'yields at least two tangible benefits: a cleaner UTXO set and more consistent default behavior.' Zhao also addressed broader governance issues on her X page, highlighting Bitcoin Core's commitment to transparency and meritocracy. She stressed the importance of the community's role in maintaining these principles, warning against the risks of social engineering or corporate pressure influencing the software developers' decision-making process. 'If Bitcoin Core's contributors ever abandon these values, e.g., to appease social media or corporate wishes, the community will switch to another node implementation that does it better,' Zhao wrote, urging users to remain vigilant and informed. Developer Luke Dashjr has consistently opposed easing the limits, labeling the move as potentially harmful. He encouraged users to avoid upgrading to the new version or to adopt alternative node implementations, such as Bitcoin Knots. The debate mirrors the controversies of 2023, notably around Ordinals and Inscriptions, when users embedded substantial non-financial data, such as images and text, into Bitcoin transactions, prompting similar concerns about blockchain misuse and network congestion. Despite these concerns, Zhao maintained that attempts to censor transaction types through relay policy are impractical and ineffective against strong economic incentives. Bitcoin Core's approach should remain neutral, reflecting the network's foundational principles of censorship resistance and decentralization, she said. The Core 30 release will retain manual control options, allowing users to enforce stricter limits through existing command-line parameters. However, these options are now marked as deprecated and will trigger warning messages, indicating potential removal in future updates without a set timeline.
Crypto Insight
08-06-2025
- Business
- Crypto Insight
Bitcoin core devs' joint statement sparks heated debate among Bitcoiners
A collective statement from 31 Bitcoin core developers has sparked a global debate among Bitcoiners after suggesting a hands-off approach to how the Bitcoin network is used, amid ongoing controversy over non-monetary use cases. 'This is not endorsing or condoning non-financial data usage, but accepting that as a censorship-resistant system, Bitcoin can and will be used for use cases not everyone agrees on,' the June 6 statement published on the Bitcoin Core website said. Bitcoiners are 'not in a position' to place mandates The letter argued that Bitcoin is a network 'defined by its users' and that its core contributors are 'not in a position' to mandate what software or policies they desire. It comes amid the ongoing debate over spam inscriptions on the Bitcoin network. 'Being free to run any software is the network's primary safeguard against coercion,' it added. While many Bitcoiners supported the update with an 'ACK' comment, others objected. JAN3 CEO Samson Mow criticized the tone of the letter on the same day. He said, 'It's disingenuous to just say 'it is what it is now, too bad.' 'Bitcoin Core devs have been changing the network gradually to enable spam and now seem focused on also removing barriers for spammers,' Mow said. 'This statement itself is also inappropriate,' he added. On May 8, Bitcoin Core developers decided to remove a long-standing limit on transaction data in a network upgrade to allow for larger data segments, which some Bitcoiners saw as opening the door to non-financial use cases. However, Casa founder Jameson Lopp defended the letter. Lopp said, 'Core Devs are a group saying we can't force anyone to run code they don't like; here is our thinking on relay policy and network health.' 'When there was no cohesive message, and it was just a bunch of independent developers making individual statements, Bitcoin Core was accused of having 'poor public relations,' Lopp said, adding: 'Now a joint statement is published, and people find reasons to cry about it.' The developers argued in the letter that it is better for the Bitcoin node software 'to aim to have a realistic idea of what will end up in the next block, rather than attempting to intervene between consenting transaction creators and miners to discourage activity that is largely harmless at a technical level.' It added: 'While we recognize that this view isn't held universally by all users and developers, it is our sincere belief that it is in the best interest of Bitcoin and its users, and we hope our users agree.' Bitcoiner Carl Horton said, 'It's Bit 'Coin' not Bit 'Bucket' or Bit 'Store' or whatever general purpose data store you have in mind. It's a 'peer to peer electronic cash system.' Meanwhile, Bitcoin core developer Luke Dashjr criticized the goals of the transaction relay policy outlined in the statement. 'The goals of transaction relay listed are basically all wrong,' Dashjr said. 'Predicting what will be mined is a centralizing goal. Expecting spam to be mined is defeatism. Helping spam propagate is harmful,' Dashjr said. The developers said the main goals of transaction relay are predicting what Bitcoin transactions will be mined, 'speeding up block propagation' for the transactions expected to be mined, and helping Bitcoin miners learn about fee-paying transactions. Source:
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bitcoiners roast Elon Musk's new ‘Bitcoin-style' XChat
Bitcoiners roast Elon Musk's new 'Bitcoin-style' XChat originally appeared on TheStreet. Elon Musk wants X to become the most secure communication platform on the planet. But his latest branding choice has left the crypto world confused, and a little amused. On June 1, Musk announced XChat, a new feature for X (formerly Twitter) that includes encrypted messaging, vanishing messages, file sharing, and audio/video calling — all without needing a phone number. The architecture is reportedly built on Rust, and as Musk described it, uses 'Bitcoin-style encryption.' That phrasing triggered an instant response from Bitcoin experts. 'Brother w*f is bitcoin style encryption, bitcoin literally doesn't have any encryption in it whatsoever,' wrote Taproot Wizards contributor Udi Wertheimer, whose tweet quickly racked up over half a million views. Short answer. Not in the way you think. Despite being one of the most secure financial systems ever created, Bitcoin does not use encryption to keep data private. Instead, it relies on cryptographic hashing and digital signatures, both critical tools in cryptography, but not encryption. Hashing (like SHA-256) is used to generate unique fingerprints of data, crucial for mining and verifying transactions. Digital signatures (using ECDSA or Schnorr) ensure that only someone with the correct private key can authorize a transaction. As Wertheimer explained, encryption is when you take a message and keep it secret from everyone but the intended recipient. Bitcoin doesn't hide anything. Every transaction is open, auditable, and publicly visible on the blockchain — that's part of its entire design. 'Seriously, what is Bitcoin-style encryption?' asked cryptographer and assistant professor Ian Miers. 'Bitcoin primarily uses signatures, not encryption. This is like saying, we decided to run our rocket on water, since NASA uses hydrogen and oxygen.' Some users pointed out that Bitcoin Core implemented BIP-324, a proposal to encrypt peer-to-peer (P2P) network messages, in 2023. That means nodes talking to each other on the Bitcoin network can now encrypt their communication — but this is not the same as encrypting transactions or wallets. So while there's some encryption involved at the networking layer, it's misleading to suggest that Bitcoin's core value proposition revolves around encryption. Even Wertheimer admitted he may have jumped the gun: 'I might have to stop tweeting about bitcoin forever… turns out they do have some encryption in Bitcoin Core for the P2P protocol since 2023. Elon knows more about Bitcoin than I do. It's over, bye.' Musk was probably referring to end-to-end encryption and threw in 'Bitcoin-style' as shorthand for peer-to-peer privacy and decentralization — even if the terminology isn't accurate. As crypto OG Wei Dai speculated: ''Bitcoin-style' ~= 'peer-to-peer' ~= 'end-to-end'... So 'Bitcoin style encryption' means 'end-to-end encryption'.' Musk's XChat may very well offer a solid privacy layer for communications. But if you're calling it "Bitcoin-style encryption," be ready for pushback — because in Bitcoin, transparency is the feature, not the bug. And if you're going to cite the world's most open protocol, maybe… read the whitepaper first. TheStreet Roundtable reached out to X for clarification on what Musk meant by 'Bitcoin-style encryption.' This story will be updated if and when the company responds. Bitcoiners roast Elon Musk's new 'Bitcoin-style' XChat first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 2, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
