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Galoy Newsletter #4: Bitcoin Mortgages and The Case for Open Source

New Story Partnering with Bitcoin Beach and Galoy to Make Homeownership Accessible

New Story pioneers innovative solutions to end global homelessness. They’re now building hundreds of homes in El Zonte and enabling homeowners to make mortgage payments using the Bitcoin Beach Wallet. 

The Case for Building, Supporting and Investing in Open Source Businesses

Grant Gilliam of Ten31 published a powerful article outlining the importance of supporting and building open source software projects and companies on top of Bitcoin. Grant writes “The value proposition from an open source strategy will be far more meaningful than we’ve seen prior to bitcoin, and the open nature of its network will be the key value unlock for enabling this.” Amen!

Lightning Network News and Developments 

Bitcoin Design Guide V2 and BDK Help Accelerate Development of Lightning Products and Services. Cash App Finishes Its Lightning Rollout.

Bitcoin Design Guide Version 2 was released this week. The updated guide includes tips for designing Lightning products and interactions. 

Alekos Filini joined Conor Okus to showcase how to use Bitcoin Dev Kit to make Taproot transactions. Watch the video and view the code

Cash App has now rolled out Lightning to 100% of users. There are now millions more people who get to experience the magic of Lightning. 👀 🎉

OpenNode Raises $20M Series A

Congratulations to the OpenNode team for raising $20M to continue towards its mission of making bitcoin payments simple and accessible for everyone, everywhere!

New Community Projects Are Being Set Up, and Existing Ones Are Getting Creative

Aarika Rhodes, a California school teacher running for US Congress, recently hosted Jack Dorsey and several notable Bitcoiners on a Twitter Space to discuss “Bitcoin and UBI.” Jack shared that he’s actively working on setting up circular Bitcoin economy pilot projects, sharing “We’ve tested with a bunch of mayors around this country and outside of it. We’re about to do a test of a UBI-like concept with Bitcoin as well. We are going to be able to create a closed-loop economy, on a very small scale.”

Listen to the full space: 

Bitcoin Lake in Guatemala has found a great new way to welcome merchants to Bitcoin. After getting a local ice cream shop set up with the Bitcoin Beach Wallet, Patrick Melder solicited bitcoin donations from Twitter to take a group of students to the shop for a treat. This week he hosted a pizza party, paid for by Bitcoiners from around the world. The Lightning Network is amazing, isn’t it?

Bitcoin Adoption Game Theory is Upon Us

Governments around the world are jockeying to take their place on the Bitcoin adoption curve. Russia has announced plans to regulate – rather than ban – cryptocurrencies and plans to introduce legislation this week. 

An increasing number of US politicians and candidates are vying for the Bitcoiner vote, albeit amid some skepticism. Ted Cruz appears to be long Bitcoin. NYC Mayor Eric Adams has declared that he’s in favor of cryptocurrency… but against cryptocurrency mining – despite earlier pro-Bitcoin statements. Wendy Rogers of the Arizona State Senate introduced a bill to make Bitcoin legal tender in the state. And Janice McGeachin, running for Governor of Idaho, plans to make Idaho a safe-haven for Bitcoin. 

Just in – yesterday the Governor of Colorado announced plans to accept Bitcoin for tax payments by the middle of this year.

Grab the popcorn – 2022 is the year Bitcoin becomes a major voting issue. 

Join the Team: Galoy is Hiring!

Join our growing, global team of Bitcoiners who are working to make it easy for communities and enterprises around the world to use Bitcoin as money.

Bitcoin Beach Wallet is also seeking to fill positions in Sales, Marketing, Finance and Operations.

See you next month!