Iran has been experiencing intense protests towards the Islamic Republic regime in current weeks. Authorities have responded with extreme measures, together with a nationwide telecoms blackout and jamming satellite tv for pc providers like Starlink, aimed toward stopping coordination amongst demonstrators.
Iranians are embracing freedom tech instruments; Bitchat, Noghteha, and Delta Chat for offline communication. Two of those apps hint their origins on to Bitcoin, highlighting how applied sciences from this group present sensible options in high-stakes environments. Bitchat, constructed by Bitcoin pioneers Jack Dorsey and open-source developer Calle, operates over Bluetooth mesh networks and the Nostr protocol while not having an web connection. Noghteha on the otherhand, is a closed-source fork of Bitchat, tailored for the Iranian context with full Persian/Farsi assist, an enhanced consumer interface, and options tailor-made to native wants.
How Did Bitchat and Noghteha Achieve Reputation?
Bitchat first gained widespread consideration when Jack Dorsey introduced it on X on July 6, 2025, describing it as a weekend undertaking to discover Bluetooth mesh networks. The announcement generated instant curiosity, mirrored in surges on Google Tendencies for associated searches. In September, Frank Corva wrote about Bitchat’s function in supporting Nepalese protestors throughout social media restrictions and unrest, the place practically 50,000 downloads occurred in a single day.
Noghteha, alternatively, noticed fast adoption within the first week of January 2026. Earlier than the complete web shutdown, Google Play recorded greater than 70,000 downloads of Noghteha within the area of three days, with numbers possible rising by means of peer-to-peer sharing, sideloading, and Bluetooth transfers afterward.
Promotion of Noghteha reached a broad viewers by means of Iran Worldwide, an opposition satellite tv for pc TV channel based mostly outdoors Iran. The station, a serious supply of data and coordination steering from figures like opposition chief Reza Pahlavi, broadcast particulars concerning the app.
The developer Nariman Gharib, a digital-political activist, launched the app independently, with out authorities or non-public funding, as a response to the regime’s ways.
However Why Fork Bitchat?
The Iranian regime employs extremely refined info warfare ways. As Ziya Sadr, a outstanding Bitcoin researcher and former political prisoner, explains: “The regime units up phishing assaults, creates pretend obtain hyperlinks, and makes use of influencers on social media to misguide folks into putting in malicious variations of the identical app.”
This persistent menace is probably going the principle motive the Noghteha developer selected to not launch the app as absolutely open-source, and maybe it additionally explains the app’s launch timing, simply earlier than the web shutdown. By releasing so near the anticipated blackout, there was a chance to distribute a brand new, closed-source model into as many palms as attainable earlier than the regime may intrude with downloads or seed malicious options.
Noghteha stays compliant with Bitchat’s MIT license, which permits modifications and redistribution with correct attribution. This strategy is an try to shortly defend protesters from regime sabotage.
Calle, Bitchat’s co-creator, doesn’t fairly see it that manner. He’s involved concerning the closed-source parts, donation requests, and safety dangers in adversarial settings—factors which can be legitimate and onerous to dispute.
But the interplay raises a worthy query: Is Bitchat cypherpunk sufficient to counter the regime’s potential undermining of it, the place openness itself may very well be weaponized? In that sense, does Noghteha obtain one thing that Bitchat can’t, and may that be the case, can Bitchat be tailored to grow to be extra resilient towards such ways?
Finally, it’s inspiring to see Bitcoin gaining prominence on the worldwide stage, alongside freedom tech instruments rooted within the cypherpunk rules of privateness by means of cryptography. Cypherpunks and, extra lately, Bitcoin builders have pioneered applied sciences that excel in high-stakes situations, empowering people to take care of communication and autonomy amid oppression. With many of those instruments launched beneath permissive open-source licenses like MIT, they invite cloning and repurposing to suit numerous wants. Whereas closed-source variations introduce new dangers, additionally they also can generate helpful classes, doubtlessly guiding future enhancements to higher stand up to info warfare ways.
The occasions in Iran show how improvements from the Bitcoin ecosystem adapt and thrive, providing actual assist to these navigating censorship, blackouts, and repression by means of resilient, user-focused instruments.
Editor’s Be aware: A Warning on Safety Customers ought to proceed with warning. Noghteha is a closed-source software. Calle, the unique developer of Bitchat, has explicitly warned towards utilizing the app because of the incapability to confirm its code or safety. Nevertheless, experiences from the bottom point out it’s being extensively and efficiently utilized by protestors.
