Rabbit Hole Recap Stimulus Package: 2020.04.06
4/6/2020 · 79 min · transcript via mlx
Tags
Key topics
— Privacy-focused Bitcoin development remains a priority, with Whirlpool coin-joining activity surging past February's monthly volume in just six days; Wasabi Wallet switched to Bitcoin Knots and enabled multi-instance wallet support, though the rationale for some changes was debated.
— Satoshi's birthday (April 5th) commemorates Executive Order 6102 and its 1975 repeal; Coin Join Day highlighted the need for privacy practices as government confiscation remains a plausible threat.
— MyNode users should avoid storing hot keys (for Lightning and JoinMarket) on a single device; diversify across separate hardware (Raspberry Pi setups running different apps) to mitigate risk if one device is compromised.
— CoolWallet S hardware wallet suffered a critical security flaw storing private keys and PINs in plain text on paired Android phones; users should switch to established wallets (Cold Card, Ledger, Trezor) and avoid lesser-known alternatives.
— Eclair Lightning implementation formally enabled Wumbo channels, removing the 16.7 million sat cap, though most nodes and exchanges have not yet adopted larger channel sizes.
— Janet Yellen is publicly advocating that the Federal Reserve be granted authority to purchase stocks; the Fed has already created workarounds to buy corporate and commercial real estate debt without Congressional approval.
Market & price signals
— Bitcoin is trading at $7,290, roughly flat year-to-date while traditional stock markets have declined significantly. The next difficulty adjustment is 231 blocks away and forecast to increase 5.2%, reflecting rising network hash rate after the prior epoch's 9:31 average block time. Bitfinex's Lightning channels hold ~32.4 billion sats outbound and ~19.8 billion inbound—smaller than expected, suggesting exchanges have not yet widely adopted Lightning for trading. Janet Yellen's push for Fed stock purchases and existing unconventional asset-purchase programs signal desperation to prop up markets amid coronavirus economic collapse.
Actionable insights
— If you hold Bitcoin on an exchange (especially unregulated venues like BitMEX), assume KYC could be imposed at any time; withdraw to self-custody now and consider coin-joining through Whirlpool or JoinMarket to add plausible deniability against future government confiscation attempts.
— When running a MyNode, separate hot-key applications (Lightning, JoinMarket) onto dedicated hardware (e.g., RaspiBlitz) rather than keeping all keys on a single device; this limits catastrophic loss if one machine is compromised.
— Avoid hardware wallets outside the established three (Cold Card, Ledger, Trezor); the CoolWallet S breach proves newer projects may lack adequate security review and encryption standards.
Episode sponsorships
Paid placements mentioned in this episode. BTC Pods is not sponsored by or affiliated with these advertisers. Links are included so you can find offers mentioned on the show.
— Cash App: This episode of Rabbit Hole Recap is brought to you by Cash App. Cash App helps you stack sats and stonks, and you can buy fractional shares for as little as $1 with instant withdrawal to personal wallets. The app includes an auto-buy feature for hands-free DCA and direct deposit integration. Cash App investing is a subsidiary of Square and member SIPC. Use promo code stackingsats (one word) when you download the app to receive $10, and $10 will be contributed to Owls Lacrosse; terms apply. Bitcoin services by Block, Inc.—see https://cash.app/legal/podcast for Bitcoin disclosures.