{"id":16032,"date":"2025-09-14T23:47:24","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T21:47:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/?p=16032"},"modified":"2025-09-14T23:47:24","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T21:47:24","slug":"embrace-bitchat-and-bitcoin-a-new-path-for-nepalese-protesters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/14\/embrace-bitchat-and-bitcoin-a-new-path-for-nepalese-protesters\/","title":{"rendered":"Embrace Bitchat and Bitcoin: A New Path for Nepalese Protesters"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> &#8220;`html<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"nitro-lazy\">On Monday, September 8, 2025, Nepalese youth commenced demonstrations in the streets of Kathmandu in reaction to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/09\/07\/world\/asia\/nepal-bans-social-media-platforms.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nepali government\u2019s prohibition of 26 significant social media platforms<\/a> on Thursday, September 4, 2025.<\/p>\n<p>At the peak of the demonstrations, the Nepalese protestors started downloading Bitchat, an innovative application created and designed by Twitter\/X and Block founder Jack Dorsey along with open-source developer <a href=\"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/business\/ecash-makes-bitcoin-and-fiat-private-with-calle-cashu\">Calle<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The application, a censorship-resistant messaging tool that employs Bluetooth mesh technology alongside the <a href=\"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/culture\/nostr-the-importance-of-censorship-resistant-communication-for-innovation-and-human-progress\">Nostr protocol<\/a> and that doesn\u2019t even necessitate an internet connection for operation, was downloaded nearly 49,000 times on September 8 in Nepal, based on data shared by Calle on X.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Last week, we observed a sudden surge in bitchat downloads from Indonesia during nationwide protests.<\/p>\n<p>Today we are witnessing an even greater surge from Nepal during youth protests against government corruption and a social media ban.<\/p>\n<p>Freedom tech is for the populace. Please share. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IqhRa8eCvw\">pic.twitter.com\/IqhRa8eCvw<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 calle (@callebtc) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/callebtc\/status\/1965721168507466097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">September 10, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><template data-nitro-marker-id=\"372de9843891598aa58675a785cc4349-1\"\/> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Bitchat permitted the protestors to communicate freely with each other as they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/09\/09\/asia\/nepal-protests-social-media-ban-explainer-intl-hnk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ousted the nation\u2019s prime minister<\/a> (and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/live\/c741n80ndlxt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">set fire to the nation\u2019s parliament building<\/a>).<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Lesson for Nepali Youth<\/h2>\n<p>The key takeaway is that applications like Bitchat are not merely vital instruments during the outage of centralized communication services and in the context of protests, but they are crucial in safeguarding rights that support free and open societies.<\/p>\n<p>In our contemporary digital landscape, we must safeguard the liberty to not only converse online but also to engage in transactions within the digital realm.<\/p>\n<p>A tool like Bitchat, which currently facilitates the former, should also soon support the latter, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/digital-assets\/2025\/09\/11\/jack-dorseys-bitchat-gains-traction-during-nepals-unrest\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reporting from Forbes<\/a>, which cited Calle, who expressed his aspiration to enable Bitcoin-based <a href=\"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/glossary\/ecash\">Ecash<\/a> transactions through Bitchat shortly.<\/p>\n<p>By adopting tools like Bitchat, Bitcoin, Ecash, and Nostr \u2014 staples of freedom tech \u2014 the Nepali youth can aid in preventing the sort of power misuse that they just protested against.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, Nostr and the various social media clients built on it, cannot be prohibited or disabled, implying that the Nepali government wouldn\u2019t have even possessed the authority to take the actions that prompted the protests.<\/p>\n<p>Freedom tech doesn\u2019t merely exist to assist individuals in their struggles to regain their liberties \u2014 it\u2019s also there to support them in maintaining it.<\/p>\n<p><em>This article is a <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/takes\/bitcoin-magazine-introduces-opinion-takes\"><em>Take<\/em><\/a><em>. The views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/takes\/nepalese-protestors-should-permanently-embrace-bitchat-as-well-as-bitcoin-and-other-freedom-tech\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n&#8220;`<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;`html On Monday, September 8, 2025, Nepalese youth commenced demonstrations in the streets of Kathmandu in reaction to the Nepali government\u2019s prohibition of 26 significant social media platforms on Thursday, September 4, 2025. At the peak of the demonstrations, the Nepalese protestors started downloading Bitchat, an innovative application created and designed by Twitter\/X and Block<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16033,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[3611],"class_list":["post-16032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bitcoin","tag-gptreturn-a-list-of-comma-separated-tags-from-this-title-nepalese-protestors-should-permanently-embrace-bitchat-as-well-as-bitcoin-and-other-freedom-tech-gpt"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Embrace Bitchat and Bitcoin: A New Path for Nepalese Protesters - WSJ-Crypto<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/14\/embrace-bitchat-and-bitcoin-a-new-path-for-nepalese-protesters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"it_IT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Embrace Bitchat and Bitcoin: A New Path for Nepalese Protesters - WSJ-Crypto\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&#8220;`html On Monday, September 8, 2025, Nepalese youth commenced demonstrations in the streets of Kathmandu in reaction to the Nepali government\u2019s prohibition of 26 significant social media platforms on Thursday, September 4, 2025. 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