Bitchat: Dorsey’s Decentralized Offline Mesh Messenger

Published: 2025-07-07 17:03:30 |

Bitchat is a beta decentralized messaging app from Block CEO Jack Dorsey. It runs exclusively on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) mesh networks and the Nostr protocol. Bitchat enables encrypted, peer-to-peer chat without internet, servers or personal data. It breaks messages into 500-byte fragments, relays them across up to seven multi-hop connections, and uses X25519 key exchange with AES-256-GCM encryption. Bloom filters cut duplication and save battery. Critics cite missing delivery acknowledgements, hop limits and floodfill routing issues in dense networks. Dorsey plans to add Wi-Fi and USB relays and integrate with Nostr clients. Unlike web3 platforms such as Status, Dmail and XMTP, Bitchat works fully offline, targeting protests, disaster zones and remote areas with censorship-resistant communication. The web3 messaging market could grow from $1.26 billion in 2025 to $22 billion by 2035. Bitchat’s mesh design and privacy focus may reshape decentralized messaging in high-risk environments.

Neutral

Bitchat is a decentralized messaging tool with no native token. It does not directly trade as a cryptocurrency and lacks an associated token market. As a result, its launch and development have limited immediate impact on digital asset prices. In the short term, crypto traders may monitor its progress for wider adoption of web3 messaging protocols like Nostr and potential future tokenization. Over the long term, enhanced privacy and offline capabilities could support growth in decentralized communication ecosystems, but any effect on specific cryptocurrencies will depend on future integrations and token launches. Overall, Bitchat’s release is neutral for market prices.