Relai is a Swiss Bitcoin Exchange that currently uses IBANs to allow users to acquire bitcoins. This is still not a completely private way to purchase bitcoins, but some users like this option because they do not have to show any type of identification documentation or give the exact details of their location. This form of KYC is less intrusive, but it is still revealing of real information because IBAN transactions contain your real life name and address details.

Beyond that, Relai is a quickly evolving company that just now released the 2.0 version of their app and have become their own broker to process bitcoin purchases for their clients. Congratulations to everyone at Relai for this achievement!

Before the 2.0 release, there had been rumours about a potential party appearing in the middle of Zurich, organized by the CEO of Relai, Julian. My dear friend Stephanie, aka @proofofsteph on twitter told me about this and it stuck in my head until one of my last visits to Prague in November when she confirmed that it was really happening. It was certainly short notice since, just a few days earlier, not even the official Relai Twitter account tweeted anything about it while I was rushing around to secure a ticket and accommodation for my stay.

My trip over to Zurich was rather uneventful.I encountered zero harassment from border guard agencies and nobody asked for any documentation. For Bitcoiners, the free movement of people and capital is of the utmost importance and it seems that sometimes this is possible across the Swiss border

It feels really great to be able to meet bitcoiners from around the world and this party was one great opportunity to do so.

The Relai party was held at Relai’s office in the beautiful city of Zurich, Switzerland. In fact, it’s exactly on top of the building where The House of Satoshi is located. It is a cosy little social space where people can sit down, enjoy a locally made beer or wine (or was it some sort of champagne or mead?) The space was created to educate people about bitcoin, with some hints of shitcoin here and there. Clearly, Bitcoin is the dominant setting and theme of the place.

From the moment you step in, everything about the space gives off the right Bitcoin vibes. That’s also how the party went.

I don’t want to accidentally out any bitcoiner who was at the party but everyone from the Relai Team were present and were making sure everyone had a great time. Endless Beer, pizzas and snacks were available putting everyone in a good mood.

Among the mingling bitcoiners, some were notable figures, like the sudden and short appearance of the LocalBitcoins.com founder who I completely managed to miss.

Steph aka @proofofsteph was wearing a tactfully chosen orange striped dress. If there were a Ms Party elected, it would definitely have been her..Maxim Orlovksy and Olga Ukolova also made an appearance at the event. Some local bitcoiners also came around whose names I am unable to remember, (I’m so sorry.)

A bitcoiner called Kenobi also came around just to meet cool bitcoiners. He was willing to sacrifice a good night’s sleep to spend the whole night with the cool kids. Hopefully, his ride back home on the train wasn’t too exhausting.

The Goon passed out copies of the Bitcoin Day newspaper, straight from El Salvador’s September edition on the day the Bitcoin law came into effect. Now that is some serious swag he was handing out like candy. People from Shift Crypto, the creators of the BitBox hardware wallet, were also around.

This party was one blast of a meetup that every bitcoiner can only wish to attend. Those who missed it will likely have to wait weeks or months until the next international meetup where more bitcoiners will be present from all around the world.

Every chance at organizing bitcoiners in one location in real life is rare. Don’t let borders or regulations stand in your way to meet those who matter the most in this revolution. Bitcoin truly deserves our participation.

The post The Zurich Relai Experience appeared first on Wasabi Wallet - Blog.

Anyone could participate with any coin, without the system refusing their participation in any way. Wasabi has never discriminated against any coin’s origin. Anyone can participate.

But there were some limitations with the initial implementation of its coordinator. Inputs were registered at the same time using one request with Wasabi Wallet’s coordinator. This is a privacy concern because this way, the coordinator knows when some coins are originating from the same wallet. Coins coinjoined this way were possible to link together on the input side but are still private on the output side (so long as the user did their due diligence with UTXO management).

This burden of heavy UTXO management is bad for the user experience because everyone must remember their coins, name them and then be wary of how they are spent.

Linkability is a problem everywhere. But with the latest development in Wasabi Wallet 2.0, many things have changed and privacy given to the user through the use of its tool is far superior to the original Wasabi Wallet.

