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Monthly Archives: January 2025

Backing Open-Source: 2024 Highlights!

Posted on January 9, 2025 - 11:38 am by

Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) is at the heart of innovation. By making source code freely available for anyone to review, modify, and improve, FOSS ensures that progress is driven by collaboration and transparency rather than gatekeeping. At Foundation, this ethos is woven into everything we do. From our earliest products to those on the horizon, our commitment has always been (and always will be) to release all of our work under free open licenses.

But our dedication to FOSS doesn’t end with our own tools. We actively contribute to other Bitcoin & FOSS projects, fix bugs upstream, propose & implement new features, and share improvements that can benefit the entire ecosystem. This collective approach not only strengthens the software we rely on but also helps advance the broader community as a whole. Over the past year, we’ve continued to champion FOSS by enhancing our products and supporting our peers’ efforts.

Below are some of the highlights of our 2024 contributions:

Moved Our Tor Library to an MIT License

We re-licensed our Tor library under MIT to make it more accessible to other wallets. This Rust-based library simplifies Tor implementation, and wallets like Cake Wallet and Stack Wallet are already integrating. We hope to encourage even more projects to adopt privacy-preserving technologies like Tor.

You can learn more here.

Enhancements to BIP329

We proposed and added a new key called spendable to the BIP329 standard to represent “blocked” or “frozen” coins. Multiple wallets, including Envoy and Sparrow, have implemented this enhancement, helping standardize how wallets handle coin states.

PR here.

Bug Fixes for Sparrow Wallet’s Hummingbird UR

We addressed a bug in Sparrow Wallet’s hummingbird Java UR implementation that prevented scans of the latest QR format. This fix also aided Casa in resolving a related issue with Passport, underscoring how upstream contributions can ripple through multiple projects.

PR here.

Major Cleanup in Xous-Core’s Cargo-xtask

We contributed significant bug fixes and cleanup to xous-core‘s cargo-xtask code, addressing clippy warnings and simplifying the code. cargo-xtask allows Rust developers to script various tasks beyond standard cargo commands, improving developer productivity and code quality and is used by Xous to streamline the OS building, running and testing process.

PR here.

Rust-Bitcoin Minimal Version Fix

We fixed a version mismatch in the rust-bitcoin ecosystem that caused compilation failures when using cargo build -Z minimal-versions. Ensuring compatibility with minimal-versions helps maintain a healthy and robust library dependency chain.

PR here.

Upstream Bug Fix in ‘ffi.rs’

Fixed a bug in the Xous version of Rust stdlib ffi.rs, a thin layer for making Xous system calls from the rust standard library.

PR here.

Compilation Fixes for ‘nrf-softdevice’

Fixed a compilation error for nrf52805  in the nrf-softdevice repository for embassy-rs. This library allows to access Nordic’s SoftDevice library with C API from Rust.

PR here.

ARM-v7A CRC Intrinsics in ‘stdarch’

Added missing ARM-v7A CRC intrinsics to the stdarch library of rust-lang. This now allows access to some of the SIMD instructions from the Rust code, without using inline assembly.

PR here.

Corrections to ‘rust-fatfs’

Fixed an issue with the rust-fatfs library, that was effectively creating malformed filesystem images. rust-fatfs is a library that can parse, read and write FAT32 filesystem images.

PR here.

Feature Requests and Issues Opened

  • Sparrow Wallet: We opened an issue that led to adding SD card message signing support. This feature was crucial for our own Passport hardware wallet but will also benefit other Sparrow users.
  • BTCPayServer: We identified a bug in the PSBT implementation for taproot addresses, which the BTCPay team promptly fixed. Their update ensures smoother compatibility for hardware wallets using Taproot and the PSBT standard.

Contributions to GNU Guix

Several contributions were made to the GNU Guix Linux distribution and package manager. This software emphasizes reproducibility and is built to ensure that any given package matches its definition and source code at all times. It is completely free software (as in freedom), so it doesn’t contain any binary blobs. Bitcoin Core uses GNU Guix for reproducible builds, and the Foundation is exploring it for reproducible firmware builds by creating a complete reproducible toolchain for embedded software development.

This year we:

  • Refactored the GNU Guix code base to make xtensa-ath9k-elf an official target, which is used to build the firmware for ath9k Wi-Fi adapters. See here.
  • Refactored GNU Guix to add the or1k-elf-embedded target to build the firmware of some Allwinner Sunix SoCs. See here. These refactorings are in preparation to add a complete arm-none-eabi with newlib toolchain in the future for embedded development. See here.
  • Applied a fix for the compilation of cross-compiler packages, part of the ongoing work to improve embedded firmware development in GNU Guix. See here.
  • Some modules from arguments were removed as a result of the addition of the AVR target to GNU Guix. See here.
  • Fixed the podman and distrobox packages for GNU Guix. These are packages we use to create reproducible environments for Passport firmware compilation. Distrobox allows us to create the same development environment used in Docker and Podman. See here and here.
  • Added a patch set that improves the reliability of Rust crates in GNU Guix by compiling and testing some of the crates. See here.
  • Applied a small fix to make a package visible in GNU Guix, as part of the refactoring for embedded development. See here.
  • Applied a small patch to fix the compilation of python-pyside-2, the Python Qt library. We don’t directly use this, but another program we were using was not compiling because of this failure, so we fixed it upstream. See here.
  • Added the latest version of ocaml-sedlex to GNU Guix and removed some bundled unicode files to use the distribution provided ones. See here.

We also updated multiple libraries multiple times. Most notably:

Partnership with Slint

We teamed up with the Slint UI team to implement 9-slice image support for their Image element, a feature we needed for our Passport Prime UI. Even though we funded this effort, we chose to open-source it, benefiting the broader Slint community and developers who rely on this powerful UI toolkit. So, it was released in Slint version 1.5.

