Hey there,

Here are the highlights for this edition of The Faucet:

• BlackRock Resubmits Bitcoin ETF Application: BlackRock, the global investment management firm, is once again applying for a Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) spot, following a recent SEC denial reported on June 30th. The revised application, dated June 29th, addresses SEC regulators' concerns around "surveillance-sharing" arrangements, an important measure in mitigating market manipulation and fraudulent practices. Notably, the application specifically names Coinbase as their designated exchange for engaging in surveillance-sharing to alleviate the SEC’s concerns. Read more about the details of their updated application here.

• Wallby - A Trailblazing Super App Unifying Bitcoin Ecosystems: In other news, Liquid's Twitter account recently highlighted an innovative app named Wallby that aims to consolidate the fragmented side chain technologies within Bitcoin. As it stands, Wallby supports the holding of Bitcoin on the mainchain along with the RSK and Liquid sidechains. Furthermore, the team behind the app has plans to extend this support to include Lightning and RGB in the future. The app is currently available today on Android and is set to be open-sourced in the near future, a prospect that may pique the interest of tech enthusiasts eager to explore the app's architecture. This development is significant as Wallby is the first Bitcoin wallet to attempt to provide a seamless experience across these technologies, offering users the freedom to choose where to custody their Bitcoin, while hopefully elucidating the trade-offs between the various technologies. See all the details of this innovative new app here.

• Bitcoin Core Issue Sparks Fee Estimation Discussion: Lastly, a recent issue submitted to the Bitcoin Core repository has sparked a discussion about fee estimation. The current Bitcoin Core code uses a fee estimation algorithm based on how long a transaction had to wait to get accepted into a block. This methodology has proved somewhat slow in adapting to fluctuations in the feerate for transactions in recent blocks and can result in users overpaying in transaction fees. Many in the Bitcoin community, myself included, find the Bitcoin Core fee estimation algorithm largely inefficient in high fee environments and instead set custom feerates using mempool information provided by mempool.space. Fortunately, the discussion in the newly raised issue aims to explore how information from the mempool can enhance fee calculations, while also addressing the potential risks associated with this approach. Read more about the ongoing fee rate discussion here.

• Lightsats link to grab 5k sats: I decided to do something a little different for this week’s lightsats link. To claim the 5k sats, you have to replace the question mark with the answer to the question “What is the first name of the pseudonym used by the creator of Bitcoin?”: https://tinyurl.com/thefaucet-?

That's it for this edition of The Faucet. Stay tuned for more exciting updates in the world of Bitcoin!