Numerous Bitcoin proponents, including Jack Dorsey, have amplified their call for the privacy-centric messaging app Signal to embrace Bitcoin via a new “Bitcoin for Signal” initiative, which seeks to integrate Bitcoin with the Cashu protocol to facilitate payments within the app.
“@Signalapp should use Bitcoin,” Dorsey tweeted on Thursday, sharing a post from the pseudonymous Bitcoin developer Cashu, who is leading the Bitcoin for Signal campaign.
The Bitcoin for Signal initiative aims to implement Cashu’s “Chaumian Ecash” solution, which melds Bitcoin with the Cashu protocol to allow 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 asserts.
The campaign has also received support from Bitcoin developer Peter Todd, who hopes Bitcoin will replace, or at least supplement, Signal’s current 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 remarked.
Signal adopted MobileCoin in April 2021; however, it has faced criticism for its centralization arising from a limited set of validators.
Pseudonymous Bitcoin developer Calle and Satoshi Labs co-founder Pavol Rusnak have also backed the Bitcoin for Signal campaign.
Considering that Signal boasts around 70 million monthly active users, a successful implementation could establish it as a major platform for peer-to-peer Bitcoin transactions.
Dorsey has previously asserted that Bitcoin will falter if it is only viewed as a store of value and not used for daily transactions — akin to Satoshi Nakamoto’s original vision.
Critics say Bitcoin wasn’t designed as a privacy solution
However, several critics have pointed out that Bitcoin lacks privacy features integrated into its fundamental layer, potentially rendering it an unsuitable cryptocurrency for a privacy-oriented messenger app.
“Jack, why use a fully public blockchain for a privacy chat?” questioned Aztec Network engineer José Pedro Sousa.
Techlore, a digital rights advocacy platform, argued that Bitcoin would undermine the privacy of Signal users.
Others suggested that Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC) could serve as better alternatives.
While Cashu offers a privacy-enhancing solution for Bitcoin, few such applications have achieved success on a large scale.
The EU nearly terminated private messaging this week
The call for Bitcoin-supported private messenger applications coincides with the European Union’s consideration of a contentious “Chat Control” law that would compel all messaging apps, including encrypted ones like Signal and WhatsApp, to relinquish private messages to authorities for detecting child abuse material — effectively undermining end-to-end encryption safeguards.
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Germany has rejected backing the proposal, arguing that the extensive scanning of private messages is unconstitutional.
The vote has now been deferred, with another vote scheduled for early December.
Magazine: EU’s privacy-destroying Chat Control bill delayed — but the struggle continues
