I’m in good company. Thanks for the tape!

During nostr:nprofile1qqsd0f68dvf98gvs9am9dp0lu0f4r7xzu2k89rm9tt448axf5tu6wlgphpy4c Dev/Hack/Day I gave a talk on the State of Cashu Design. I'm sharing the presentation here along with a few key points.

I covered 3 common problem areas that Cashu applications face, what wallets are currently doing to address them, what we could be doing better and how Multinut Payments helps address some of these points.

Discoverability & Onboarding

One of the most common hurdles users experience when they first download a Cashu wallet is the "How do I find a mint?" question.

Some wallets that have made progress in addressing this. Cashu.me and nostr:nprofile1qqsw3u8v7rz83txuy8nc0eth6rsqh4z935fs3t6ugwc7364gpzy5psce64r7c They have a built in a mint discovery feature, the data is pulled from bitcoinmints.com. Cashu.me does a great job of keeping the discovery flow in wallet.

https://blossom.primal.net/e96d5951f877bb6e2b01614a6f4c388fcf62c001345208d2d0ddf3c78d8964bd.mp4

What could we be doing better?

Bitcoin Mints is a great resource but the current mint list display still requires significant cognitive effort on the users behalf.

Here's a design idea that could reduce that cognitive bottleneck.

Note: There is a centralization risks associated with this design. By showing a limited number of highly rated mints we could be reducing the variety of mints people are using across the Cashu ecosystem.

Rug Protection & Risk Mitigation

Another common problem users face is knowing the risks associated with a mint.

How can users make a more informed decision when picking a mint? bitcoinmints.com shows community ratings (e.g. 4.2⭐) for each mint, but is that enough?

We can combine a mint auditor https://audit.8333.space and mint swaps to increase rug protection and reduce risk.

Let's talk about the mint auditor. It provides detailed information about the performance, uptime, and reliability of Cashu mints.

Cashu.me and nostr:nprofile1qyv8wumn8ghj7cmg9ec82unsd3jhyetvv9ujucm0d5qjjamnwvaz7tmwdaehgu33xcmnvve38y6nvde3xuczuctswqh8yatwdahxvmr40qhxjmcqyq0986gqcwaut6kjj5s4al38ktydt773t7eamqgd5vrrvaxtwgfmyh20a8l have integrated the mint auditor. In Cashu.me the user can see the mint audit information in a modal before they decide to trust a mint.

https://blossom.primal.net/7fda6bb247f1bc9b8e14dca82654a1fc79233891334f3e5b646a23632d5648d3.mp4

What could we be doing better?

Combine the community reviews from bitcoinmints and the audit data from a mint auditor. This could make it easier show the user the most important info in plain english.

Next up, Mint swaps.

Mint swaps allow users to receive ecash into their trusted mint. Reducing the need to hold ecash from unknown mints. Cashu.me and Macadamia https://macadamia.cash both support mint swaps.

https://blossom.primal.net/d2590b304abeb1658f125c0a1499b8ec7902c1774b6f6932e51c61562b79cd70.mp4

Lastly, I want to talk about Multinut Payments. A feature I am very fond of and I think will play a huge role in risk mitigation in the future.

Multinut payments is still in the very early stages. http://Cashu.me is the only GUI wallet that supports it as of right now.

When making a LN payment for an amount larger than your current mint balance, Multinut Payments allow the user to pay using the balance from multiple mints.

https://blossom.primal.net/dc53789b9408c4de987f7b5b60e60deb49a26a444d9c684bbc0fd640cc9c4224.mp4

As bullish as I am on Multinut Payments, I know that the UX (right now) is not where it needs to be. If I told you that executing a Multinut payment is simple, you would be right to call me a liar.

The current user cognitive costs outweigh the benefits. Users have to manually choose mints, decide how much to send from each, and manage multiple balances. It feels like doing accounting or using an abacus just to pay an invoice.

What the user actually wants is simple: Pay while being able to spread risk across mints, without losing the convenience of ecash.

I think this Steve Jobs quote nails where we are. The groundwork is here, but we haven’t had enough time to design it so it feels like magic.

The goal isn’t to make users feel smart. It’s to make them feel like it was easy all along.

We have to make it simple. The more time and energy we spend, the better the tools will be.

YOU can help us. You don't need to be a developer or a designer. One of the biggest ways to help is to just USE the tools and give us your thoughts. Tells us what you found confusing, what words didn't make sense. What you felt could be better. Your feedback is a gift.

Link to full presentation: https://www.figma.com/deck/nR0U6iQklDvngKQdHumBlo/State-of-ecash-Design?node-id=1-779&t=C4dfhrCUssAO5qHl-1

Possibly the first Cashu / ecash transaction on a nostr:nprofile1qyt8wumn8ghj7ct49eex2mrp09skymr99ehhyecpp4mhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mqqyr4aa6ffghhs22pmuzkrmcjhslyp56jc5y84druuddsanh238td66va34er computer. Courtesy of nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7etyv4hzumn0wd68ytnvv9hxgqg4waehxw309aex2mrp0yhxgctdw4eju6t09uqzpveml85hk78n2622qtnthmuwwuzexuly9v9gtf3lykjsa076magdkt6tav. https://blossom.primal.net/f5f0daee105bbfeeb47eadd827424c73024cd86d502205c057a04e3e18be003e.mp4

You can view the AI vibe code slop here: https://github.com/swedishfrenchpress/hash-league/tree/test_branch

I finally got this working! Running real time best mining difficulty on my Hash League local environment!

