Several Bitcoiners, including Jack Dorsey, have reinforced their push for the privacy-focused messaging app Signal to adopt Bitcoin through a new “Bitcoin for Signal” campaign, which aims to integrate Bitcoin with the Cashu protocol to enable payments within the app.
“@Signalapp should use Bitcoin,” Dorsey posted to X on Thursday, retweeting a post from pseudonymous Bitcoin developer Cashu, who is behind the Bitcoin for Signal campaign.
Bitcoin for Signal aims to implement Cashu’s “Chaumian Ecash” solution, which integrates Bitcoin with the Cashu protocol to enable Bitcoin payments on Signal.
“Bitcoin belongs in Signal. Cashu ecash enables truly private Bitcoin payments inside the world’s most trusted encryption messenger,” the Bitcoin for Signal website states.
The campaign has also been endorsed by Bitcoin developer Peter Todd, who wants Bitcoin to replace, or at least expand on, Signal’s current crypto payment solution, MobileCoin (MOB).
“I’ve been wanting to try MobileCoin. But it’s such a failure I can’t even buy any. Signal App needs to accept reality and just add Bitcoin support,” Bitcoin developer Peter Todd said.
Signal implemented MobileCoin in April 2021; however, it has been criticized for being overly centralized with a small set of validators.
Pseudonymous Bitcoin developer Calle and Satoshi Labs co-founder Pavol Rusnak also threw support behind Bitcoin for Signal.
Given Signal has around 70 million monthly active users, a successful implementation could make it a significant platform for peer-to-peer Bitcoin transactions.
Dorsey has previously argued that Bitcoin will be a failure if it’s only used as a store of value and not for everyday payments — like how Satoshi Nakamoto intended.
Bitcoin wasn’t built to be a privacy solution, critics argue
However, several critics have noted that Bitcoin lacks privacy features integrated into its base layer, which may make it an unsuitable cryptocurrency to pair with a privacy-focused messenger app.
“Jack, why use a fully public blockchain for a privacy chat?” asked Aztec Network engineer José Pedro Sousa.
Techlore, a digital rights advocacy page, argued Bitcoin would jeopardize the privacy of Signal users.
Others suggested that Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC) would be better alternatives.
While Cashu provides a privacy-preserving solution for Bitcoin, few such applications have succeeded at scale.
EU almost ended private messaging this week
The push for Bitcoin-backed private messenger apps comes as the European Union has been considering a controversial “Chat Control” law that would force all messaging apps, including encrypted ones like Signal and WhatsApp, to hand over private messages to authorities for the purposes of spotting child abuse material — effectively breaking end-to-end encryption protections.
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Germany has refused to back the proposal, arguing that the mass scanning of private messages is unconstitutional.
The vote has now been postponed, with another vote set for early December.
Magazine: EU’s privacy-killing Chat Control bill delayed — but fight isn’t over