Mythbusting: Bitcoin must have internet and a smartphone to work

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Avatar for imkeshav
4 years ago

"Bitcoin can't work without internet" is a common argument used by people outside the Crypto community as a reason why Bitcoin will fail, even if it is unreasonable that someone will shut down internet

and then there are "leaders" like Samson Mow who said

When Satoshi gave Bitcoin to the world, he meant it as an alternative to the traditional payment systems which relied on a trusted 3rd party. Of course, he meant for Bitcoin to be used by everyone and not just for the western countries like the United States.

But its not surprising that another "renowned" Developer and maximalist, Jameson Lopp supported the above tweet and mocked at Vinny for differing with Samson's opinion

These Bitcoin "leaders" celebrate the lack of progress on Bitcoin protocol and actively advocate for the status quo expecting the world to acknowledge and adjust to Bitcoin (BTC) as it is

Arrogance limits your vision and he was proved wrong when Bitcoin evolved in the form of Bitcoin Cash and enabled creators to develop their own vision

Cointext

Vin Armani another early adopter and a Bitcoin developer proved the maximalists wrong by creating Cointext

CoinText enables instant transactions without Internet, apps, accounts or passwords by providing an SMS gateway to the blockchain

This tool is exactly what is needed for many 3rd world countries where millions still use a feature phone (not a smartphone) and don't have continuous access to the Internet.

With Cointext you can "Begin texting money to your friend's phone numbers or pay for anything where BCH is accepted"

How it works?

Cointext is a platform that enables users to transfer cryptocurrency using simple text messages. The mobile wallet service allows anyone with a basic mobile device to send funds via SMS to other phone numbers or bitcoin cash (BCH) addresses.

On the receiving side, people don’t need to download a wallet, install an app, set up an account or even have access to the internet. Users can set up new accounts just by sending ‘START’ to the Cointext access number in their region, with other actions similarly ordered by simply texting commands

- news.bitcoin.com

It is so good, even BTC maximalists use it to on-board newbies

Best on-boarding tool for newbies

As shown in the above practical case, this is one of the easiest ways to onboard people to Bitcoin Cash. They don't need to download a wallet app, or send you their BCH address or show a QR code. Heck, they don't even need internet

If you know their phone number, anyone can just text them money and who objects to getting money without doing anything?

Its so easy, maximalists are sending Bitcoin to their Grandma!

The world needs an option like Cointext and Bitcoin Cash

The Indian govt has cut off internet access for the state of Kashmir for the last 4 months and as a result all modes of digital payment options are down making everyday life really hard.

Services like Cointext can play a real role in those kind of situations and combining it with the power of Bitcoin Cash as an instant P2P Digital Cash with low fees, the people get closer to economic freedom

Bitcoin is an experiment and was supposed to stay that way so different people can develop it into a state-of-the-art P2P digital cash. Bitcoin Cash is now carrying on that legacy by providing a stable middle ground and encouraging developers and entrepreneurs to create solutions to change the world for the better

Bitcoin Cash and services like Cointext prove that impossible can be made possible, and accepted facts (status quo) are just myths waiting to be broken

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4 years ago
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Comments

Wow this is great! 😍

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4 years ago

Many people don't know that Bitcoiners were trying to get such services like CoinText set up to allow easy "dumb phone" payments on BTC. That was before some people came along and decided for others that BTC isn't supposed to be for small payments. Because it makes no business sense anymore for people who want to use a text phone for payments if the fee for the Bitcoin transaction is higher than the cost of the SMS...

I will accept this article as an entry, because it shows an important historical facet and also shows that the underlying communication medium for the Bitcoin network does not HAVE to be the Internet as we know it. Any suitable network will do - even the phone network if that's all you have. The distinction of the Bitcoin network layer from the Internet layer is relevant to understanding how this tech works and what it depends on.

+100 MYTHBUSTER will be awarded, and you made it in time before the competition deadline.

Please give me an SLP address to which I should send the tokens :)

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4 years ago

Thanks for the comment and the tokens

simpleledger:qpd02rmjx64elxsxclhzg9jsws5mmrlwr57u0ep79g

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4 years ago

Sent, txid: 2bbf0338d9abc1644c8c04e0765b0748150defcbaaf4852950499dbc22de6e6e

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4 years ago