What Bitcoin Did
Bitcoin Core, OP_RETURN, & the Fight to Save Our Wallets w/ Matt Corallo
- Lightning is finally delivering on its promises this year after years of stalled progress, with zero-fee commitment transactions and improved wallet UX as near-term catalysts.
- The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act seeks to clarify that non-custodial services and ancillary second-layer operators are not money transmitters, protecting developers from regulatory overreach.
- Regulatory capture is imminent; without law change in the next 18 months under this administration, non-custodial wallet development will move offshore and US developers will exit the market.
- The OP_RETURN debate reveals a breakdown in Bitcoin Core's communication and consensus-building process, though standardness rules have historically nudged behavior in constructive directions rather than determining it.
- BIP-353 enables DNS-authenticated Bitcoin payment instructions (username@domain) verifiable offline on hardware wallets, solving address verification UX without relying on LNURL servers.
- Bitcoin Core lacks a formal communications function to explain technical changes to the broader community, contributing to perception that the project is unresponsive or has ossified.