Bitcoin r/Bitcoin recap - December 2017

r/Bitcoin recap - December 2017
TIL that the FBI seized 144,000 bitcoins from Ross Ulbricht (silk road guy) in 2013 following his arrest and conviction. They were valued at close to $28.5million at the time of seizure. They're now worth $1.9billion.
GREAT NEWS: In Australia, Bitcoin has just hit a YTD new high and the same is bound to happen in America in just a few hours!
It's Official: First Bitcoin Lightning Network Payment Completed
BitPay is charging users an additional 0.000956 BTC ($13) when transactions with 80 sat/byte are getting into blocks. We need an alternative to bitpay. They expect you to pay their miner fee as well but still haven't implemented segwit.
Everyone feels the same?
If you're unhappy with the recent Coinbase fiasco check out Bisq which is a free open source decentralized exchange!
Day 6: I will post this guide regularly until available solutions like SegWit & order batching are mass adopted, the mempool is empty once again, and tx fees are low. Refer a friend to SegWit today. There's no $10 referral offer, but you'll both get lower fees and help strengthen the BTC protocol
2018 Will Be Like This
24 months of HODLing. This is a PSA for the average investor. Don’t trade. Be patient, get rich slow.
Greetings from Grandpa
Remember one thing, other coins that claim to be instant and zero fees don't have the amount of users or traffic as Bitcoin
[Australia] Major Banks Reportedly Just Began Freezing Accounts of Bitcoin Users
Doing some shopping here in Tokyo, Japan ��
I just witnessed the future of Bitcoin and it's glorious
To the continued journey in 2018
Lightning network is a huge network upgrade. People will be pouring into it, and this will force Segwit adoption. It’s a self fulfilling prophecy! I ain’t worried
Mentor Monday, January 01, 2018: Ask all your bitcoin questions!
9 years almost passed After Bitcoin Creation! Happy NYE everyone!
"Bitcoin's price hit $5,000 last week. It's still a dumb investment" (cached September LA Times article that has since been deleted)
Fuck this is so me ��
2018, to the moon -- Happy New Year!
Happy New Year everybody!
The only thing I want as a New Year gift.
Bitcoin's price floor is made out of Hodlers, and every day many new Hodlers are born all around the world.
Purse.io do a fake poll to manipulate news for something that already decide one month before :P (Purse.io is Roger Ver's investment)

r/Bitcoin recap - December 2017

Posted: 01 Jan 2018 01:16 AM PST

Hi Bitcoiners!

I'm back with the twelfth monthly Bitcoin news recap. (Yes I'll keep doing these in 2018)

For those unfamiliar, each day I pick out the most popular/relevant/interesting stories in r/bitcoin and save them. At the end of the month I release them in one batch, to give you a quick (but not necessarily the best), memeless overview of what happened in bitcoin over the past month.

You can find recaps of the previous months on Bitcoinsnippets.com

A recap of Bitcoin in December 2017

Thanks all for being part of the ride, it's been a great year for Bitcoin. Happy new year to you and I hope we can make 2018 even better!

submitted by /u/SamWouters
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TIL that the FBI seized 144,000 bitcoins from Ross Ulbricht (silk road guy) in 2013 following his arrest and conviction. They were valued at close to $28.5million at the time of seizure. They're now worth $1.9billion.

Posted: 31 Dec 2017 09:00 PM PST

submitted by /u/HumbleHumanz
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GREAT NEWS: In Australia, Bitcoin has just hit a YTD new high and the same is bound to happen in America in just a few hours!

Posted: 31 Dec 2017 06:37 AM PST

submitted by /u/jose628
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It's Official: First Bitcoin Lightning Network Payment Completed

Posted: 31 Dec 2017 11:44 AM PST

submitted by /u/Metabudder
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BitPay is charging users an additional 0.000956 BTC ($13) when transactions with 80 sat/byte are getting into blocks. We need an alternative to bitpay. They expect you to pay their miner fee as well but still haven't implemented segwit.

Posted: 31 Dec 2017 10:48 PM PST

submitted by /u/FinallyFreaky
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Everyone feels the same?

Posted: 01 Jan 2018 12:10 AM PST

submitted by /u/cryptoustaad
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If you're unhappy with the recent Coinbase fiasco check out Bisq which is a free open source decentralized exchange!

Posted: 01 Jan 2018 01:16 AM PST

submitted by /u/TheMightyCraken
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Day 6: I will post this guide regularly until available solutions like SegWit & order batching are mass adopted, the mempool is empty once again, and tx fees are low. Refer a friend to SegWit today. There's no $10 referral offer, but you'll both get lower fees and help strengthen the BTC protocol

Posted: 31 Dec 2017 10:29 AM PST

TL/DR

Bitcoin users can help lower transaction fees and contribute to bitcoin by switching to SegWit addresses and encourage wallets/exchanges to do the same.

