Bitcoin Optech newsletter #386 is here:
- summarizes a vault-like scheme using blinded MuSig2
- describes a proposal for Bitcoin clients to announce and negotiate support for new P2P features
- links to 2106 timestamp overflow discussion and considerations around BIP54
- notes a CTV activation meeting and CTV footgun discussion
- summarizes the OP_CHECKCONSOLIDATION proposal
- links to a report of hash-based post-quantum signature schemes
- Optech Newsletter #386 Podcast
https://bitcoinops.org/en/newsletters/2026/01/02/
Jonathan T. Halseth posted to Delving Bitcoin a prototype of a vault-like scheme using blinded co-signers. Unlike traditional setups using co-signers, this scheme uses a blinded version of MuSig2 to ensure the signers know as little as possible about the funds they are involved in signing...
https://bitcoinops.org/en/newsletters/2026/01/02/#building-a-vault-using-blinded-co-signers
Anthony Towns posted to the Bitcoin-Dev mailing list about a proposal for a new BIP to define a P2P message that would allow peers to announce and negotiate support for new features...
https://bitcoinops.org/en/newsletters/2026/01/02/#peer-feature-negotiation
Asher Haim posted to the Bitcoin-Dev mailing list asking Bitcoin developers to act promptly to prepare for a migration from uint32 to uint64 block timestamps...
https://bitcoinops.org/en/newsletters/2026/01/02/#year-2106-timestamp-overflow-uint64-migration
Josh Doman posted to the Bitcoin-Dev mailing list and Delving Bitcoin asking whether it’s might be worthwhile to modify the consensus cleanup proposal to be more permissive to odd block timestamp behavior to allow a potential soft fork solution to the 2106 block timestamp overflow issue...
https://bitcoinops.org/en/newsletters/2026/01/02/#relax-bip54-timestamp-restriction-for-2106-soft-fork
Chris Stewart posted to Delving Bitcoin a discussion of a “footgun” with OP_CHECKTEMPLATEVERIFY (CTV)...
https://bitcoinops.org/en/newsletters/2026/01/02/#understanding-and-mitigating-a-ctv-footgun
Developer 1440000bytes hosted a CTV (BIP119) activation meeting...
https://bitcoinops.org/en/newsletters/2026/01/02/#ctv-activation-meeting
billymcbip proposed an opcode specifically optimized for consolidations. OP_CHECKCONSOLIDATION (CC) would evaluate to 1 if and only if it’s executed on an input with the same scriptPubKey as an earlier input in the same transaction...
https://bitcoinops.org/en/newsletters/2026/01/02/#op-checkconsolidation-to-enable-cheaper-consolidations
Mikhail Kudinov and Jonas Nick posted to the Bitcoin-Dev mailing list about their work on evaluating hash-based signatures for use in Bitcoin...
https://bitcoinops.org/en/newsletters/2026/01/02/#hash-based-signatures-for-bitcoin-s-post-quantum-future
Bitcoin Optech will host an audio recap discussion of this newsletter on http://Riverside.fm Tuesday at 17:30 UTC. Join us to discuss or ask questions!
https://riverside.com/studio/bitcoin-optech
Another solid reminder that Bitcoin keeps evolving through careful, technical discussion rather than hype security, future proofing and boring details exactly where the real work gets done.
Cool details about the CTV footgun. I missed that one. Looks like a full newsletter!