Human Bitcoin Addresses (BIP 353) end the confusion of having to use bitcoin addresses that look like 1Aqv9KxZc2y7M8b in favor of something that looks more like a Cash App, Venmo, or email addresses. Do it for grandma.
We’ve been quietly seeding a Bitty, Itty Bitty, and Kitty Bitty account on IG for a while now. There are just the first steps. There’s much more from the gang to come: https://www.instagram.com/bittyandbuddies/ 
bittyandbuddies
This holiday season, instead of explaining immutability, digital scarcity, or decentralization to your uncle, try something that should make sense: small businesses not having to pay 3% credit card fees. bitcoinmerchantcommunity.org.
We need contributors from all over to help us expand the Bitcoin Merchant Community, which is already growing like a thing that grows quickly: https://bitcoinmerchantcommunity.org
If you’ve started onboarding merchants or just want to, we launched a Discord where you can share what works, what hasn’t, and what could: https://discord.gg/f2xHv5QYK7
Maybe you saw the merchant onboarding plushies we gave US bitcoin hubs. Now we’re giving away more through the new Local Champions program, where bitcoiners can apply to get 25 plushies + leave-behinds for distribution to merchants and fellow bitcoiners: https://tally.so/r/Bzz5qQ
What else? If you’re a merchant or know one and want to support real money, join the Bitcoin Merchant Community’s Facebook Group to share ideas about marketing assets that might encourage customers to pay with bitcoin. Digital? Physical? Mystical? Tell us: https://www.facebook.com/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fgroups%2Fbitcoinmerchants%2F
And there’s more. The BMC’s website and marketing assets are under a Creative Commons license. Despite not knowing what kind of assets would be effective, we took a first shot. Use our Canva template to take a second, third, and fourth. Make us look bad. https://www.canva.com/design/DAG4oZRCO1E/WfBl_mXck2u1CYBE58hoYQ/view?mode=preview
Almost done. The BMC increases bitcoin payment adoption, but first, they need solid software. We remain vendor-agnostic, only endorsing easy POS solutions that cater to physical retail. If you're a POS vendor, check out the criteria then get in touch. https://github.com/bitcoinmerchants/bmc-website?tab=readme-ov-file#criteria-for-bitcoin-pos-solutions-to-be-included-on-the-bmc-website
Finally, get hyped. This initiative only works if you do. GitHub issues are the best way to improve the website and marketing materials. We really want to hear from global bitcoiners who want to translate marketing assets into languages not yet supported. https://github.com/bitcoinmerchants/marketing-assets
Square did their part, now let’s do ours. For bitcoin to become everyday money, merchants need to accept it. But first, they’ll need a reason to. We've put together the resources to help anyone make the case that only bitcoin can defeat credit card fees: https://bitcoinmerchantcommunity.org
These resources include persuasive leave-behind materials that bitcoiners can bring to local businesses, from subtle, home printer-friendly handouts to bold, attention‑grabbing combo pieces like, uh, a plushie with impeccable penmanship.
But no matter how good a leave-behind is, it’s better with a face. Included with each leave-behind is a playbook for you that includes step‑by‑step guidance for how to make the bitcoin case to merchants.
We hope for this community to be an open and independent group with a simple goal: bitcoin payment adoption among merchants—regardless of which point-of-sale solution they prefer. It’s also where all of the resources we’ve mentioned so far can be found for free.
For now, if you want the plushie combo, you'll have to pick it up at @bitcoinpark_ in Austin and Nashville, @atlbitlab, @SpaceDenver, and @PresidioBitcoin. This might change, though. Who can say? Bitcoin is weird and it’s only getting weirder.
https://blossom.primal.net/436c6dfaf938f3527eb36f5a182f7b1e91ed38242df65cbd2c1b73ad6e291012.mov
Plushies, kits, and in-person persuasion: the bitcoin-centric tactics we’re using to save small businesses 3%.
Of the people named Pavlenex who we follow, he definitely is.
