{"id":15918,"date":"2025-09-11T11:24:39","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T09:24:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/?p=15918"},"modified":"2025-09-11T11:24:39","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T09:24:39","slug":"jack-dorseys-bitchat-surges-in-popularity-among-48781-nepalis-during-social-media-restrictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/11\/jack-dorseys-bitchat-surges-in-popularity-among-48781-nepalis-during-social-media-restrictions\/","title":{"rendered":"“Jack Dorsey\u2019s Bitchat Surges in Popularity Among 48,781 Nepalis During Social Media Restrictions”"},"content":{"rendered":"

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More than 48,000 Nepalese individuals downloaded Block CEO Jack Dorsey\u2019s peer-to-peer communication application, bitchat, during a series of violent demonstrations concerning corruption and a brief social media prohibition earlier this week.<\/p>\n

This followed a similar increase in downloads in Indonesia last week after protests related to corruption broke out, as reported<\/a> by Bitcoin open-source developer \u201ccallebtc,\u201d who is involved in bitchat’s development.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast week, we detected an unexpected surge in bitchat downloads from Indonesia amidst nationwide protests. Today we\u2019re experiencing an even greater surge from Nepal during youth protests against government corruption and a social media ban,\u201d callebtc shared<\/a> on X on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Based on graphs provided by callebtc, Nepal received under 3,344 downloads last Wednesday before the count surged to 48,781 on Monday \u2014 over four times higher than the following country, Indonesia, which logged 11,324.<\/p>\n

Source: <\/em>Callebtc<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The rapid increase was driven by a brief social media prohibition \u2014 blocking Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube \u2014 sparking a youth-led protest that resulted in Nepal\u2019s parliament and supreme court being set ablaze. The government initially enforced the ban to restrict the swift dissemination of anti-government content online.<\/p>\n

Law enforcement reacted sharply with live ammunition and tear gas, leading to at least 19<\/a> fatalities, while hundreds sustained injuries. The governmental facility where Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli<\/a> resided was also invaded.<\/p>\n

Oli is at the focal point of the corruption accusations, which involve the abuse of public resources and inadequate transparency in political decision-making. He has now stepped down from his position. <\/p>\n

Source: <\/em>Anonymous<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The occurrences in Nepal and Indonesia may indicate a rising trend of citizens increasingly utilizing decentralized, encrypted messaging applications \u2014 or \u201cfreedom tech\u201d \u2014 to safeguard themselves from governmental oversight or censorship.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the European Union is nearing the approval of a \u201cChat Control\u201d legislation which would suppress encrypted messaging,<\/a> mandating services like Telegram, WhatsApp, and Signal to permit regulators to examine messages prior to encryption and transmission.<\/p>\n

Legislators from 15 EU member states have expressed support for the bill, and a vote from Germany could determine whether the contentious legislation is enacted.<\/p>\n

Crypto messaging apps provide an alternative<\/h2>\n

Up to this point, the adoption of decentralized, encrypted messaging applications has been propelled by users departing centralized communication platforms that may censor content or enforce other limitations.<\/a><\/p>\n

Among the most widespread centralized communication platforms are Messenger and WhatsApp, which are managed by social media behemoth Meta<\/a>, a central, profit-driven corporation that treats personal data as a commodity.<\/p>\n

Dorsey\u2019s bitchat is barely two months old<\/h2>\n

Dorsey introduced a beta<\/a> for bitchat in July, which employs Bluetooth mesh networks for internet-free, encrypted communication.<\/p>\n

Related: <\/strong><\/em>Decentralized social media application to challenge Big Tech\u2019s \u2018walled gardens\u2019<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

According to the white paper, the network is completely decentralized with no central servers, accounts, email addresses, phone numbers for registration, or reliance on infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Source: <\/em>Jack Dorsey<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Crypto messaging still significantly trailing behind industry giants<\/h2>\n

Signal, the Nostr-powered Damus<\/a>, Session, and Status are among other messaging applications that have captivated users seeking more secure, censorship-resistant options.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, decentralized, encrypted messaging applications likely face a lengthy road before they can compete with social media titans like Meta, which recorded<\/a> an astounding 3.48 billion average daily users across its range of applications \u2014 including Facebook, Messenger<\/a>, and Instagram \u2014 in June.<\/p>\n

This 3.48 billion figure represented a 6% year-on-year growth, suggesting that it hasn\u2019t relented in momentum over the past year.<\/p>\n

Magazine: <\/strong><\/em>3 individuals who unexpectedly became crypto millionaires\u2026 and one who didn\u2019t<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n