Hello Saturday Stacker!😁
Bitcoin and AI are changing how we build, learn and protect our money.😯
This year, a volunteer with no coding experience used AI to build a Bitcoin payment verification system for African merchants.
At the same time, a vulnerability in Coldcard wallets exposed how AI-assisted security research can uncover weaknesses in Bitcoin infrastructure, and how those weaknesses can put users' funds at risk.
The lesson is clear: AI is a powerful tool, but it cannot replace verification.
For African Bitcoiners, AI creates new opportunities to build useful products, translate educational resources into local languages and develop services that reach beyond borders.
With tools like Lightning, developers can also explore ways for software to send and receive Bitcoin payments without traditional payment intermediaries.
But the same technology can help attackers discover vulnerabilities faster. AI-assisted security reviews are valuable, yet they are not foolproof.
The Coldcard incident showed that even publicly available code and previous security reviews can leave critical weaknesses undiscovered.
This matters for Africa's Bitcoin ecosystem, where community projects, merchants and circular economies often depend on self-custody wallets and open-source payment infrastructure.
The way forward is to use AI responsibly: build, test, verify and support the developers securing Bitcoin's infrastructure. Keep your wallets and payment systems updated, follow official security advisories and never assume an AI review guarantees safety.
Bitcoin gives us control over our money. AI can help us build more with that freedom, but protecting it still requires human judgment and responsibility. | 
