Why Normal People Suddenly Started Downloading Bitchat

I have been talking about decentralization for years. When I explained Bitcoin, self-custody, or avoiding a single point of failure, the reactions were always predictable: a polite smile, a quick change of subject, or the classic 'you are overthinking this'. The decentralization guy was rarely the most popular person at the table. Then, over a two-week stretch, something changed.

The real trigger was reality itself. France has been tense, with repeated protests over the cost of living. On Wednesday, October 21, 2026, Orange, the country's largest carrier, went down for almost 10 hours. Calls, text messages and mobile data were disrupted for millions of people. Every iPhone seemed stuck on the same two words: no service.

A few days later, the French outlet Blast published a letter from the prime minister. It asked the four main carriers to prepare to block TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat for a few hours if the protests turned violent again. X was added to the list later. The carriers pushed back and the blocks never happened, but the message was clear. For a normal person, the network is fragile. When the plug is pulled, you are back 30 years, holding a very expensive brick.

What Bitchat Actually Is

Bitchat is the app that caught that fear. It reached number one among social apps in France and landed in the top five of all free apps, just behind names like ChatGPT and a couple of other major apps. The name behind it also caught attention: Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and one of the most visible Bitcoin advocates.

Unlike a normal messenger, Bitchat has no account, no phone number and no company server in the middle. Your phone talks directly to nearby phones over Bluetooth. Each phone passes the message to the next phone, a bit like a bucket brigade at a fire. The water still reaches the fire, just without a single pipe in the middle.

The idea is simple. Bitcoin says money does not need the bank's permission. Bitchat says talking does not need the platform's permission. The same core principle applies: no single operator gets to flip the switch.

What It Means for Bitcoin Holders

For those of us already holding Bitcoin, the rise of Bitchat is a sign. First, the Bitcoin logic finally gets out of the wallet. We usually talk about not trusting a central party with money. Bitchat shows the same reasoning works for communication. Once people install it because they fear losing the network, a new question appears: if my messages do not have to sit in someone else's hands, why does my money?

Second, it already touches money. The team behind Cash App has been working on bringing e-cash into Bitchat. E-cash is digital cash backed by Bitcoin. In the current version, Bitchat can already send these e-cash tokens from one phone to another. Talking and paying can live in the same app, following the same logic.

However, e-cash works a bit like casino chips. You can pass chips between tables, but to cash out you still have to go back to the cashier. The cashier holds the Bitcoin. That means e-cash is different from holding your own Bitcoin keys. At some point, someone still has to go online and settle with a mint. That can suit many everyday payments. It remains not the same as self-custody.

Where It Becomes Useful

Think about a music festival or a packed stadium. Tens of thousands of people are in one place, the mobile network is congested, and you cannot find your friends or send a payment through Apple Pay. With Bitchat, the opposite happens: the more people are nearby, the better the mesh works. You can message a friend and send money for a beer without relying on the carrier.

The same applies after a storm, in a place where the signal is jammed, or in a moment like those tense weeks in France when people wondered whether the network might be cut. When the infrastructure fails, what do you still have in your hands? A tool that works through the crowd gives you a backup channel. That is why I still keep a cold wallet for money and a backup channel for communication. I do not put all my eggs in one basket.

Limits, Security and the App Store

Bitchat is far from perfect. The experience is still rough. It depends heavily on how many people around you have the app. A Bluetooth hop is only a few dozen meters, and messages can bounce up to seven hops. If nobody nearby is running Bitchat, your message just sits there. You also need to install it before you need it, because downloading requires a connection.

Security has also been a real issue. Bitchat launched in July 2025, and a security researcher quickly flagged that the project had not received a sufficient independent review. A flaw was found where someone could impersonate one of your trusted contacts. Since then, the team rebuilt the encryption on a well-known protocol called Noise. The project is open source, so anyone can inspect the code and help fix problems. That is a good sign, but it does not make the app bulletproof.

There is also a public channel: anyone nearby with the app can read it. Keep sensitive conversations in private messages. More broadly, do not turn Bitchat into a myth. It is better thought of as a spare key than a master key.

Finally, remember that even app stores are a center. In April, Apple removed Bitchat from the Chinese App Store at the request of China's internet regulator. India went further: it first targeted the code on GitHub in July, then in early October the app disappeared from both Apple and Google stores in India after a government order. Decentralization is never about one app. You have to dig layer by layer.

Why This Still Matters

This moment reminds me of Bitcoin's early days. The early experience is rough and clunky, and adoption remains limited. The direction matters to me because infrastructure takes time to mature. Infrastructure often looks rough at first, until the day people really need it.

For years, I saw myself as an ambassador for decentralization. I tried to bring the idea to more people and open a door to a different world. My arguments played a minor role in this particular shift. Reality pushed people toward the app. That is a powerful shift. Bitcoin removed the middleman from money. Bitchat is trying to remove it from conversation. After all these years, that is exactly the kind of door I want more people to walk through.

A Door Worth Opening

My advice is simple. While you still have internet, install Bitchat and try it with a friend. Think of it as a fire drill. Test the backup channel before you actually need it. Keep your cold wallet for serious money, and keep Bitchat as one more backup among others.

The wider lesson is bigger than any single app. When the center breaks, people look for ways to keep talking. The same logic that pulled money out of banks is now pulling communication off central servers. The tool is imperfect, but the direction is clear. We are slowly building a world where no single company can switch off your ability to reach the people you love.