Nostr Biweekly Review ( 1-14 July 2026)
GM, Nostriches!
The Nostr Review is a biweekly newsletter focused on protocol updates, exciting programs, the long-form content ecosystem, and key events happening in the Nostr-verse. If you’re interested, join me in covering updates from the Nostr ecosystem!
Quick review:
In the past two weeks, daily active pubkeys decreased to 251,701. New user growth declined, as profiles with bios also decreased by about 91.65%. Events totaled 11.6 million and zap volume decreased to 10.4 million sats.
Additionally, 8 pull requests were submitted to the Nostr protocol, with 2 draft. A total of 113 Nostr projects were tracked, with 13 releasing product updates. During this period, 1 notable event took place, and 2 significant events are upcoming.
Nostr Statistics
Based on user activity, the total daily active pubkeys reached 251,701, reflecting a decrease of 41.67% compared to the previous period’s 431,549. The highest daily activity was recorded on July 2nd, 2026, with 33,357 active users, representing an 8.11% decrease compared to the previous record of 36,302.
The number of new users overall experienced significant deceleration. In particular, the number of profiles with bios fell to 145,276, marking a decrease of about 91.65% compared to the previous record of 1,739,634. Furthermore, the number of new profiles with contact lists also decreased to 55,952, an 82.32% drop from 316,501. Meanwhile, pubkeys writing events fell to 173,638 within this period, representing a 30.42% drop from the previous 249,551.
In terms of content publishing, network volume decreased massively as approximately 11,662,285 total events were published during this period, representing a substantial decrease of 72.36% compared to the 42,194,881 from the previous cycle. Among them, Reposts reached a total of 251,701 within this period, marking a 66.42% decline compared to the previous 749,652.
For zap activity, the total zap amount is about 10.4 million, showing a decrease of over 35.80% compared to the previous period.
Data source: https://npub.world/stats , https://stats.andotherstuff.org/
NIPs
added proposal for metadata and drive
geralt-debugs
This PR proposes implementing a private encrypted drive on Nostr, building upon the concept originally proposed in PR #1647.
Conversation Highlights:
theLockesmith (Jul 15, 2026) shared their own encrypted drive implementation built on the same primitives (Blossom blobs + Nostr metadata events) and detailed how their design differs:
- Key storage approach: They don’t store per-file encryption keys; instead they derive them using a hierarchy: root key → folder key → file key, using HKDF at each step
- Sharing advantage: Sharing a folder only requires handing over one folder key; recipients derive all file keys beneath it, vs. the proposal’s approach of re-sharing N keys per file
- Revocation trade-off: Single file revocation is expensive (requires re-keying, new file ID, download/decrypt/re-encrypt/re-upload). Folder or root rotation is cheaper (just re-wrap the key tree)
- Crypto choices: Uses XChaCha20-Poly1305 instead of AES-GCM and chunks into one container with per-chunk nonces derived from a base nonce
Add sticker pack kinds 10031 and 30031 to Event Kinds table
vincenzopalazzo
This PR registers two event kinds used by the Sonar Stickers open sticker-pack directory.
Key Design Details:
- Deliberate placement: These kinds sit one slot above NIP-51/NIP-30 custom-emoji kinds (30030 and 10030) to avoid collisions
- Collision prevention: This ensures clients don’t accidentally parse sticker packs as emoji sets or installed-pack lists as emoji lists
- Pack format marker: sonar-sticker-pack-v1 (using pack_format tag + recommended t discovery tag)
- Sticker storage: Image bytes live on HTTPS Blossom-compatible servers; events carry sticker tags with shortcode, URL, sha256, MIME, and optional dimensions/alt text/emoji
- Hash inclusion: Sent sticker references include the plaintext hash so edited addressable packs cannot silently change old messages
- Full spec: Available at https://sonarprivacy.xyz/docs/#SONAR-STICKERS
NIP-AD: Nostr Web Addresses
fiatjaf
This is the successor to PR #2393 and introduces NIP-AD (Nostr Web Addresses), a protocol for mapping regular web URLs to Nostr events and enabling cross-platform interoperability.