Built a custom React hook that connects to my public pool instance, fetches live data every 10s, and displays best difficulty scores of my local Bitaxe.

Any suggestions on how I can improve this? I still have a few days to go before submissions are due.

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzqyppezfp2j863x4mfnr7se5282xuawhq5npj8ll274cy8zpj66vnq9n8wumn8ghj7enfd36x2u3wdehhxarj9emkjmn99ah8qatzx9a8zum4xduhxdrxwfskwm3jvy6k2vmvvamrvwtjx3e8wamgw3enyennv4excmp5xqe827njxdck2ery0pn8xenxvdchyuelvfex7ctyvdshxapaw3e82egpz9mhxue69uhkummnw3ezuamfdejj7qpqzl2sh6ngsrukkhqtjyc0nhpsx4zrz3de8j4scx7fg2x0nxa026rqlqx3jd

GM. Let’s smash it this week.

Bitcoin ++ in Berlin!

Some Bitaxe lore dropped by nostr:nprofile1qqsx8y4dj9mzt99r9yvd3jklt9s37mta0lhq3rq0mvn3lk2f8szr9vcpz4mhxue69uhkummnw3ex2mrfw3jhxtn0wfnszyrhwden5te0dehhxarj9ekxzmnydhx6ax . History of the PCB development. Original name was “Day Miner”. It took nostr:nprofile1qqsq04ppqc5dzfk5p86fg08xu2stpnnhtzfu6fh9vv0vgp43qg8jvucpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduq3samnwvaz7tmjv4kxz7fwwdhx7un59eek7cmfv9kqp9nfct almost two years to build a prototype that can be handed to a layperson. I’m so bullish on Bitaxe.

Support Open Source Miners United: osmu.wiki

This is the place nostr:nprofile1qqsdv8emcke7k3qqaldwv956tstu40ejg663gdsaayuuujs6pknw7jspzdmhxue69uhhqatjwpkx2urpvuhx2ue0qy88wumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmv9u5zqp49.

Floating away in the nostr:nprofile1qqsrk63a8wentzpk5ex3eqpf9wtww6vwcddzuh9y2800567n4ulwhpqpzamhxue69uhhyetvv9ujucm4wfex2mn59en8j6gpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfdum6yqd0

“Bitcoin evolves around the products that we build. We have a chance to embed cypherpunk values into our products. This is how we win.”

At nostr:nprofile1qqsd0f68dvf98gvs9am9dp0lu0f4r7xzu2k89rm9tt448axf5tu6wlgphpy4c dev/hack/day the nostr:nprofile1qyxhwumn8ghj7cnjvghxjme0qyt8wumn8ghj7etyv4hzumn0wd68ytnvv9hxgtcqyzxznvep6reuvy6r3qh2f93raprhz6gv6ptxus9epuywt56rx642qa309x5 crew will host usability testing stations. I’ll bring a #Bitaxe and I'll be running some AxeOS usability tests. Curious about solo mining or want to try a Bitaxe? Drop in! We’re giving out some ecash to everyone who participates.

More about BTC Prague dev/hack/day: http://btcprague.com/dev-hack-day

For nostr:nprofile1qy88wumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmv9uq36amnwvaz7tmwdaehgu3wd46hg6tw09mkzmrvv46zucm0d5hsqgxyzefv97w93slluaegtnevwlu8h4zmf3me3fwcrewsdh6jegevrsv6weg2 Battle of the Minehackers Hackathon I’m working on a project called "Minor League Miners."

It’s a weekly competition for small miners (<4 TH/s). Instead of competing for pure hashrate, we’re battling for best difficulty. Who can land the luckiest hash.

https://blossom.primal.net/9c6c1bcd449478b592e661e2e526cbaec68660d1dcbbc9a0c583257fd03f8770.mp4

This came out of something me and a friend started doing while solo mining with Bitaxes. We’d just text each other our best difficulty each week. It turned into a fun little competition: who got luckiest and hit the highest best difficulty.

So I thought why not turn this into a HashLeague feature? A Minor League for small miners, competing in a luck based competition. Weekly rounds. Best session difficulty wins.

Here's the current Hash League implementation: https://hashleague.atlbitlab.com/

I put together a doc and a rough Figma wireframe of how Minor League Miners might work and look. I'm still working through the idea and it might have some holes (I’m still new to mining).

Doc: https://cryptpad.fr/doc/#/2/doc/view/7omUN15DGKAwBMmr6X25vCqD3AN2GrTOX9PodFy21UQ/

Otherwise, if you're working on a project I'm happy to team up. I have a design background and I can vibe code some decent looking front end.

https://minehackers.atlbitlab.com/

I was connected to Braiins for a day and setup LN payouts. I was impressed by their UI.

