Nostr Biweekly Review ( 1-14 Dec 2025)

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 reached 173,793. New user growth increased, and profiles with bios also increased by over 122.44%. Note events totaled 6.4 million and zap volume had decreased to 16 million sats. Additionally, 8 pull requests were submitted to the Nostr protocol, with 7 merged. A total of 100 Nostr projects were tracked, with 8 releasing product updates. During this period, 3 notable events took place, and 3 significant events are upcoming.

Nostr Statistics#

Based on user activity, the total daily active pubkeys reached 173,793, reflecting a decrease of 22.24% compared to the previous period. The highest daily activity was recorded on December 10th, with 13,936 active users, representing a 9.74% decrease compared to the previous record of 15,440.

The number of new users overall has increased from the last period. In particular, the number of profiles with bios rose to 145,045, marking a significant increase of about 122.44% compared to the previous record of 65,207. The number of new profiles with contact lists rose to 129,437 and pubkeys writing events also increased to 368,360 within this period.

In terms of content publishing, approximately 6.4 million note events were published during this period, representing a decrease of about 20.99% compared to the previous cycle. Among them, Reposts reached a total of 313,325 within this period.

For zap activity, the total zap amount is about 16 million, showing a decrease of over 32.77% compared to the previous period.

Data source: https://stats.nostr.band/

NIPs#

https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/pull/2159 Add optional 'languages' field to kind 0 extra metadata #2159

https://github.com/mattn

This update proposes adding an optional languages array to Kind 0 (user metadata) in NIP-24, allowing users to specify multiple preferred languages in order of priority (using IETF BCP 47 tags) to improve content discovery and relay matching.

https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/pull/2157 blurhash in favor of thumbhash #2157

https://github.com/dtonon

⁠daniele

This update proposed adding an optional, single language string to Kind 0 (user metadata) in NIP-24, but it was superseded by PR #2159, which changed the field to an array (languages) to support multiple language preferences.

https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/pull/2156 (Proposed) - Paywall/Premium Content #2156

https://github.com/fiatjaf

⁠fiatjaf

This Pull Request introduces a new NIP (NIP-63) aiming to standardize how paywalled or premium content is handled within the Nostr protocol.

https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/pull/2151 PoW-Based Identities and Actions #2151

https://github.com/steliosrammos

This Pull Request introduces a set of three conceptual NIPs aimed at enabling fully anonymous identities and private interactions (likes/views) on the Nostr protocol using Zero-Knowledge (ZK) proofs and Proof-of-Work (PoW).

Source: https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nips/pulls

Notable Projects#

https://yakihonne.com/note/nevent1qgszpxr0hql8whvk6xyv5hya7yxwd4snur4hu4mg5rctz2ehekkzrvcpr4mhxue69uhkummnw3ez6vpj9eukz6mfdphkumn99e3k7mf0qywhwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytfsxyh8jcttd95x7mnwv5hxxmmd9uqzp6vtzr7nmf5cv94qfcj93xzzumzh5drpqq5ky6ksxay4h2vlgjawzmlh7p

⁠YakiHonne

YakiHonne latest hot fixes and improvements:

Fix scrolling stuck behaviour
Fix nostr scheme decoding issue
Fix audio controller not being dismissed properly

https://github.com/greenart7c3/Amber/releases/tag/v4.0.4- v4.0.4-pre1

⁠Amber

Amber is a Nostr event signer for Android that securely manages keys and signs events. This update fixes a NullPointerException, improves performance on the activity screen, and adds translations for some event kinds, enhancing stability, usability, and accessibility for users managing Nostr events on Android. This was the latest release and there was also the release of v4.0.3 last week.

https://github.com/coracle-social/flotilla/releases/tag/1.6.2- 1.6.2

⁠hodlbod

Flotilla is a Discord-like Nostr client that organizes communication around the concept of “relays as groups,” providing users with a group chat experience on the Nostr network. This update fixes modal scrolling and style issues, improving the user interface and interaction for a smoother, more visually consistent chat experience. This makes it easier and more pleasant for end users to navigate conversations and group features.

https://github.com/Spl0itable/NYM/releases/tag/v2.24.61 Ynstant Messenger - v2.24.61

⁠Luxas

Nostr Ynstant Messenger is a lightweight chat client built on the Nostr protocol, offering both ephemeral and persistent messaging while bridging with Bitchat for anonymous, temporary chats. This release adds the ability to toggle read receipts in private messages and includes a hotfix lowering the price of certain in-app shop items. These changes give users more privacy control and improve in-app usability. This was the latest release and there was also the release of v2.23.60 last week.

https://github.com/keychat-io/keychat-app/releases/tag/v1.37.3%2B6478- v1.37.3+6478

⁠Keychat

Keychat is an end-user chat app built on Bitcoin Ecash, Nostr, Signal, and MLS protocols. This update refines the browser interface with a redesigned menu and improved user-customizable settings, allows multiple identities to add the same account as a friend, and adds a “Check Status” button to monitor failed or pending transactions, enhancing usability, transparency, and overall user experience.

https://github.com/sanah9/noscall/releases/tag/v0.4.1-release- v0.4.1

⁠sana

NosCall is a communication app that provides secure audio and video calling built on the Nostr protocol. This release improves the pop-up UI on the Me page for a smoother, more polished experience and fixes several known issues, resulting in better stability, performance, and overall call reliability for users.