Core Concept:
The NIP enables websites to serve Nostr metadata about their URLs so that when clients encounter a URL (either pasted or embedded), they can:
- Resolve the URL to a Nostr event via a .well-known/nostr.json endpoint
- Display Nostr-native references instead of broken web links
- Support hybrid experiences where content exists both as traditional web pages and Nostr events
Key Resolution Mechanism:
To get the Nostr counterpart of any URL, clients call: https://
- “relays” is optional; if absent, uses the author’s kind:10002 write relays or defaults to “relay.damus.io”
- Hash fragments are dropped; query strings are also dropped
- Percent encoding is supported for both paths and query parameters
NIP-59: relays should reject kind 13 seal events
alexgleason ,
A straightforward proposal that relays should reject kind 13 seal events since these events are only ever supposed to be used inside of giftwraps (NIP-59). By rejecting seal events at the relay level, it prevents orphaned seal events and maintains proper protocol architecture.
Conversation Highlights:
- staab reacted with a thumbs up emoji, indicating approval
- alexgleason referenced a GitLab commit from Ditto Relay that implements this rejection logic: https://gitlab.com/soapbox-pub/ditto-relay/-/commit/ddce82c040e78cc37d3a56b8a7f0448daddf3df2
Source: https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/pulls
Notable Projects
OpenDiscord - New Tool
Sofi Gros
- OpenDiscord is a Nostr-based decentralized communication platform that combines Discord’s intuitive server/channel organization and real-time voice lobbies with the open, censorship-resistant nature of the Nostr protocol.
Divine Mobile - 1.0.16
@rabble
matthew bradley, Alex Frei, Meylis
- Divine Mobile is a decentralized short-form video mobile app built on Nostr that brings back Vine’s 6-second looping video format while keeping content human-made and giving users ownership of their content, followers, and identity. This release improves app reliability, security, performance, moderation, localization, and user experience across feeds, video creation, messaging, authentication, storage, notifications, and Nostr integrations. It also adds enhancements to the video editor, camera features, DM capabilities, content protection, database encryption, and platform support for iOS, Android, macOS, and web.
- Jumble is a Nostr client for browsing relay feeds, messaging, and interacting with decentralized social content. In v26.7.1, the release adds Linux ARM64 support, enhances direct messaging with new message menus and a “scroll to latest” button, redesigns media uploads with Blossom as the default service, improves emoji management and notification filtering, and fixes numerous issues affecting DMs, media handling, the post editor, image orientation, and scrolling behavior.
- Bitchat is a decentralized peer-to-peer messaging app that combines Bluetooth mesh networking with Nostr for offline and online communication without accounts or central servers. This release adds live push-to-talk voice for DMs and mesh channels, improves mesh connectivity with peer healing and internet bridging, adds store-and-forward messaging for unreachable peers, strengthens signed media/file transfers, and improves reliability across voice, media, geo notes, testing, and app experience. Although this was the latest, there were also the releases of v1.6.0 & v1.5.4 last week.
- Nymchat is a privacy-focused ephemeral chat client built on Nostr, with integration for Bitchat-style pseudonymous temporary messaging. This release adds full app localization support and introduces automatic message translation into the user’s preferred language, improving accessibility for global users. This was the latest, and there was another release last week (v3.72.519).
- Manent is a private, encrypted notes and file storage app built on Nostr that allows users to securely store and manage their personal information with data ownership and privacy in mind. This release improves usability and reliability by enhancing toolbar interactions, adding a clearer logout warning flow, fixing sensitive note decryption issues, handling interrupted publishes correctly, resolving Android signer login problems with Amber, and improving scrolling in the bunker login interface. This was the latest release, and there was also v1.4.0 last week.
- Nostrord is a NIP-29 compatible Nostr client focused on group communication and direct messaging, enabling users to interact with decentralized communities and conversations. In v2.2.0, the release adds a master toggle to disable all direct-message features, improves direct messaging capabilities with richer interactions, and fixes desktop-related issues, including the Windows app icon and nostrord:// deep links. This was the latest, and there were also the releases of v2.1.1 & v2.1.0 last week.
Nostr WoT Extension - v0.3.86
Leon Acosta
- Nostr WoT Extension is a browser extension that manages Nostr identities, signs events, and enables Lightning payments directly from the browser while keeping user keys encrypted locally. This release redesigns the home screen with a unified Account card, strengthens security through spending cap enforcement for Lightning approvals, identity protection during account switching, signature verification for relay data, NIP-49 encrypted key backups, and clearer signing prompts. It also improves privacy by removing unnecessary browser permissions.