Partnership with Blockchain Commons

Foundation is an ongoing sponsor of Blockchain Commons, an organization that works with developer communities to design, build, and maintain secure & compassionate decentralized architectures & tools for digital assets & digital identity.

We’ve been working with them for several years now, and we have actively contributed to the adoption of standards such as the Uniform Resources (animated QR codes) standard.

In addition to our ongoing support, we funded some important work on the Gordian Sealed Transport Protocol (GSTP). This is the protocol on which our QuantumLink secure Bluetooth technology is based. We are planning a separate blog post on this topic, where we will dive into the technical details of how this protocol works, and more about the Blockchain Commons team, so stay tuned for that.

Conclusion

As we close out 2024, we’re incredibly proud of all the hard work our team has poured into these FOSS initiatives. From fixing bugs and upstreaming improvements to actively collaborating on new features, we’ve shown that our commitment to free and open-source software goes far beyond our own products. It’s a pledge to support the broader ecosystem, the developers, projects, and communities that power it.

Our focus remains the same as we step into the future: keep every product and tool we create fully open source, contribute wherever we can, and champion the ideals of transparency, security, and collaboration that FOSS embodies. Thank you for following along on our journey. We’ll continue making open-source innovation a reality for everyone.

Foundation Updates: 2024 Recap

Posted on January 6, 2025 - 12:42 pm by

Welcome to our December edition of Foundation Updates! As we wrap up 2024, we’re celebrating a remarkable year full of exciting milestones, major announcements, and incredible growth, all made possible by your unwavering support. We want to thank our amazing community for making 2024 one for the books. Here’s a recap of some key highlights.

February: Passport & Envoy Upgrades

In February, we introduced support for Taproot transactions and added the option to export Passport’s master seed via SeedQR, giving you more flexibility in managing your keys.

Envoy also gained full “Replace-by-Fee” (RBF) control, making coin control easier than ever. Check out our coin control YouTube tutorial and RBF tweet thread for a detailed breakdown.

March: New Website & Halving Celebration

March brought the launch of our brand-new website, and your enthusiasm was incredible. Zach (our CEO) tweeted a behind-the-scenes look at how it was built.

We also teamed up with 21 other teams on X to celebrate the Bitcoin Halving, hosting fun giveaways and counting down to this major milestone in Bitcoin’s history. 🎉

June: “Buy Bitcoin” in Envoy

June was all about convenience. We unveiled a new “Buy Bitcoin” button in Envoy, making it simple to purchase Bitcoin directly into self-custody. For more information, read our blog post.

Meanwhile, Passport deepened its compatibility with Theya, Coinbits, and Zeus, giving you more tools to secure and manage your Bitcoin.

July: Nashville Bitcoin Conference

In July, we traveled to Nashville for the Bitcoin Conference, where we were thrilled to meet so many of you in person at our booth. The warm welcome, exciting conversations, and seeing folks pick up a Passport right on the spot made it an event to remember.

August: Vault Concierge & Ambassador Program

August saw the launch of our Vault Concierge Multi-sig service, a hands-on experience that walks you through multi-sig step by step, combining advanced security with guidance from our expert team. Want the full rundown? Head over to our website for all the details.

We also introduced our Ambassador Program and were blown away by the number of you who signed up. Your enthusiasm continues to amaze us. Thank you for spreading the word and representing our community so well. We love rewarding you at the end of each month. Since the Ambassador Program launched, we’ve paid out over $6,000 in rewards, and we can’t wait to see how you’ll continue to help us grow! Not a part of our ambassador team yet? You can sign up here.

September: Ephemeral Seeds & Tor Library Update

In September, Passport received another upgrade: ephemeral seed support. This feature lets you temporarily load seeds in three different ways, giving you even more options for how you interact with your passport. You can learn more here.

We also changed our Tor library license to help developers seamlessly integrate Tor into their apps and build for privacy. Developers, this is for you. Read more here.

October: FREE Self-Custody Email Course

October brought the launch of our free Self-Custody Email Course. This easy-to-follow guide covers everything from the fundamentals of Bitcoin to understanding keys and seeds. We hope it helps you and anyone you share it with get started confidently on their self-custody journey.

November: Community Transition & Passport Prime Teasers

In November, we moved our community from Telegram to a dedicated Discourse-based forum. This move gave us better security features and helps us keep scammers at bay. You can read more about this shift in our blog post.

We also started teasing images of Passport Prime, hinting at the big announcement we’d reveal in December.

December: Satoshi Christmas & Passport Prime

December was packed with holiday spirit as we took part in “Satoshi Christmas” on X with 21 other great Bitcoin teams. We counted down to the holidays and handed out prizes. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

The real showstopper of the year was our official reveal of Passport Prime, our most significant announcement yet. We can’t wait to get it into your hands and see the incredible ways you’ll use it and what you will build. You can watch the full keynote announcement here if you missed it.

What a Year!

We could go on for much longer too! We also launched a new documentation website, hosted self-custody workshops at PubKey, attended the Oslo Freedom Forum to donate Passport to freedom fighters and featured in over 30 podcasts.

2024 was our best year yet, growing in every way imaginable, and we couldn’t have done it without your incredible support. As we spring into 2025, we’re more committed than ever to our ethos of creating products that are simple, secure, and help you improve your sovereignty.

We remain laser-focused on getting Passport Prime into your hands as soon as possible. Your trust and enthusiasm fuel our passion for building better tools and experiences. Get ready for our biggest year yet. Stay tuned for more exciting updates.

Much love, Team Foundation 🧡