SUMMARY

Segregated Witness (SegWit) was activated on the Bitcoin network August 24 2017 as a soft fork that is backward compatible with previous bitcoin transactions (Understanding Segregated Witness). Since that time wallets and exchanges have been slow to deploy SegWit, some admitting in December 2017 that they have not even started work on integrating it. Others, such as Zebpay in India have already implemented SegWit and are reaping the benefits of reduced transaction fees. If bitcoin users demand SegWit now it will temporarily relieve the transaction backlog while more even more advanced solutions such as Lightning are developed.

Batching is another great way that exchanges can reduce their fees. See: Saving up to 80% on Bitcoin transaction fees by batching payments. Despite the benefits of batching, some exchanges have been slow to implement it.

There is an opportunity now for all bitcoin users to individually contribute to help strengthen and improve the bitcoin protocol. At this point, the process requires a bit of work/learning on the part of the user, but in doing so you'll actually be advancing bitcoin and leaving what could turn out to be a multi-generational legacy for humanity.

MEMPOOL/SEGWIT STATISTICS

BitInfoCharts.com - Average Transaction Fees - $30USD per Tx (down from $40)
Blockchain.info - Unconfirmed Transactions - 152K Unconfirmed Tx's (down from 177K)
SegWit Charts - 10% SegWit Tx's

BACKGROUND

On Dec 18 Subhan Nadeem has pointed out that:

If every transaction in the Bitcoin network was a SegWit transaction today, blocks would contain up to 8,000 transactions, and the 138,000 unconfirmed transaction backlog would disappear instantly. Transaction fees would be almost non-existent once again.

A few thousand bitcoin users from /r/Bitcoin switching to making their next transactions SegWit transactions will help take pressure off the network now, and together we can encourage exchanges/wallets to rapidly deploy SegWit for everyone ASAP. Let's make 80%+ SegWit happen fast. You can help by taking one or more of the action steps below.

ACTION STEPS

If your favorite wallet has not yet implemented SegWit, kindly ask them to do so immediately. In the meantime start using a wallet that has already implemented SegWit.
If your favorite exchange has not yet implemented SegWit, try to avoid making any further purchases of bitcoin at that exchange and politely inform them that if they do not enable SegWit within 30-days they will lose your business. Sign-up for an account at a SegWit deployed/ready exchange now and initiate the verification process so you'll be ready to bail
Help educate newcomers to bitcoin about the transaction issue, steer them towards SegWit wallets from day one, and encourage them to avoid ever purchasing bitcoin through non-SegWit ready exchanges that are harming bitcoin.
Spread the word! Conact individuals, websites, etc that use bitcoin, explain the benefits of SegWit to everyone, and request they make the switch

IMPORTANT NOTE: The mempool is currently still quite backlogged. If you are a long-term holder and really have no reason to move your bitcoins at this time, wait until the mempool starts to clear and transaction fees go down before moving your bitcoins to a SegWit address or SegWit friendly exchange.

SELECTED TOP EXCHANGES BY BATCHING & SEGWIT STATUS

Exchange	Segwit Status	Batching Status
Binance	NOT READY	Yes
Bitfinex	Ready	Yes
Bitonic	Ready	Yes
Bitstamp	Deployed	Yes
Bittrex	?	Yes
Coinbase/GDAX	NOT READY	No
Gemini	Ready	No
HitBTC	Deployed	Yes
Huboi	?	?
Kraken	Deployed	Yes
LocalBitcoins	Ready	Yes
OKEx	?	?
Poloniex	?	Yes
QuadrigaCX	Deployed	Yes
Shapeshift	Deployed	No

Note: all exchanges that have deployed SegWit are currently only sending to p2sh SegWit addresses for now. No exchange will send to a bech32 address like the ones that Electrum generates

Source 1: BitcoinCore.org

Source 2: /r/Bitcoin

Official statements from exchanges:

Bitonic: SegWit: In testing (including send from bech32). Batching: Have been for years.

SELECTED WALLETS THAT HAVE SEGWIT ALREADY

Make sure you have a SegWit capable wallet installed and ready to use for your next bitcoin transaction

SegWit Enabled Wallets	Wallet Type
Ledger Nano S	Hardware
Trezor	Hardware
Electrum	Desktop
Armory	Desktop
Edge	iOS
GreenAddress	iOS
BitWallet	iOS
Samourai	Android
GreenBits	Android
Electrum	Android

FAQs

If I'm a HODLer, will it help to send my BTC to a SegWit address now?

No, just get ready now so that your NEXT transaction will be to a SegWit wallet. Avoid burdening the network with any unneccessary transactions for now.

Why is SegWit adoption going so slowly? Is it a time-consuming process, is there risk involved, is it laziness, or something else?

