I'm planning on setting up my own Electrum server to access my wallet with optimal privacy. But it's going to be a couple months before I'll be able to get it up and running. So meanwhile, I'm wondering which server or servers to use in case I need to access the wallet before my own server is ready. I realize there's no way to know for sure, other than having your own server; but are there any that have at least a relatively good reputation for not snooping on users?

They've been saying for decades that usable fusion power (i.e., a fusion reactor that produces significantly more energy than it takes to run it) is five years away. It's like the mirage in the desert, keeps moving away as you think you're getting close. I'm starting to wonder if it will ever be accomplished. Imagine what a contribution this would make to humanity. No more need for fossil fuels and nuclear fission power, both of which are dirty and harmful. And practically limitless energy to run the bitcoin blockchain, no more worrying about energy costs.

I could try a Google search, but that would probably just deliver lies and misinformation. Does anyone on this forum have any knowledge or insights about the real possibility of this technology one day powering the world?

...and is it possible to achieve this highest entropy with a 12-word seed phrase? (Not enough space for complete question in subject field)

I'm trying to figure out what is the most secure seed phrase possible for a BIP-39 bitcoin seed, and whether it's possible to achieve this with a 12-word phrase, with or without a passphrase. I'm no expert in cryptography, but I've been reading up on it and it looks like modern bitcoin seeds are capable of 256 bits of entropy in theory, but only 128 in practice, at least if one is using BIP-39 HD wallets, which is currently the standard. As long as one uses a sufficiently random method for generating the seed, such as dice-rolls, 12 words is sufficient to produce 128 bits of entropy. Does that mean that, in practice, no additional entropy can be achieved for the seed, whether using a passphrase or a longer seed phrase such as 24 words?

I hope I was able to phrase the question clearly. I'm just wondering whether there's really any reason to opt for a 24-word seed phrase when it doesn't offer any real-world gain in seed security. Passphrases have other uses of course, but it seems they're not necessary for maximizing seed entropy.

Title says it all. Will electrs work on a Linux VM running on a Macbook?

BTC 24h trade volume is unusually high today, even for a time of high volatility. It's at just over $330 billion according to coingecko. That's the highest I've seen it in awhile. Any idea what's driving the high volume?

I'm looking for a good security camera to take on trips. Something portable that doesn't take up too much luggage space. I checked out the nanny cams but most of those are cheap and don't have good security features. Other than that, not finding much good information through internet search. I'm looking for something with night vision and motion detection, preferably with either a hard power-off switch or removable battery so I know it's off when I don't want it recording. And an app for remote monitoring by phone. Anything like that out there?

Is it possible to get a new address to deposit bitcoin to on Binance? I try to avoid using the same address too many times, but there doesn't seem to be a way to change addresses on Binance.

I'm planning on switching my full node to a new laptop and I'm wondering if I should re-download the blockchain, or if I can just copy my current blockchain and import it to the new device.

Another, related question is: can I copy the blockchain to an SD card and then run it off the SD card on both machines, whichever one I'm using at the time? both laptops have SD card ports, so I'm thinking this could be a convenient way to be able to keep the blockchain current while switching my node between them.

When I search the forum, all the threads listed come from years ago, around 2013 and earlier? Is there a way to show the most recent threads?

Is Paxful still operating? If so, what kind of trade volume do they have?

Title says it all. I'm wondering if users of Exness and Skilling are able to deposit BTC and exchange it for fiat, like on the classic exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance etc. Or do they just trade derivatives and stuff like that?

I want to send all remaining BTC out of my Sparrow wallet in a single transaction, so that I don't have to pay 2 separate miner fees to empty the wallet. Most of the balance is in the deposits sub-wallet, but there's also some in the bad bank wallet. Is it possible to send all UTXOs from entire wallet in a single transaction? I'm not concerned about mixing bad bank funds with other funds, it's not a concern for present purposes.

