Jack Dorsey's Decentralization Journey: From Bitcoin Lightning Network to Bluetooth Mesh

Jack Dorsey's role as a champion of the cypherpunk movement is more steadfast than many of his peers. His enthusiasm for Bitcoin has persisted for over a decade, even if the investment may exceed the returns. For instance, he actively promotes the development of the Bitcoin Lighting Network, launched the LDK development kit, and even attempts to integrate Lighting Network payment features into social platforms.

Dorsey's attention to the Bitcoin ecosystem is comprehensive. After the relaunch of Bitchat, he also plans to support Nostr networking features in the future, supporting freedom of speech from the foundational level.

Rethinking the Concept of Bitcoin

As a co-founder of a well-known social platform, Dorsey, although achieving greater success with the financial products developed in his subsequent ventures, has never given up on exploring freer forms of social interaction and decentralized networks. This exploration is reflected in several projects, which, although not widely promoted, represent a contemplation of the next generation of social product forms.

The emergence of Bitchat is the result of this kind of thinking. Interestingly, the name Bitchat has previously been used by two on-chain social products, which Dorsey may have intentionally drawn from.

The development process of Bitchat can be briefly summarized in three stages:

1. 2019: Free on-chain social tool based on Bitcoin OP_RETURN opcode.
2. 2022: A paid on-chain social product based on a certain public chain.
3. 2025: Dorsey launches Bitchat based on local Bluetooth Mesh network, which can operate completely offline, achieving thorough Decentralization and censorship resistance.

The 2025 version of Bitchat draws on the ideas of Bitcoin but moves away from the limitations of having to run on-chain, shifting towards scenarios more suitable for ordinary users. This aligns with Satoshi Nakamoto's original intention in founding Bitcoin — that with technological advancements, everyone can participate in network operations. However, Bitcoin ultimately evolved into a value storage tool, deviating from its original purpose.

Dorsey clearly recognizes this issue. He believes that it is necessary to compress or even eliminate economic stimulus factors in order to promote adoption by ordinary users and avoid a return to centralization and capitalization.

It is worth mentioning that Mesh networks are not limited to Bluetooth, but can also use other technologies like WiFi. Mesh is essentially a way of organizing networks, while Bluetooth, WiFi, and others are methods of transmission.

Bitchat: A New Attempt at Offline Group Chat

Bitchat is an offline, anonymous, free IRC-style social tool. It is unlikely to develop into a cryptocurrency project or seek funding, thus maintaining its purity.

The main features of Bitchat include:

• Offline: Operates entirely on a local Bluetooth Mesh network.
• Anonymity: No permanent account system or data persistence is designed.
• Free: No additional expenses required other than the Bluetooth Mesh hardware.
• IRC style: A return to the group chat model of the Web 1.0 era.

The architecture of Bitchat can be divided into three parts: information transmission, privacy protection, and networking functions. It emphasizes point-to-point and group communication modes, uses cryptography to ensure security, and leaves room for the addition of more networking methods in the future.

In terms of privacy protection, Bitchat uses a relatively complex encryption model. For example, the group mode employs the Argon2id algorithm to defend against potential side-channel attacks, which may be somewhat excessive but reflects a strong emphasis on security.

Currently, Bitchat is still in the experimental stage, and its style may not align well with contemporary user habits. However, Dorsey believes that in extreme scenarios in the future, such as disaster relief operations, Bitchat could become an important backup communication tool by utilizing ultrasound, LoRa, or even WiFi networking.

Outlook

For cryptocurrency enthusiasts, the potential integration of Bitchat and Nostr may be more appealing. In Dorsey's vision, combining Mesh local networking with Nostr's global networking is expected to create a truly hardware-based anti-censorship social tool.

This attempt, although seemingly impractical, always requires someone to explore and practice. It is this continuous innovation and experimentation that drives the development of Decentralization technology.