Thread by @Blockstream

1/ #LAYER2ROUNDUP: In Jan, both protocols had a slew of big announcements:

🌋 #BitcoinBond update
🥕 #Taproot on @Liquid_BTC
🏛 New #LiquidFederation members
🇦🇷 @ln_strike launches in Argentina
⚡️ Anniversary of the #LightningNetwork whitepaper

Let's review and more👇🧐

2/ Network capacity for both the @Liquid_BTC and #LightningNetwork continued to expand, LQ (3,528) / LN (3,399), reaching new highs for a combined capacity of 6,927 #Bitcoin.

Year-over-year, network capacity has grown LQ 25% / LN 290%, respectively. 🌊⚡️

3/ On the eve of the #LightningNetwork whitepaper's sixth anniversary, @jackmallers announced the Lightning-powered app @ln_strike was to begin rolling out in Argentina, one of many Latin American nations battling inflation and economic uncertainty.

btctimes.com/news/bitcoin-l…

4/ Shortly after @ln_strike launched in El Salvador last year, #bitcoin became legal tender there.

Through 2021, El Salvador continued to build foundational financial infrastructure with its #BitcoinBond proposal.

blog.blockstream.com/el-salvador-to…

5/ Since then, Blockstream and @Bitfinex have worked closely with @nayibbukele and his team in fine-tuning the EBB1 #BitcoinBond and new Securities Law.

The #EBB1 is likely to be available Q1 2022. Read the latest from #Blockstream CSO @Excellion 🌋👇

https://twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1484635887988314122?s=20&t=bMQP4gR0BEbjpjjeEOkQKA

6/ As nation state adoption 📈 and digital asset law is made clearer, layer-2 will encourage #hyperbitcoinization through not only financial instruments like the #BitcoinBond but mobile payment infra like @CashApp, which integrated #Lightning last month.

btctimes.com/news/cash-app-…

7/ For a deep dive into the macroeconomic forces affecting #Bitcoin today and a discussion on bitcoin-backed financial instruments, watch @BlockstreamTalk 7 with market analyst @TuurDemeester.

💻
🗣️ t.me/blockstream_fi…

8/ Also in January, #Taproot 🥕 became active on @Liquid_BTC as of block 1,663,200, adding new opcodes that open the door for covenants, AMMs, and other exciting use cases on #Bitcoin's leading sidechain.

https://twitter.com/Liquid_BTC/status/1483844043440377859?s=20&t=k6ibDIAjafCz_PwywbadEw

9/ Cryptographer and engineer @n1ckler joined @KnutsonJesse on @BlockstreamTalk 8 to discuss #Taproot, signature aggregation, and other innovations on #Bitcoin.

💻
🗣️ t.me/liquid_communi…

10/ Innovations, such as #Greenlight, a hosted node service that is non-custodial, are also in the pipeline for the #LightningNetwork. @Snyke explains more in a clip from a recent Twitter Spaces with @Bitwage:

🗣️ t.me/lightningd + discord.gg/mE9s4rc5un

11/ Lightning implementation #clightning, in particular, is focused on experimental features that the community may later finalize into official specs. @rusty_twit gives an overview on the @compass_mining podcast.

full interview:

12/ To follow the innovations and discussions happening on the #LightningNetwork, subscribe to the bi-weekly Simple Lightning Newsletter from @kiarabickers and @Seardsalmon.

Their goal is to make Lightning development more simple and easy to follow.

simplelightning.com/posts.html

13/ Another valuable resource for all-things ⚡️ is the This Week in Lightning podcast with @beeforbacon1 from Voltage and #Blockstreamer @niftynei.

Every Sunday they discuss the latest #LightningNetwork news and events. Like and subscribe 👇

14/ The #LiquidFederation added six new members in January, further decentralizing governance and bringing total membership to 63:

@bitmatrix_
@DigtlMarkets
@gmo_coin
@mempool
@SpecterWallet
@ZapriteApp

blog.liquid.net/liquid-federat…

15/ January was eventful for the #BlockstreamMiningNote:

⛏️ Each #BMN has now mined >2.85 BTC w/ more than 50% of initial investment recovered

↔️ @side_swap added the BMN, allowing investors to trustlessly trade in denominations as low as 0.01 BMN

sideswap.io/swap-market/?p…

16/ Tranche 8 of the #BlockstreamMiningNote also went live on @BFXSecurities, with more than €2.4M raised so far.

See tranche details at capital.bitfinex.com/bmn

For further discussion and modeling join t.me/blockstream_fi…

https://twitter.com/adam3us/status/1489325746988498944?s=20&t=3Ie1XFaeEtDPbsKYnBfzaQ

17/ .@Raretoshi, a digital & physical art marketplace built on @Liquid_BTC, announced its first major update:

🎁 Gift #NFTs
🤝 Multiple royalty recipients
🖼️ Social preview links
📈 Performance & bug fixes

Read more on the update and #bitcoinart here 📭 blog.raretoshi.com/raretoshi-roun…

18/ For more resources on the #bitcoinlayer2 projects mentioned, follow:

@BFXSecurities
@bitmatrix_
@Bitwage
@CashApp
@DigtlMarkets
@gmo_coin
@ln_strike
@Raretoshi
@SimpleLightning
@SpecterWallet
@voltage_cloud
@ZapriteApp

and #Layer2Roundup for future threads!