- NoorNote is a Nostr client that provides access to the decentralized social protocol with features focused on identity, messaging, and community experiences. This release improves profile recognition by ensuring names and pictures display consistently, fixes false unread direct message indicators, preserves dismissed prayer reminders in Nostr-Majlis, and adds a clearer onboarding relay preview showing which relays will be configured before setup. This was the latest release of the week, and there were also a few more releases last week.
- Sidecar is a browser-based Nostr keystore and signer that securely manages identities, keys, wallet connections, and event signing through a convenient sidebar interface. In v1.3.0, the release adds encrypted vault backups, NIP-49 key import/export, NIP-05 verification, improved signing prompts, multi-account safety, and enhanced site activity management. It also strengthens security with wallet spending limits, protected extension messaging, automatic keystore lockout after failed unlock attempts, and smoother account switching, approvals, notifications, and overall usability.
- Kubo is a child-safe video platform built on Nostr that allows parents to curate their children’s content experience using Web of Trust filters and trusted communities. This release adds a new tablet mode for child feeds with a customizable video grid layout, introduces photo sharing in group chats, and improves usability by keeping important buttons accessible above the keyboard on Android and ensuring parent navigation remains available on tablets and larger screens.
SNSTR (Secure Nostr Software Toolkit for Renegades) - v0.3.4
- SNSTR is a lightweight TypeScript library for building applications that interact with the Nostr protocol. In v0.3.4, the release centralizes NIP-01 event validation, strengthens relay security by enforcing stricter validation of signed events and tag formats, adds configurable timestamp drift settings for relays, and improves reliability through better timestamp validation and more robust asynchronous validation testing.
9qeklajc
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- Routstr Core is a FastAPI-based reverse proxy that sits in front of OpenAI-compatible APIs and handles pay-per-request billing. In v0.4.4, the release improves payment configuration, Lightning and Cashu handling, API compatibility, provider forwarding, streaming support, pricing accuracy, security protections, key management, rate limiting, and Docker/deployment reliability.
Long-Form Content Eco
In the past two weeks, approximately 12,492 kind 30023 events have been tracked (long-form articles), with over 40% being Bitcoin related articles and 60% related to Nostr and other topics across the Nostr Ecosystem.
The digital space is moving fast right now, and the conversations happening across the network reflect a community ready for what comes next. People are asking if the future really holds good prospects. Based on the recent chatter, the optimism is incredibly contagious. Here is a look at what has everyone talking.
Financial Freedom and the CBDC Ban
A major point of celebration is the recent block on Central Bank Digital Currencies in the United States. The community sees this as a massive win for financial freedom and privacy. With government digital dollars hitting a wall, the idea of Bitcoin as the undisputed currency of the future is gaining even more momentum alongside other major tech updates.
Reclaiming Our Attention
There is a deep discussion happening about how the legacy internet hijacks our minds in a constant battle for attention. To counter this, users are focusing on finding their specific Nostr community. People want less algorithmic manipulation and more genuine “slice of life” moments, where they can share updates without a corporate filter dictating what they see.
Global Connections and Offline Meetups
The push to take these online connections into the real world is stronger than ever. Timelines are filled with plans for Bitcoin meetups across the UK, proving that decentralized tech actually brings people together in person.
Tech Updates and Football
Of course, no ecosystem is complete without a healthy dose of sports. The daily updates comparing decentralized protocols to centralized platforms are currently sharing screen space with heavy World Cup highlights.
We might be figuring out how to reshape global finance and secure digital sovereignty, but we still need to know if the referee actually blew that call.
Thank you,
and others, for your work. Enriching Nostr’s long-form content ecosystem is crucial.
Nostriches Global Meet Ups
Recently, two (1) Notable Nostr and Bitcoin events have been hosted.
- Digital Freedom with Nostr & Bitcoin - Took place Sunday, July 05, 2026 at Jives Coffee Lounge, 16 Colbrunn Ct, Colorado Springs, CO, United States
Here are the upcoming Nostr and Bitcoin events that you might want to check out.
- Nostr London Meetup (2140) — July 2026 - Takes place Wednesday, July 29, 2026 at (TBA)
- Digital Freedom with Nostr & Bitcoin - Takes place Sunday, August 02, 2026 at Jives Coffee Lounge, 16 Colbrunn Ct, Colorado Springs, CO, United States
Thanks for reading! If there’s anything I missed, feel free to reach out and help improve the completeness and accuracy of my coverage.
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