Lightning Community Progress
The bitcoin value is up by round 70% for the reason that begin of the yr, however this isn’t the one quantity that has gone up. Bitcoin has continued to mature as a medium of change by sturdy progress and innovation on the Lightning Community.
The variety of Lightning nodes and channels have greater than doubled, going from about 15,000 to 31,000 , and from about 36,000 to 82,000 , respectively. Much more spectacular, the full capability of the community has elevated from lower than 1,000 BTC to just about 3,300 BTC, based on Bitcoin Visuals . Measured in USD, greater than 5 instances as a lot liquidity is now current on the Lightning Community in comparison with one yr in the past.
Due to the Lightning Community, bitcoin is now getting used greater than ever as a fee methodology, an precise technique of change. For example, our personal firm, Citadel21, now processes the massive majority of its gross sales by Lightning.
2021 has additionally been the yr the place streaming funds by the Lightning Community has change into a confirmed, working and carried out know-how. Nice Lightning functions like Breez and Sphinx now facilitate real-time streaming of sats whereas listening to podcasts, paving the best way for a brand new approach of monetization; “worth for worth.” Nice progress has additionally been made in utilizing Lightning as a streamlined method to authenticate your self on-line.
Continued Progress Of Company Bitcoin Treasuries
Gigachad Michael Saylor has as soon as once more been main the cost relating to public corporations placing bitcoin of their treasuries.
MicroStrategy greater than tripled its bitcoin holdings in 2021, and is at present holding a staggering 122,000 BTC . Tesla nonetheless holds its 43,000 BTC purchased early in the year , however CEO Elon Musk has since fallen from grace amongst most bitcoiners after his huge shilling of a dogshit-coin and contributing to the bitcoin mining FUD with less-than-honest statements on the environmental impact of mining .
The rising legitimacy of holding bitcoin in your stability sheet was additionally exemplified by Norwegian industrial and vitality big Aker, buying greater than 1,000 btc by their new bitcoin firm Seetee .
Legacy Monetary Inclusion: Important, However Insignificant For Bitcoin
Coinbase did a direct listing , and bought listed on Nasdaq in June at an preliminary market cap of $85 billion. The primary U.S. bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) additionally began buying and selling this yr, when the ProShares Bitcoin ETF went dwell in October.
Many individuals in legacy finance in all probability noticed these occasions as huge developments, however personally I don’t see them as vital or optimistic for Bitcoin. They’re not adverse both, after all, as a result of Bitcoin doesn’t care.
Taproot
In June, the much-anticipated protocol improve, Taproot, locked in, after reaching 90% miner signaling inside an issue interval. On November 14, at Bitcoin block 709,632, it activated, which means Bitcoin had efficiently accomplished its most vital improve since SegWit in 2017.
Amongst different issues, Taproot strikes Bitcoin from a cryptographic scheme utilizing ECDSA digital signatures to Schnorr signatures, making verification of complicated multisig transactions a lot quicker. It guarantees to additional enhance each privateness, safety and scale of Bitcoin transactions.
Return Of The ‘China Bans Bitcoin’ Meme
China spent 2021 making what might show to be one of many greatest financial and geopolitical errors in historical past.
The Bitcoin hash rate had climbed steadily , going from about 140 exahashes per second (EH/s) in the beginning of the yr, to an all-time excessive of greater than 180 EH/s in Could. At that time, China was the uncontested international superpower of bitcoin mining, estimated to be chargeable for round half of the worldwide hash charge.
Rumors began floating that China was going to crack down on mining, and in June, regulators within the nation adopted by and introduced the reiteration of a ban on bitcoin mining. The hash charge plummeted, as Chinese language miners shut down their operations on a large scale.
The hash charge bottomed out in late June, going as low as 87 EH/s . This was, after all, used for all it was value by FUDsters, leading to huge shopping for alternatives for these with conviction, each on bitcoin and mining {hardware}.
Coming as no shock to the orange pilled, since then, each value and hash charge have made full recoveries. Bitcoiners knew!
The U.S. has now taken the place as the brand new world powerhouse of bitcoin mining, and hash charge seems to be like it’ll get near piercing 200 EH/s earlier than the brand new yr. China additionally reiterated its ban on all cryptocurrency buying and selling in September, however the market paid little discover. Sadly, we might now have seen the final of the “China bans Bitcoin” meme, as it’s exhausting to see what angle is left to ban.
Bitcoin As Authorized Tender And Mining Bitcoin From Volcanoes
“One small step for Bitcoin, one big leap for mankind.”
–Jack Mallers
The largest occasion of the yr in my e book is {that a} nation state made bitcoin authorized tender. El Salvador’s determination is a milestone in historical past, and Jack Mallers’ speech in Miami in early June was probably the most highly effective moments of the yr for me.
Along with making bitcoin authorized tender, El Salvador can also be stacking sats, shopping for dips, mining from geothermal volcano vitality and planning to construct a “Bitcoin Metropolis.”
Will probably be thrilling to see if extra nations comply with El Salvador’s lead in 2022.
Wrapping Up
2021 has been a yr the place international totalitarianism made huge advances. Freedom of speech has been additional diminished in public squares on-line, our freedom of motion has been vastly diminished and even our bodily autonomy is underneath critical risk.
It has additionally been a yr the place Bitcoin, the uncompromising reality machine, the polar reverse and nemesis of the clown world, has had its finest yr ever. It has grown stronger, extra succesful, extra decentralized and extra ingrained within the collective consciousness than ever earlier than.
Regardless of some bumps within the street, bitcoin as soon as once more proved itself as number-go-up know-how in 2021. However simply as vital, its power and promise as clowns-go-away know-how grew to become extra clear and wanted than ever earlier than. The world wants bitcoin. And the world has bitcoin. There’s hope!
This can be a visitor publish by Hodlonaut. Opinions expressed are totally their very own and don’t essentially replicate these of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Journal.