I'm trying to recover the BTC from a Mycelium wallet from a lost phone. My replacement phone is an iPhone and I no longer have an Android phone, so I'm trying to recover the funds with a different wallet. (I'd rather not ask somebody to let me use their Android phone for something like this, so please don't suggest it as a solution.)

I've tried 4 different wallets, and none of them is recovering the full balance form the seed, and they're giving different balances which is weird. Both Sparrow and Electrum give exact same results, same number of transactions and zero balance. BlueWallet shows a larger number of transactions with a balance, but it's less than the amount I know was in the wallet. Apple Mycelium is useless, showing no transaction history at all. I was using different HD accounts in Mycelium, maybe other wallets have difficulties with that feature?

There's no indication that someone found the phone and emptied the wallet, as the last transaction shown on any of the wallets I've tried is from months ago, even though I know there are much more recent transactions. Is there a way to recover the full balance without an Android phone? The amount is significant, but not enough to justify buying an android phone just to use Mycelium for this purpose. Any ideas? It seems like no other wallet is really capable of completely importing a Mycelium seed. Is there an Android emulator that I can use on a PC to run Mycelium?

All the hardware wallets support BIP39 seed phrases, but I'm curious whether any can import electrum seed phrases?

I've been using Mycelium on Android but keep hearing the iPhone version of Mycelium doesn't work well. What are some good options for iPhone? It's only for BTC so no need for altcoin features.

I'm always looking for new ways to use bitcoin to pay for stuff. Not looking to buy a Lambo or a mansion, mostly just useful everyday stuff. I don't live in El Salvador so my options are limited. Two of the best services I've come across are Travala.com for hotels and flights, and bitrefill.com for gift cards. Purse.io was great for spending on Amazon, but they went out of business recently.

Any other good options out there? I only consider options with no KYC, so that means debit cards are out.

Hey all,

I'm wondering if any new apps or websites have appeared that facilitate face-to-face trades of cash for crypto, since Agoradesk and Localmonero ceased operations. Or any on the way?

I'm wondering what are the options are for making a homemade DIY wallet? I say homemade because the commercial devices with DIY options (such as Blockstream Jade, SeedSigner, Specter, etc) do not have some of the main features I seek in such a wallet. For one, such wallets are not optimal for travel, since they are easily recognizable as purpose-built devices made for storing and spending bitcoin. They even tend to be prominently labeled with brand names and logos suggestive of their purpose, so that even someone unaware of hardware wallets might guess their purpose. I would prefer to avoid the possibility of airport security or similar types recognizing the device, as bitcoin and related technologies become increasingly well known around the world, in particular to security personel. Secondly, they are difficult to purchase anonymously and I'd rather not leave such a direct record of my having obtained such a device.

A laptop-sized airgapped device is also unsuitable, as another feature I seek is maximal portability, something that could fit into a commuter-size backpack along with my main laptop and other items when there's no room for extra luggage. So, I'm looking for something that combines the best of both worlds, the portability of a purpose-built device and the non-conspicuousness of an airgapped all-purpose device such as a laptop. For example, a Raspberry Pi might fit the bill, as long is it can run Electrum. Would that be possible, or are there other ways of making such a device?

I'm running Sparrow connected to a public server, with tor proxy enabled. I believe this means servers and mixers can't see my real IP address, but just wanted to confirm here. One other question, are there any issues with running a VPN simultaneously with tor proxy, if I'm only using the proxy for Sparrow?

I just started using Sparrow and I'm wondering if there's a way to change from the server I selected when opening my first wallet. I would expect this to be possible, but I'm not finding the option anywhere in the settings.

I'm trying to configure a tor proxy so I can use the tor feature, and to do this I have to change/reconfigure the server. Also, is it possible to use tor with a public server? I don't have my own full node or personal electrum server at this time, so public is my only option. I'm wondering if it's possible to use an external proxy to use tor with a public server.