https://codeberg.org/dluvian/gitplaza/releases/tag/v0.25.0- v0.25.0

⁠dluvian

Gitplaza is a desktop Nostr client focused on managing Git-related activity. This release introduces an advanced kind filter for the inbox feed, includes regular zaps in filters, and simplifies tab text formatting. Performance improvements optimize comment tree loading, reduce unnecessary database queries, use cached comment branches for faster display, and lower unknown profile requests, resulting in a faster, more efficient, and smoother user experience. This was the biggest release and there was also the releases of v0.24.0, v0.25.1 last week.

https://github.com/Spl0itable/nosflare/releases/tag/v8.9.26- v8.9.26

⁠Luxas

Nosflare is a serverless Nostr relay built on Cloudflare’s infrastructure using CFNDB (Cloudflare Nostr Database) with Workers, Durable Objects, Queues, and R2 Object Storage. This release delivers a critical hotfix addressing a bug that could cause websocket failures, ensuring more stable and reliable connections for users and applications relying on the relay.

Long-Form Content Eco#

In the past two weeks, approximately 450 to 550 long-form articles have been published, with over 48% being Bitcoin related articles and 52% related to Nostr and other topics across the Nostr Ecosystem. The core discussion around decentralized technologies has shifted from institutional adoption to grassroots innovation, focusing heavily on technical inclusivity and identity refinement.

The central focus on The Nostr Ecosystem has moved from platform comparisons to enhancing global interoperability, ensuring the protocol serves a diverse, multilingual user base.

Key topics now emphasize:

Global Reach & Multilingual Support: A major push to refine user metadata (Kind 0) with new language tagging standards (NIP-24), enabling better content discovery and relay matching for non-English communities.
Nostr's Connection to the World: The development of decentralized reputation systems and tools that bridge cultural and linguistic gaps.
Expanding Nostr Communities across the Globe.

Discussions about Bitcoin have shifted to reinforcing its core principles and achieving financial sovereignty through direct control over assets, moving away from broad institutional narratives.

Focus areas include:

Privacy & Legal Defense: A rallying cry around the Samourai Wallet trials, framing privacy tools and CoinJoin as essential human rights and organizing defense funds for open-source developers.
Sovereign Custody & Education: Deep dives into the Bitcoin Canon to combat "fiat thinking," alongside practical guides on "Uncle Jim" custody models and Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC) for seamless, self-sovereign spending.
Scaling & The Fee Market: Technical comparisons between the Lightning Network and Chaumian Ecash (Cashu), prioritizing privacy and user experience over passive institutional ETF adoption.
Other articles revolving around the recent dip in bitcoin’s price were also prominent.

Broader topics continue to connect technology with personal and global well-being:

Leadership scaling and personal development.
Politics exploring Bitcoin's role in economic independence outside of centralized state control.

Thank you,

and others, for your work. Enriching Nostr’s long-form content ecosystem is crucial.

Nostriches Global Meet Ups#

Recently, five (3) Notable Nostr and Bitcoin events have been hosted.

https://www.meetup.com/bitcoin-lightning-and-nostr-plebs/events/mlcdqtyhcqbkb/ Freedom with Nostr & Bitcoin - 7th December 2025 Took place at Jives Coffee Lounge where Nostr and Bitcoin will be discussed. Also, attendees will be helped to set up your free Nostr account, free Bitcoin Lightning wallet, etc.

https://plektos.app/event/naddr1qvzqqqrukvpzps78xgf0kmxc35dvcx8ksjwxvrzx50yh9066wek9jwxsvj0amjmuqq3kxmmjdeukx6rpwshxxmmd94hx7um5wfexzerfduknzdekx5crzdfjxqcq96vvp9 live talk radio - 6th December 2025 Took place virtually at https://cornychat.com/nostrradio

https://www.bitcoinbeach.com/ International Bitcoin Circular Economy Summit The "1st International Bitcoin Circular Economy Summit" has occurred in El Zonte, El Salvador, with a second, regional summit which took place on December 6, 2025, in Port Louis, Mauritius. The summit's goal is to connect people building Bitcoin-based communities and to discuss strategies for creating sustainable, local economies that use Bitcoin.

Here are the upcoming Nostr and Bitcoin events that you might want to check out.

https://www.meetup.com/bitcoin-lightning-and-nostr-plebs/events/mlcdqtyjccbgb/ Freedom with Nostr & Bitcoin- 4th January 2026 Takes place at Jives Coffee Lounge where Nostr and Bitcoin will be discussed. Also, attendees will be helped to set up your free Nostr account, free Bitcoin Lightning wallet, etc.

https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/posse-content-drupal-nostr/ content with Drupal using Nostr at FOSDEM 2026 - 31st January 2026 Takes place virtually at https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/posse-content-drupal-nostr/

https://www.meetup.com/bitcoinpark/events/312318620/ Nights #1 - 2nd February 2026 Nostr Nights is a quarterly meetup for anyone passionate about building, growing, and exploring the future of decentralized social technology. Whether you're brand-new to Nostr or already building on it, this event is designed to help you learn, connect, and go deeper. Each session features conversations with people building real projects on Nostr, hands-on onboarding for newcomers, educational deep dives into how the protocol works, and open discussions about emerging tools, use cases, and best practices. It’s an opportunity to ask questions, share what you're working on, and collaborate with others pushing the ecosystem forward. Some of the organizers include: