Alby custodial LN goes invite-only for new users 🚨 \ stacker news ~bitcoin

Current users unaffected. Extension tool will continue to be open and free to download.

This change follows the voluntary self-pull from US App Stores by Wallet of Satoshi, amid increased regressive and predatory rhetoric by US Government “regulators”

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70 sats \ 8 replies \ @TheBTCManual 15 Dec 2023

I guess it is ass-covering time before you get labeled a money services business and have to face regulators, uncle jim nodes are going to be making a comeback now that the two biggest custodial zap wallets are cut off by the knees

7 sats \ 3 replies \ @DEADBEEF 15 Dec 2023

I wonder what this increased hostility towards Bitcoin will mean for the future of apps like Fountain, Stacker News, Nostr, Wavlake, etc. Are they going to be forced to withdraw from the US or at least block lightning from US users to avoid regulation? Will the government apply pressure to Google and Apple to remove all “crypto” related apps from their app stores?

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @TheBTCManual 15 Dec 2023

We don't yet know, but it could be apps would be limited in the amount of funds they can hold before they need to be regulated, who knows what the cap would be?

Maybe they could look at workarounds like eCash mints where the company is blinded to funds or allow users to connect their own LSP instead of hosting wallets for users, which is a ballache and adds more friction, which might even kill these apps

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @SpaceHodler 15 Dec 2023

SN and Fountain could always become hidden Tor services, no?

To what degree Apple and Google suck the government's dicks shouldn't really have an effect on our freedom (and arguably on Bitcoin adoption). If it matters what they do, all it means is our tech (or our use of it) is not robust enough and needs more work.

If we're relying on the government and the Big Tech only screwing and robbing us moderately, we're doing it wrong, because it's a very fragile and disequilibrious thing to rely on.

1 sat \ 0 replies \ @TheBTCManual 15 Dec 2023

I'm 100% with you there, if its not resistant to attack its larping bitcoin

30 sats \ 3 replies \ @SpaceHodler 15 Dec 2023

You can still sideload WoS in the US, as long as your phone doesn't come from the digital prison known as Apple.

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @TheBTCManual 15 Dec 2023

Doesn't really help WoS, if they get caught serving US customers no? Kinda the reason all those exchanges thought having a .us domain would help but they got fined and fucked eventually

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @SpaceHodler 15 Dec 2023

Would such a fine be enforceable if WoS is based in Australia? Exchanges had local bank accounts, so they had to operate within the compliant economy.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @TheBTCManual 15 Dec 2023

No clue, but as far as I know Kucoin, Bittrex and Binance weren't based in the US and they got whacked, I'm just going on that precedent

221 sats \ 0 replies \ @MoritzK 15 Dec 2023

I appreciate that this information is posted here with the information that current users are unaffected and that the Alby Browser Extension is available for everybody to use as before. Everybody who would like to open an Alby account, can reach out to support @getalby.com to get an invite code. New sign-ups remain available.

46 sats \ 1 reply \ @guyfawkes_v2 15 Dec 2023

This is a great sign. We are over the target. I remember Google took years before they got swallowed by the State'. Those innovating on ₿ are showing signs of being swallowed within months. The faster this happens, the faster we'll have better solutions at which point we can simply ignore the State.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Line2Wire 15 Dec 2023

Very much this! It's something that needs to happen, and because we all know Bitcoin won't take it, we're just stacking sats until the time comes, and we put them to use.

Donate some sats to truly non-custodial, Bitcoin-only, anti-state projects! They'll need it.

110 sats \ 0 replies \ @r3drun3 15 Dec 2023

Run your own node.

41 sats \ 7 replies \ @PlebeiusG 15 Dec 2023

This is why I can't connect Zeus to my Alby anymore... they just took away the QR code that you scan. It's just... gone. Documentation still shows how you used to be able to set it up. Damn... this really sucks!!!!!!!!!

Also, I tried to download Zeus onto a new iOS device and it was hard to find in the App Store. I finally found it by searching "Zeus wallet" but just searching Zeus or Zeus lightning didn't show it in the results. I wouldn't be surprised if btc apps are being downranked in search...

I'm tired of walled gardens.

103 sats \ 2 replies \ @bumi 15 Dec 2023

We are currently deploying an update there that allow users to specifically create lndhub credentials when needed. One issue that lndhub currently has is that there are no permissions and that credentials can not be revoked. This is a first step to give the user more control. Please give us a bit and sorry for this.

Even though going forward I believe lndhub connections will be soon be replaced with NWC.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @PlebeiusG 16 Dec 2023

I am deciding I need to learn about how LN connects... all the apps, chrome extensions, webpages, nodes.. everything. Seems like there is a lot of innovation and I'm trying to write my own self-hosted AI applications that will accept lightning. I want it to be "one click" easy to setup and get started. But LN has a steep learning curve and the innovation is hard to keep abreast with! :)

102 sats \ 0 replies \ @bumi 20 Dec 2023

yeah, a lot is happening there. it will get easy. check out NWC I think this could be helpful for you - more universal and future proof.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @DEADBEEF 15 Dec 2023

I wonder if we will soon see government regulations force Apple and Google to remove “crypto” related apps from their app stores.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Zepasta 15 Dec 2023

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66 sats \ 1 reply \ @Zepasta 15 Dec 2023

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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @PlebeiusG 16 Dec 2023

I just switched away from iOS tbh. I am happy to see the "just switched to GrapheneOS" posts here on SN!

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @SpaceHodler 15 Dec 2023

What could potentially happen to them (or WoS) if the US declared them illegal? Would they be able to enforce it?

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @elysia 15 Dec 2023

KYC to withdraw

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @SpaceHodler 15 Dec 2023 freebie

But they don't have to enforce KYC if they don't deal with fiat deposits / withdrawals. There is no bank account to shut down, no relationship with the compliant world to lose.

The business earns fees in sats and can pay its employees in sats, which they can subsequently sell for fiat cash flow as their income, without any links to the business that paid them. Sounds like a perfect business model for operating purely in the Bitcoin economy. They don't even have to be registered as a company.

Did I miss something?

126 sats \ 6 replies \ @Zepasta 15 Dec 2023 freebie

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24 sats \ 4 replies \ @ZezzebbulTheMysterious 15 Dec 2023

I’m feeling disillusioned by lightning in this high fee environment. It’s cost me many sats in forced channels closes, unconfirmed txs from third parties, I am unlikely to open new ones, and today, LND decided to drain my onchain funds (300k sat) to recover 50k sat. Uhhh L2 is no good if L1 is completely borked.

0 sats \ 3 replies \ @Zepasta 15 Dec 2023

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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @ZezzebbulTheMysterious 15 Dec 2023

The last force close was peer offline (the peer was part of a lightningnetwork.plus liquidity triangle) and HTLC timeout. LND swept and burned 280k sat of onchain funds trying to recover 50k from the channel. :-(