If you're in the UK, you can't buy bitcoin on a centralised exchange until you pass a test. The FCA calls this an "appropriateness assessment", and it’s supposed to prove you understand how risky and volatile it all is. This is a routine bit of friction that UK stackers will be familiar with.

But last week a thought struck me: what if they made you pass a test before opening an ordinary fiat bank account? Prove you understand where your money actually goes, who legally owns it, and how much of it is really protected?

So I built it! Ironically I expect only bitcoiners will be able to pass it.

https://bennet.org/blog/fca-knowledge-test-fiat-banking/

Just published an interactive explainer on the Lightning network ⚡️ It includes a liquidity routing puzzle, which I think is a fun way to grasp the channel liquidity concept.

https://bennet.org/learn/how-lightning-network-actually-works/

As always, comments and shares appreciated. Keep stacking. #bitcoin #lightning

Just published my explainer + tutorial on Silent Payments (BIP-352): https://bennet.org/learn/silent-payments-bitcoin-privacy/

Publish one reusable `sp1` address and share it anywhere, yet every payment lands on a different on-chain address, with no public link between them. No XPUB, no sender interaction.

Sparrow + a Frigate server makes it practical to set up and test today, even without running your own node. #bitcoin #privacy

Been working on this a long time: https://bennet.org/learn/what-is-bitcoin/

It’s a first-principles explainer of Bitcoin, with interactive demos throughout. Incorporates much of what I’ve built this past year. Feedback / suggestions appreciated 🙏

I’ve built an interactive explainer for Bitcoin mining - it walks through hashing, proof-of-work, and the difficulty adjustment from first principles. Enjoy!

https://bennet.org/learn/proof-of-work-what-bitcoin-mining-really-does/

Interactive explainer of HD wallets, derivation paths, and bitcoin addresses

https://bennet.org/learn/hierarchical-determinism-how-bitcoin-hd-wallets-are-born/