God bless open source bitcoin developers.

I'm only able to do this because of the amazing work by Public Pool https://github.com/benjamin-wilson/public-pool - Thank you guys. What an incredible piece of open source software. Please support Public Pool. Send them some ₿, they deserve it.

Fixed! Next time open up a PR 😄

I’m running my own Bitaxe, on my own mining pool, powered by my own hardware. I’m becoming ungovernable.

I’m going to be running Bitaxe / AxeOS user testing at Dev/Hack Day nostr:npub167n5w6cj2wseqtmk26zllc7n28uv9c4vw28k2kht206vnghe5a7stgzu3r. I’m preparing the test script and need the best Bitaxe setup guide. Participants will use it while setting up for the first time.

What’s the best Bitaxe setup guide?

Pushed some updates to Save Our Wallets to reflect the new direction of the bill.

We need your help supporting Section 110 of the CLARITY Act, which largely preserves the original intent of the BCRCA.

The UX of Bitcoin depends on how freely developers can build. Developers working on lightning and layer 2 tools shouldn’t be treated like money transmitters.

Let your representative this matters to you. We’ve got real momentum in this legal fight. Keep the pressure on.

https://saveourwallets.org/

Hit a 993.30M difficulty on my Bitaxe. Today was a good day.

It’s really hard to design for Bitcoin without using it and understanding it. I’ll check out Cove though.

Need a NWC connect type user experience (that keeps IP restrictions) for connecting core nodes to wallets / applications. Fumbling with RPC is annoying.

It's going to take sometime to get this right. We gotta make it simple.

Designing multinut payments reminds me of the water temple.

Thanks!

🤷‍♂️ I'm going to try to see one! I'm sure there's at least a few.

Hey nostr:nprofile1qythwumn8ghj7ct5d3shxtnwdaehgu3wd3skuep0qyt8wumn8ghj7etyv4hzumn0wd68ytnvv9hxgtcqyq7vs0grm0eratx7ktt740l54zeactcdtg5jfld6stxesgj5xx6k6tmndm3! I'll be in Finland in August. I would love to check out your operation. Trying to learn more about mining. You offer tours to plebs?

gm

I stroll the eightfold with merriment

There’s no real line between work and life when you’re doing something that actually matters to you.

A life spent building an open-source electronic cash system isn’t a life wasted.

I miss CoinJoining on Wasabi. It just felt good.

Can’t wait to see it.

gm

Story telling and rhyme scheme on Uncommon Valor is truly insane. Pleasantly surprised to see this guest on your show. Tuning in.

This is the way. Build the world you want to see. 💪

Thank you. Just trying to do my part.

https://sovranbitcoin.com/

Still in beta. Very buggy. Only use for testing purposes.

A quick summary of some stuff I've been working on over the last few months. https://orangewindjammer.substack.com/p/8-what-ive-been-building-lately

I'm using an alpha build and I occasionally get some issues scanning QR codes. Unsure how much of it is a bug vs styling. Need to investigate further.

About to dive in. Let's go. nostr:nprofile1qyx8wumn8ghj7cnjvghxjmcpz4mhxue69uhk2er9dchxummnw3ezumrpdejqqgydwaupx29x85ujnfhz5jfsn4k3ytvaq4tazuerzahzc75u0saddcdnlccu and nostr:nprofile1qyshwumn8ghj7en9v4j8xtnwdaehgu3wvfskuep0w3uhqetnvdexjur5qy88wumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmv9uqzpxvff4mhj5snxn95nyf7yvupuxt2rwcsuklrahkcu857pqplmpndukqdk5 on nostr:nprofile1qyt8wumn8ghj7etyv4hzumn0wd68ytnvv9hxgtcpr3mhxue69uhkummnw3ez6ur4vgh8xetdd9ek7mpwv3jhvtcqyqvlaltl88yk6tlhd7rlwcn6u7g5t0yhrk9tyvs9qpvnnfdfzw7z7uxh02q . https://youtu.be/GTSqoFKs1cE

What kind of error are you getting with nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7etyv4hzumn0wd68ytnvv9hxgqg4waehxw309aex2mrp0yhxgctdw4eju6t09uqzpveml85hk78n2622qtnthmuwwuzexuly9v9gtf3lykjsa076magdkt6tav ? I know there's frequent updates, you sure you're on the latest version?

Just sent 🫡 . Thank you again.

Sure thing! Do you have a minibits.cash address?

Not sure. I'm on a new build with a slightly different recovery + account creation flow, but I just tried creating a new profile and it's broken here too. cc nostr:nprofile1qyxhwumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmvqyw8wumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnzd96xxmmfdejhytnnda3kjctvqqsvvullpd0j9rltp2a3qqvgy9udf3vgh389p7zhzu65fd258dz5lqgtnl693

Thanks for bringing this up. I haven't had a chance to give additional profile creating + recovery a UX review / audit. I'm going to move that up a high priority and review next.