Alyssa Hertig

Alyssa Hertig

A contributing tech reporter at CoinDesk, Alyssa Hertig is a programmer and journalist specializing in Bitcoin and the Lightning Network. Over the years, her work has also appeared in VICE, Mic and Reason. She's currently writing a book exploring the ins and outs of Bitcoin governance. Alyssa owns some BTC.

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Bitcoin mining equipment
What Does Hashrate Mean and Why Does It Matter?
Miners must compete using their machines to solve a difficult mathematical problem.
Bitcoin mining equipment
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Bitcoin Core Lead Maintainer Steps Back, Encourages Decentralization
"One thing is clear: This is a serious project now, and we need to start taking decentralization seriously," said Wladimir van der Laan.
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Trading Bitcoin in Africa Is a Way for Some to Escape Poverty
Learning to trade bitcoin has become a valuable skill set for Africans looking to boost their income.
PeopleImages/iStock/Getty Images Plus
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All Major Mining Pools Now Support Taproot, Bitcoin's Biggest Upgrade in Years
Binance Pool represents 11% of Bitcoin’s mining hashrate. Adding it to the “yes” column pushes mining pool support for Taproot to about 91%.
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Statechains Scaling Solution Offers New Potential for Bitcoin Privacy
Statechains offer another way to scale bitcoin payments and could boost privacy as well.
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What Is a Blockchain Oracle?
An oracle sends data from the outside world to a blockchain so specific data, like temperature, can execute the disbursement of money.
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Bitcoin's proof-of-work algorithm is why it requires so much power and equipment.
What Is Proof-of-Work?
Proof-of-work is the blockchain-based algorithm that secures many cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Bitcoin's proof-of-work algorithm is why it requires so much power and equipment.
A completed RaspiBlitz node
Becoming Self-Sovereign: How to Set Up a Bitcoin Node, With Lightning
Setting up a RaspiBlitz Bitcoin node (with Lightning!) is an easy way to become self-sovereign and support the Bitcoin ecosystem.
A completed RaspiBlitz node
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First CoinSwap Test Could Herald an Era of Stronger Bitcoin Privacy
"A big day for bitcoin privacy," said developer Chris Belcher as he announced a test transaction implementing a promising privacy technology invented years ago
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The Federal Reserve Building in Washington, D.C.
What Is a CBDC?
A CBDC is a digital currency that is issued by a government and are usually a tokenized form of the country’s fiat currency.
The Federal Reserve Building in Washington, D.C.