Defending Bitcoin: Cybersecurity for the Monetary Grid | Luke de Wolf | BIS #202

— Luke DeWolf, co-host and longtime collaborator, announced his new book *Defending Bitcoin: Industrial-Grade Cybersecurity for the Monetary Grid*, launching June 15 on Amazon and BitcoinInfinity.com. The book combines his decade-long expertise in industrial control systems cybersecurity (CISSP and GICSP certified) with deep Bitcoin knowledge.

— The book covers personal Bitcoin security (hardware wallets, private key management, exchange risks), network-level threats, mining decentralization, and governance risks in Bitcoin Core development. It frames Bitcoin as critical infrastructure requiring the CIA triad (confidentiality, integrity, availability) security framework.

— Luke opposes arbitrary data (inscriptions, spam transactions) on Bitcoin as a cybersecurity vulnerability that degrades monetary transaction availability, especially during high-fee periods like 2023–2024. He views this through an industrial control systems lens: availability is paramount.

— Luke does not support BIP110 activation due to chain-split risk. While he acknowledges the trade-offs are reasonable, he fears major mining pools will mine non-compliant blocks, creating an unstable fork scenario. He favors decentralized mining solutions (Ocean, Stratum v2) and alternative node implementations (Bitcoin KNOTS) instead.

— Mining decentralization is critical. Most hash power flows through 10 major pool operators; Ocean's Full Pay Per Share model and Stratum v2 protocols return block construction control to individual miners, reducing centralization risk.

— BTC Hell (Helsinki, September 25–26) will feature three tracks: Nordic sovereignty, mining & energy (heat reuse synergy in Finland), and human rights. The European Mining Summit runs September 23. Code INFINITY applies to Prague, Dublin, and BTC Hell tickets.

— Run a non-Core Bitcoin node implementation (KNOTS, others in development) to reduce exposure to single-implementation bugs and gain policy flexibility aligned with your security stance. Multiple implementations strengthen the network's resilience.

— Evaluate your threat model around arbitrary data congestion: if you hold significant Bitcoin expecting to spend it, monitor fee markets during spam surges and consider multi-sig or hardware wallet setups that don't require frequent on-chain activity. Use *Defending Bitcoin*'s threat model worksheet at defendingbitcoin.com to map risks to your setup.

— If you mine or control hash power, direct it toward decentralized pools (Ocean) using Stratum v2 to retain block-template control. This shifts you from a "hash salesman" to an actual miner with agency over what enters the blockchain.