Topics by category

A Bitcoin Core feature that lets a new node start from a hashed UTXO snapshot instead of rebuilding the set from genesis.

A Bitcoin peer-to-peer extension that lets light clients fetch compact block filters from full nodes, scanning the chain without leaking addresses.

The compact block filter format for Bitcoin. A small Golomb-coded set built per block that light clients can test locally to find relevant transactions.

An encrypted, authenticated transport for the Bitcoin peer-to-peer protocol, replacing the older plaintext format.

A standard JSON Lines format for wallet labels, including private notes for transactions, addresses, public keys, and UTXOs, so they stay portable across wallets.

Human-readable Bitcoin payment instructions in DNSSEC-signed TXT records, letting a wallet resolve `name@domain` to an address or BOLT 12 offer.

Discreet Log Contracts are Bitcoin contracts whose settlement depends on a signed statement from an oracle, without the oracle seeing the contract or holding any funds.

A bandwidth-efficient Bitcoin relay protocol where peers compare compact transaction summaries instead of flooding every transaction to every peer.

The set of valid but unconfirmed transactions each full node keeps in memory, from which miners and fee estimators pull candidates.

A structured language for Bitcoin scripts that is easy to analyze, compose, and sign with a generic wallet.

A proposed Bitcoin opcode that lets a transaction commit in advance to how its coins will be spent.

A compact text format that describes exactly how a wallet derives its addresses and scripts from its keys, so any compatible wallet can import it.

Partially Signed Bitcoin Transaction: a standard format for transactions that are still being constructed or signed, used by wallets and coordinators.

Segregated Witness: a 2017 Bitcoin soft fork that fixed transaction malleability, expanded block capacity, and made Lightning possible.

A way to receive Bitcoin to a reusable static address without reusing on-chain addresses.

The 2021 Bitcoin soft fork that introduced Schnorr signatures, a new output type, and a new script system, all under a single on-chain footprint.

Bitcoin's accounting model: a wallet's balance is the sum of every output addressed to it that has not yet been spent.

A Lightning feature where the receiver supplies a partial route with encrypted hop identities, so the sender never learns what the destination is.

The legacy Lightning invoice format where the sender scans a bech32 string to pay a fixed amount to a fixed pubkey before it expires.

A Lightning specification for reusable payment offers that replace single-use invoices.

Resizing a Lightning channel without closing it by adding or removing funds in a single on-chain transaction.

A proposed Lightning channel update protocol that lets the latest channel state replace earlier ones without penalty transactions.

The Lightning Network's peer-to-peer protocol for announcing channels and routing policies, so every node can build a view of the public graph.

A conditional Bitcoin payment that settles when the receiver reveals a preimage and refunds after a timeout, making it Lightning's routing primitive.

A Rust library for embedding a Lightning node inside a wallet or other application.

A collaborative Bitcoin transaction that pools inputs from multiple participants to defeat the common input ownership heuristic.

Atomic multi-hop swaps that move coins through intermediate keys so the spender of an input cannot be linked to the receiver of the final output.

A privacy technique that relays traffic through a chain of intermediate nodes wrapped in layered encryption, so no single hop can link the sender to the destination. The technique behind Tor.

A cooperative Bitcoin transaction where the receiver also contributes an input, making it harder to tell who paid whom and improving on-chain privacy.

Digital bearer tokens issued by a mint using blind signatures, so that spending and redeeming cannot be linked to the original withdrawal.

A federated Chaumian ecash system where a group of guardians jointly custody the underlying bitcoin.

A next-generation Bitcoin mining protocol that lets individual miners build their own block templates.

A small HTTP protocol for storing files (blobs) on servers, addressed by their SHA-256 hash and authenticated with Nostr keys.

A Nostr spec that maps human-readable identifiers like `name@domain.com` to public keys via a JSON file hosted on the domain.

A Nostr spec for relay-based groups. The hosting relay owns the membership list, the moderation log, and the stream of group messages.

A Nostr spec for labels: signed events that attach a tag to another event, a pubkey, a relay, or a topic, for client-side moderation and filtering.

Nostr's current encryption standard for direct messages and other private content, designed to hide the message and its length from everyone but the recipient.

An HTTP API for file storage servers that Nostr clients can upload to and then reference by URL from events, without bloating relays.

Nostr Implementation Possibilities: the numbered specifications that define how clients and relays behave.

A simple, open protocol where users sign events with their own keys and publish them to relays anyone can run, enabling censorship-resistant social networking with no single owner.

A Nostr protocol that lets a client send and receive Lightning payments through a user-controlled wallet, communicating over relays.

A Nostr client pattern where each user publishes their own relay list, so other clients know where to read their notes and deliver mentions.

The current standard for private direct messages on Nostr, using gift wrap to hide sender, receiver, and metadata from relays.

The small servers that store and forward signed events on Nostr.

A Nostr protocol for signing events with a key that lives on a different device or service than the client composing the event.

Reputation as a graph rather than an authority-managed list. On Nostr, scoring the social graph turns it into a per-user filter for events.

A way to send bitcoin to a Nostr post over Lightning, where the payment appears publicly beneath the note for everyone to see.

A second-layer Bitcoin protocol that uses a shared UTXO and a coordinator to let users transact off-chain without opening channels.