Nepal’s Youth Uprising: A Cry for Democracy and Free Speech
Nepal has been embroiled in a wave of protests since September 1, with the youth at the forefront, demanding an end to corruption and the restoration of democracy. The protests were sparked by a ban on 26 social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, which was intended to enforce new regulations but instead triggered widespread outrage. As the government struggled to maintain order, a decentralized messaging app, BITChat, developed by Jack Dorsey, saw a massive surge in adoption, with 48,781 downloads recorded on September 8 alone.
The app, which works entirely without an internet infrastructure using Bluetooth Low Energy Mesh Networks, allows users to communicate through encrypted messages that bounce between devices within a 30-meter radius, creating censor-resistant communication channels. This has been a game-changer for the protesters, who can now coordinate and organize without fear of surveillance or censorship. According to Callebtc, a Bitcoin open-source developer, global downloads reached 125,486 users, with Nepal accounting for 39% of the total adoption.
Decentralized Messaging: A Revolution in the Making
BITChat’s architecture is designed to work via store-and-forward systems and intermediate lines of news for offline users up to 12 hours. Each device acts as both a client and a server, creating self-organizing network networks to individual striking points or centralized attacks. Messages are fragmented into 500-byte pieces and transmitted via several device hops with up to seven relay points. This technology has been hailed as a breakthrough in decentralized messaging, offering a secure and reliable means of communication in the face of internet shutdowns or censorship.
Global Adoption and the Future of Decentralized Messaging
BITChat’s success in Nepal is not an isolated incident. The app has seen significant adoption in other countries, including Indonesia, where it was downloaded 12,581 times during protests against parliamentary allowances and police brutality. Russia and the USA have also seen notable downloads, with 8,749 and 8,211 users, respectively. This growing demand for decentralized messaging solutions is a clear indication of the need for secure and reliable communication channels in the face of increasing censorship and surveillance.
Large technology companies, including Google and Starlink, have invested in mesh solutions, creating decentralized infrastructure alternatives. Elon Musk has also announced the development of Xchat, a messaging system with encryption and rust programming architecture in Bitcoin style. As the demand for decentralized messaging continues to grow, it is clear that this technology is here to stay, offering a secure and reliable means of communication in the face of increasing censorship and surveillance.
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