With Wasabi Wallet 2.0, you need far fewer steps to coinjoin larger amounts. It also leaves much less bloat on the Bitcoin Blockchain when you are finished because you don’t have to coinjoin again and again to increase your privacy and you don’t have to rely on breaking down your initial transactions to special amounts just to take part in limited output coinjoins.

The previous requirement to have 0.1 BTC as minimum amount for coinjoin is no longer present within WabiSabi, everyone will now have access to a service that is affordable and easy to use to achieve good privacy. It is truly the pleb compatibility that is now here with WasbiSabi.

With WabiSabi it doesn’t really matter where your coin originates from, you can merge without having to think twice about it. Of course, you can still put a tinfoil hat on and coinjoin with any strategy, but the automated process in the wallet should be fairly sufficient to give you the best privacy that Wasabi Wallet can give.

Strategies that the tinfoil hat users use are probably the best because if you are going to mix KYC’d coins first and then mix with other already mixed coins, then you can merge your coins without revealing that you have coins originating from somewhere else.

With the hard work and dedication of the bitcoiners working at Wasabi Wallet, I hope this company can continue to provide good privacy for every bitcoiner out there, wherever they may be. So once Wasabi Wallet 2.0 comes out, grab it and coinjoin the f*ck out of your bitcoin.

The post Milestone in Unlinkability appeared first on Wasabi Wallet - Blog.

The problem with such transaction censorship on Bitcoin is that it does not work long term.

Bitcoin does not have any real fungibility issues. The only issue is the human perception that there is a difference between individual coins that are in circulation on the bitcoin blockchain. At one point, some transactions were under ESG type scrutiny that attempted to filter out so-called “unwelcome” coin origins for transactions. One such miner was MARA Pool, which decided to censor transactions to fulfil US Government regulations. This, of course, was short-lived because of public outcry and pressure from the larger social space.

Nonetheless, the fact that a regulatory capture might eventually lead to many users being stuck on exchanges is still a hot topic, which would definitely be a horrific scenario for bitcoin adoption overall. But today’s trends of ever-decreasing bitcoin held by centralized KYC exchanges shows us that new entrant and already participating users are interested in sovereign self-custody of their bitcoin. These processes though doesn’t stop some from sounding the alarm, which they should indeed sound.

The 6102 executive order in the United States is already a precedent: IOU stranded users of Bitcoin (those who have their sats stuck on exchanges) are indeed under the threat of a possible confiscation. The existence of the precedent allows the government to, at any time, utilize that same exact decision in the future without having to go through any lengthy legal procedure to enact it. This of course depends entirely on legal jurisdictions because not every country has enacted such encroaching laws on their populace before.

Confiscations are very common in the US. There are multiple cases of civil asset forfeiture events on US roads due to citizens transporting large amounts of cash within their cars. Police often confiscate these under the made-up pretence of potentially illegal activity and the victims often never receive their money back from the authorities without a lengthy and expensive legal battle. Imagine if the government could do this to your Bitcoin at any time while you are out on the streets!

Bitcoin, of course, is harder to confiscate because everyone can hold their own bitcoin in a self-sovereign way. This certainly hardens against all forms of theft, making it more resilient. Remember the main rule of bitcoin custody, keep it simple, silly!

When everyone is in possession of their own bitcoin, then we have a healthy environment for its users to start using it in the bitcoin circular economy. Within this environment, there can be no borders for bitcoin and everyone should be willing to accept any amount paid with any coins at any time. There is only one form of Bitcoin and the smallest unit of account on-chain will always be a single satoshi.

This perfect world is far from reality until we are able to defeat the established thinking that 1 bitcoin does not equal 1 bitcoin. Without necessary privacy, we will be unable to achieve this; therefore, CoinJoin is the current weapon of choice to fight on-chain surveillance and data mining.

The road ahead of us is still long, but with consistent usage of available privacy-preserving tools, we can get there. It just depends on all of us to keep on coinjoining so that on-chain surveillance becomes nearly impossible.

Don’t forget, the first steps to fighting this dystopia is withdrawing your money from exchanges, exercising proper coin control and coinjoining your funds. One step at a time, you can gain back your sovereign independence and participate in the circular economy.

The post Banned Transactions appeared first on Wasabi Wallet - Blog.

For centuries, Nation-States have been trying to find ways to shackle its population. The easiest way to do this was through monetary control. Money had multiple inventive evolutions over the millennia that attempted to make it more usable, but governments have always stepped in and found a way to turn it into a tool that controls people and nations.