SegWit will require some extra work to be done right and securely. Also, most exchanges let the user pay the fee, and up to now users have not been overly concerned about fees so for some exchanges it hasn't been a priority.

Once Segwit is FULLY adopted, what do we see the fees/transaction times going to?

Times stay the same - fees will go down. How much and for how long depends on what the demand for transactions will be at that time.

What determines bitcoin transaction fees, to begin with?

Fees are charged per byte of data and are bid up by users. Miners will typically include the transaction with the highest fee/byte first.

Can you please tell me how to move my bitcoins to SegWit address in Bitcoin core wallet? Does the sender or receiver matter?

The Bitcoin core wallet does not yet have a GUI for its SegWit functionality. Download Electrum v3.0.3 to generate a SegWit address.

A transaction between two SegWit addresses is a SegWit transaction.

A transaction sent from a SegWit address to a non-SegWit address is a SegWit transaction.

A transaction sent from a non-SegWit address to a SegWit address is NOT a SegWit transaction. You can send a SegWit Tx if the sending address is a SegWit address.

Source: HowToToken

What wallet are you using to "batch your sends"? And how can I do that?

Using Electrum, the "Tools" menu option: "Pay to many".

Just enter your receive addresses and the amounts for each, and you can send multiple transactions for nearly the price of one.

Why doesn't the Core Wallet yet support SegWit?

The Core Wallet supports SegWit, but its GUI doesn't. The next update will likely have GUI support built-in

Why isn't a large exchange like Coinbase SegWit ready & deployed when much smaller exchanges already are? Why do they default to high fees? Where is the leadership there?

Draw your own conclusions based on their own words:

March 2016 - Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has reservations about Core

Dec 2017 - Coinbase is STILL working on Segwit

P2SH/bech32 FAQs

What are the two SegWit address formats and why do they exist?

It's been a challenge for wallet developers to implement SegWit in a way that users can easily and without too much disruption migrate from legacy to SegWit addresses. The first wallets to enable SegWit addresses – Ledger, Trezor, Core, GreenAddress – use so-called "nested P2SH addresses." This means they take the existing Pay 2 Script Hash address – starting with a "3" – and put a SegWit address into it. This enables a high grade of compatibility to existing wallets as every wallet is familiar with these addresses, but it is a workaround which results in SegWit transactions needing around 10 percent more space than they otherwise would.

Electrum 3.0 was the first wallet to use bech32 addresses instead of nested p2sh addresses.

Source: BTCManager.com

What is the difference in address format between SegWit address formats P2SH and bech32?

P2SH starts with "3..."

bech32 starts with "bc1..."

Which addresses can I send from/to?

P2SH Segwit addresses can be sent to using older Bitcoin software with no Segwit support. This supports backwards compatibility

bech32 can only be sent to from newer Bitcoin software that support bech32. Ex: Electrum

Source: BitcoinTalk.org

Why did ThePirateBay put up two Bitcoin donation addresses on their frontpage, one bech32 and one not?

The address starting with a "3..." is a P2SH SegWit address that can be sent BTC from any bitcoin address including a legacy address. The address starting with a "bc1..." is a bech32 SegWit address that can only be sent to from newer wallets that support bech32.

SEGWIT BLOG GUIDES

PREVIOUS DAY'S THREADS

There's lots of excellent info in the comments of the previous threads:

submitted by /u/Bastiat
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2018 Will Be Like This

Posted: 31 Dec 2017 07:59 AM PST

submitted by /u/tuzki
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24 months of HODLing. This is a PSA for the average investor. Don’t trade. Be patient, get rich slow.

Posted: 31 Dec 2017 03:07 PM PST

submitted by /u/ROGERVIRESINNUMERIS
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Greetings from Grandpa

Posted: 31 Dec 2017 03:35 PM PST

submitted by /u/financiero
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Remember one thing, other coins that claim to be instant and zero fees don't have the amount of users or traffic as Bitcoin

Posted: 31 Dec 2017 12:56 PM PST

Bitcoin's transaction fees and confirmation times are a result of a large user base and heavy usage.

Blockchain technology itself isn't good for scaling, with enough traffic, it will eventually get clogged up regardless of the coin.

This is why LN is needed, it's layer on top of blockchain that enables instant transactions, low fees and ultimately result in less traffic.

So when you see people shilling other coins on the speed, remember they don't have the userbase or traffic that Bitcoin currently has. Once Bitcoin utilizes Lightning Network, other coins lose their competitive advantage while Bitcoin will still have the largest userbase in crypto.

Bitcoin in it's current state is a store of value with massive adoption, Lightning Network will evolve bitcoin to being a currency.

submitted by /u/AS_Empire
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[Australia] Major Banks Reportedly Just Began Freezing Accounts of Bitcoin Users

Posted: 31 Dec 2017 11:13 PM PST