Most merchants don’t care about digital scarcity or immutability. What they care about are their margins. Beating 3% credit card fees is how we convince small business owners to accept bitcoin: https://spiralbtc.substack.com/p/merchants-dont-read-white-papers?r=53cq2n&triedRedirect=true
Square did their part, now let’s do ours. For bitcoin to become everyday money, merchants need to accept it. But first, they’ll need a reason to. We've put together the resources to help anyone make the case that only bitcoin can defeat credit card fees: https://bitcoinmerchantcommunity.org
These resources include persuasive leave-behind materials that bitcoiners can bring to local businesses, from subtle, home printer-friendly handouts to bold, attention‑grabbing combo pieces like, uh, a plushie with impeccable penmanship.
But no matter how good a leave-behind is, it’s better with a face. Included with each leave-behind is a playbook for you that includes step‑by‑step guidance for how to make the bitcoin case to merchants.
We hope for this community to be an open and independent group with a simple goal: bitcoin payment adoption among merchants—regardless of which point-of-sale solution they prefer. It’s also where all of the resources we’ve mentioned so far can be found for free.
For now, if you want the plushie combo, you'll have to pick it up at @bitcoinpark_ in Austin and Nashville, @atlbitlab, @SpaceDenver, and @PresidioBitcoin. This might change, though. Who can say? Bitcoin is weird and it’s only getting weirder.
https://blossom.primal.net/436c6dfaf938f3527eb36f5a182f7b1e91ed38242df65cbd2c1b73ad6e291012.mov
New batch of Bitties at http://herecomesbitcoin.org. Only 20,999,852 left to go.
https://blossom.primal.net/d2d0bc446dbf1711772673deff1d757f736f63611863c881925feeb5b54e2ecb.mp4
Now that our newsletters and blog posts contain audio versions right at the top, you have no excuse not to keep up with all the important stuff we're pretending to work on. https://spiralbtc.substack.com/p/2025-q2-spiral-progress-report-5a9?publication_id=3715684&post_id=169716040&isFreemail=false&r=53cq2n&triedRedirect=true
Fatigued by the thought of another
@matbalez
diatribe? No one understands better than me, his editor. Our blogs and newsletters now have audio assets that you can listen to on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/32BzeK2OHCtcAEVEwKYuZi?si=MgMxk3xnSQyxrR6U6DgjEw
It’s time for Plushie Confidential #4. This one’s a little different in that instead of focusing on what we have done and learned so far, it serves as a rough sketch for what we will be doing as we expand our plushie business into Japan. https://spiralbtc.substack.com/p/plushie-confidential-4-logistics?publication_id=3715684&post_id=167324918&isFreemail=false&r=53cq2n&triedRedirect=true
Just use Veo3, they said. AI will be able to make him spin on his head while flailing his arms and legs, they said. He won’t look like the post-apocalyptic spawn of a bitcoin and a smoldering pile of sentient nuclear waste, they said.
CoinJoin doesn’t guarantee privacy—it just buys you a chance at privacy. One slip post-mix, and intersection attacks can trace you all the way back. Leaks compound fast, and even “perfect” mixes can collapse under real-world pressure.
All this and more in The Scroll #4, the longest document or newsletter we have ever published: https://spiralbtc.substack.com/p/the-scroll-4-intersection-attacks?publication_id=3715684&post_id=165670336&isFreemail=false&r=53cq2n&triedRedirect=true
Mining centralization is one of the biggest risks facing bitcoin. You can help solve it.
Spiral is offering a unique grant opportunity for a Senior Engineer to significantly advance Stratum V2. We’re looking for a highly skilled individual with a proven track record in Rust development, specifically within mining infrastructure and distributed systems. The ideal person will excel at building scalable, application-layer APIs, servers, and proxies for real-world deployments. You’ll be at the forefront of creating open-source building blocks for the mining ecosystem.
In this third Plushie Confidential installment, we cover the huge response that Bitty and Itty Bitty got in Japan, as well as our plans to triple down on the Japanese plushie market. Hate reading? Push play to have a dapper Englishman read it to you.
In this edition of What’s Matt Mad At Now, he covers MEVil, his talk at bitcoin++ tomorrow, Core standardness rules, and all of it flavored by his incandescent, seething, volcanic rage.