Today, this control goes all the way down to the individual user of money. If you can control who spends state-issued money on what and how, then you can essentially enslave the population

The stock market was a miracle because it allowed central banks to delay the flow of money to the end users. Through the markets, immediate effects of inflation were more controllable. But since nothing lasts forever, the process is not infinitely extendable without burning the savings of the entire population.

To better control money, it has become important to control who spends what and where. Today’s digital banking is not fully digitalized since it still relies on a bank’s internal ledger system to run the accounts. But as Central Banks take further control with Central Bank Digital Currencies (from now on CBDCs), the more control they will have over inflation.

The next system will have the bank’s centralized accounts running on the national central bank’s own ledger. This will allow the central bank to directly monitor the flow of money. The smallest spending you make in the future will be permanently recorded by the government and will be open to analysis by third parties. Privacy will not exist in this world because to stop the effects of inflation from being realized, they need to find new creative ways to stop you from spending your money.

Private transactions will be non-existent and everyone who has access to the centralized system’s ledger will be able to see your spending, movement and behaviour patterns. Some governments could also go as far as banning all anonymous transactions. In fact, some countries have already banned transactions over a specific size unless performed via bank transfer.

In China, the social credit system is already in full force. It even attempts to control people’s movement. The control of money gives direct control over the population and in this way, more power for those in control. A totalitarian system can easily utilize a CBDC system to project its control.

Bitcoin’s lack of base-layer privacy poses the same risk for its users. When you make a transaction it is viewable by everyone and it is permanently recorded on its ledger. Privacy is not a readily available feature in Bitcoin. Of course, you can use coin control and never reuse addresses, but those can only give you a little privacy. You must manually find the right privacy tools for yourself that make the usage of Bitcoin private and fungible again.

CoinJoin solutions provided by Wasabi Wallet and JoinMarket are the most superior options available today to regain your privacy. With the use of CoinJoin, you can make your transactions private while selectively revealing your coins in case you have to prove that you are in possession of your funds. This kind of privacy also strengthens Bitcoin’s fungibility allowing you to use your Bitcoin as you intend without some third party refusing it for any reason.

Within a circular economy, if all members of the economy would engage in CoinJoins, we would have absolute protection against manipulative encroachment on Bitcoin’s fungibility claims. When bitcoins move on the blockchain and are not touching any centralized exchange, then those transactions should fairly well remain uncensorable. There will always be a miner who will accept your transaction and include it inside a mined block if you offer a high enough transaction fee.

It is impossible to ban Bitcoin and it is impossible to unplug every node and miner on the network. A Bitcoin ban would affect users who obtained their bitcoins through mining or non-KYC sources just as much as those who obtained them through a KYC exchange. It is important that we start CoinJoining today to have strong privacy when the time comes to start spending our money. If everyone would CoinJoin their Bitcoin, then we would never have to deal again with narratives that attempt to portray Bitcoin’s fungibility as a problem because nobody will be concerned with where their bitcoin originated or who transacted before you acquired it. Everyone would just have to accept it as it is in circulation. If it is verifiable, it is Bitcoin.

This is why I think that CoinJoining is the future of Bitcoin Privacy. So, don’t be afraid to CoinJoin with Wasabi Wallet because privacy is for everyone and nobody has the right to take that away from you.

This is a guest post by Karo Zagorus. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Wasabi Wallet or zkSNACKs Ltd.

The post The Looming Threat of CBDCs appeared first on Wasabi Wallet - Blog.

The event focuses on hacking and societal change that spreads awareness on freedom; it also educates visitors on topics they might have never encountered. From darknet stories to Bitcoin lightning node management, you will find everything at The Hacker’s Congress.

Of course, if you prefer to just meet people, you are at the best place since it has the most diverse crowd from all walks of life and educational backgrounds come to Hacker’s Congress.

It’s one of the biggest opportunities of the year to meet new people and network in the bitcoin space as more and more bitcoiners gain interest in attending the event. The amazing dinners and great time you can have is entirely priceless in the company of some of the best people within our ecosystem. It is usually a very flexible event in that, it is what you make out of it.

