Cryptocurrency
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- Jack Dorsey has built Bitchat, a decentralized, Bitcoin-native messaging app
- The platform has been built on Nostr, the open protocol Dorsey has supported financially since 202
- Early adopters have praised its censorship resistance and encrypted, peer-to-peer communication features
Jack Dorsey has revealed his latest project: Bitchat, a decentralized messaging app built on the Nostr protocol and designed to work natively with Bitcoin and the Lightning Network. The app emphasizes user control, end-to-end encryption, and open access—core principles Dorsey has championed since stepping away from what was then Twitter. With growing concerns over censorship and centralized platforms, Bitchat’s arrival has drawn significant attention in the crypto and tech communities, where it has the potential to thrive.
Cryptocurrency A Bitcoin-Native Communication Tool
Bitchat allows users to send messages directly using their public Nostr keys, which are also compatible with Bitcoin Lightning wallets, and is designed to eliminate centralized servers or intermediaries, instead routing messages through a network of relays. Users can tip one another with sats (fractions of Bitcoin) using integrated Lightning functionality, a feature that ties financial incentives to social interactions.
According to the project’s GitHub page, Bitchat’s mission is to “reclaim free expression” by ensuring that no single authority can monitor or control conversations. Dorsey, who has backed Nostr with over 14 BTC in funding, posted over the weekend that the code was in review, with others testing too, suggesting an amusing take on the name which may stick:
sending ecash over bluetooth via bitch@ https://t.co/YESfQ2sofv pic.twitter.com/hEwFUypmby
— dr. calle (@callebtc) July 7, 2025
Cryptocurrency From Twitter to Total Decentralization
Dorsey’s pivot away from the centralized Twitter and into decentralized technologies has been a consistent theme since his resignation as CEO in 2021. His financial and vocal support for Nostr has already fueled several apps like Damus and Amethyst, but Bitchat marks the first time he has launched a product so directly associated with messaging.
With its encrypted, peer-to-peer architecture, Bitchat sidesteps the vulnerabilities of traditional platforms like WhatsApp or Telegram, not requiring phone numbers or email addresses, just a cryptographic keypair. Supporters argue this makes it particularly resilient to surveillance, deplatforming, or takedowns, which may concern authorities.
Bitchat is still in review, with the app expected to go live in the coming weeks. Whether Bitchat can gain mainstream traction remains to be seen, but for privacy advocates and Bitcoin maximalists, it may represent the next evolution in secure, censorship-proof communication.
