We’re building something exclusively for Bitcoiners. But what is a Bitcoiner?

At first, we built our service using the Bitcoin protocol directly, creating a new Bitcoin transaction for each user tip. However, we soon switched over to an internal ledger to keep tips “free & instant” for users. You see, transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain take time to confirm, and have a fee attached to them. It’s not a significant fee, but it is significant for small amounts, or “micropayments”, which is ChangeTip’s focus.

Nevertheless, ChangeTip was adopted quickly by Bitcoiners and used as a way to express gratitude, repay small debts, and introduce others to Bitcoin. After all, how cool was the idea of sending money to someone directly in a Tweet or a Facebook comment?

Extremely cool. The Silicon Valley company was on its way up, having just raised a little over $4 million in a funding round. User metrics looked great, and they were growing at an exciting pace. The product was used often, until just after their funding announcement, when members in the community became critical of the platform. Users complained, “ChangeTip is centralized! This isn’t Bitcoin!”

You see, one of the main tenants of the Bitcoin philosophy is that users own their own private keys. It’s very, very, very important to do. And it’s equally as important that we maintain this practice, in everything we do, and build, and use.

However, you can’t offer free & instant tips, and allow your users to control their own funds. It was not possible then, and it is not possible now. So we turned to an internal, private ledger.

It turns out that private ledgers are a bitch to run, and managing/holding other people’s money is a nightmare. Complying with strict government regulations that differ from state to state, let alone country to country, turns out to be extremely expensive, time-consuming, energy-depleting, and paperwork-filled craziness.

The community clearly cares more about the ownership of private keys than they do about instant & free transactions. And if you have no community, you have nothing.

Do you know why?

Because we’re dealing with Bitcoin. Holding your own private keys is the entire point! If it were any other way, the centralized party holding them for you can close, freeze and deny your accounts at any time. Or limit the amounts you can send, and when, and to whom. Or kick you off the platform entirely.

Bitcoiners don’t want to trust you with their money. Bitcoin is trustless. It’s about financial responsibility and ownership. It’s about self-sovereignty, trustless systems, and decentralization. Being a Bitcoiner is a reflection that you know what’s going on, and you can handle it. So, pass over the keys, please.

And why not?

Bitcoiners do know what’s going on. They’re essentially running and managing a financial system that is performing, by some measures, better than all others. For many people, it means the possibility of freedom from restrictive systems. Or the hope of change. Or inclusion in the global financial ecosystem.

Dan Morehead, Partner at Pantera Capital, loves the BitCoins

Money is information, and information is power. And, if you have power in and over your life, you can experience freedom. The ideas and practices of freedom and free speech must always be respected in everything we do.

So what exactly are we doing?

We’re excited to be experimenting with a number of new technologies, including sidechains and payment networks like Lightning. We are pumped to incorporate the feedback we’ve received over the years into a new product, and shape it into something we all love and use.

So, we’re building a true Bitcoin wallet for our users. One that puts the private keys in your control, without compromising Bitcoin’s core values of decentralization and empowerment.

What better way to do this than with social media?

Getting Started

We’re starting with a private beta launch. We want to make sure we’ve got the right pieces, and we’ve built them in the right way. If you’d like to get added to the list, add your email to this list and join our Slack.

Our vision is one of community participation, engagement and, frankly, love. We are all here because we love Bitcoin. You’re reading this because you care about Bitcoin. This is our tribe. We are in this together. This is our CryptoEnlightenment. So let’s work with each other. Let’s build off each other’s ideas. Let’s do the best we can and really leave a mark while we have the opportunity.

ChangeTip Wallet is our step forward in creating something that we feel good about using. It’s the first version, and it’s certainly not the last.

Much gratitude,

ChangeTip