After my first attendance at Hacker’s Congress Paralelní Polis in Prague, I felt my views changed entirely on freedom and what freedom-seeking individuals can achieve together.

Since I couldn’t attend the Congress in person in 2020, I was looking for an excuse to attend this year’s conference and it couldn’t have turned out better.

Hacker’s Congress Paralelní Polis

Every year is a brand new slate for Hacker’s Congress: a new theme, new topics and current issues that affect society are often hot topics.

This year, it was Chaos. The chaoticism of today’s current world and how it affects everything from travel, politics, bitcoin and culture. Though this year’s event was not especially content-heavy, it was convenient for picking your interests.

Some of this year’s presentations were outstanding in content, for example, Mario Havel’s presentation on how he made a physical lightning wallet using LNBits, giving congress attendees access to instant payments on the venue. I personally never came across a physical Lightning Wallet that works like debit/credit cards and I was amazed how cool it is. Anyone has the opportunity to hack the physical wallet and attach their own LNBits payment details onto it to make payments. In this way, there’s no need to rely on Paralelni Polis’ custodial lightning service.

Frank Braun and Smuggler were also the highlights of the congress. Their presentations always show you something you haven’t thought of before. However, the main attraction for a bitcoiner like myself is the possibility of meeting other like-minded individuals.

It is an unwritten rule of bitcoin’s social organization, that if you want to take your connections to the next level, you must meet your peers in the flesh. Online interactions are one thing and anyone can shitpost on Twitter, but have you ever met someone? Have you ever sat down in a restaurant, ate a steak together and had conversations about funny things that happened in life? It is an experience everyone must have because bitcoiners are some of the most vivid and intelligent beings on this planet worthy of your company.

I started organizing the Annual Bitcoin Maxi Dinner in Prague, a day before the Congress kicks off, and it has now become a tradition. Initially, this dinner was an impromptu meetup that outgrew itself and has become an annual event. Great people who matter in the Bitcoin space come to indulge in good food and good company for a lengthy night. This year, the meetup was amazingly large and continues to grow. The usual dinners organized spontaneously during the congress by other bitcoiners are also highly recommended. If you are unsure of how to attend these dinners, just ask your fellow peers whether or not they have plans to go eat out later during the day or night. Don’t be afraid to stop large groups moving outside to ask whether they are heading to a pub or a restaurant.

The Balance on Privacy

So, you can get to meet bitcoiners in the flesh, but isn’t this also a privacy conference?

It certainly is!

Some people often hide their identities at these events, wary of cameras and surveillance. I, myself, wear a mask constantly that hides my traits, this is what privacy is about.

I do not want cameras taking pictures of me and I exercise my right to be selective about who I reveal my real identity to. This “information” is exclusive, not everyone is granted a right to violate my privacy in such ways. Without masks we all violate each other’s privacy, therefore why should one not wear a mask?

Everyone should have the choice of whom to selectively reveal their identity to. When I attend dinners, I usually only go with groups who I trust or feel comfortable with going, down to the personal level. It is a super intimate experience, forming connections with others that will likely last a lifetime if treated right.

Should you Attend?

Bitcoin might have an ever-changing price, but the connections you make while participating in its revolution is priceless. Revealing your identity partially to make others more comfortable around you and showing them a level of trust you put into their hands to handle is powerful.

From one bitcoiner to another, would I recommend the yearly attendance of Hacker’s Congress Paralelní Polis? Yes, definitely! I can’t shill this event enough. But what I will tell everyone is that you should drop whatever you are doing in the first week of October and attend, whatever the cost may be. As always, it is a real pleasure to meet real bitcoiners who have real skin in the game and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I hope to see the dear reader there one day as well!

If you want to find out more about Hacker’s Congress or about Paralelní Polis, check out https://paralelnipolis.cz

This is a guest post by Karo Zagorus. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Wasabi Wallet or zkSNACKs Ltd.

Bio: Karo Zagorus is a Bitcoin Maximalist, he is the author of the book “Bitcoin and the Trust Problem” (to be released), he actively contributes cultural content for Bitcoin Magazine and Citadel 21. You can find out more about him at http://btcdragonlord.com or find him on Twitter at @btcdragonlord

The post The Parallel Polis Experience appeared first on Wasabi Wallet - Blog.