Firm Title: Vexl
Founders: Lea Petrášová, Marek Palatinus and Pavol Rusnak
Date Based: June 2022
Location of Headquarters: Prague, Czech Republic
Quantity of Bitcoin Held in Treasury: The vast majority of the treasury is bitcoin
Variety of Workers: 5 full-time staff and 5 part-time staff/volunteers
Web site: https://vexl.it/
Public or Personal? Personal
Lea Petrášová is a cypherpunk at coronary heart with over 10 years of expertise on the planet of software program improvement.
This made her an ideal candidate to assist create Vexl, an open-source app that permits customers to conduct personal peer-to-peer bitcoin transactions in a comparatively straightforward method.
With Vexl, Petrášová and the staff from SatoshiLabs (well-known for creating Trezor {hardware} wallets) created what Petrášová phrases a “social community” that connects patrons and sellers of bitcoin through the contacts of their telephone in addition to the contacts of their contacts. What’s extra, the communication between customers is personal, and Vexl doesn’t cost for the service it offers.
Petrášová and the staff at Vexl are on a mission to allow folks to make use of Bitcoin the best way it was supposed for use — with out KYC, privately and with out third-party intermediaries concerned within the course of.
We spoke with Petrášová to get extra particulars on Vexl’s mission.
Frank Corva: Please inform us about Vexl’s mission.
Lea Petrášová: We consider that with out the liberty to transact, we’ve got no different rights. Bitcoin provides us the last word entry ticket to a monetary system that isn’t inherently exploitative and oppressive.
Nevertheless, for it to serve this function, it can’t be tied to 1’s id. We offer our customers with an choice to purchase or promote bitcoin peer-to-peer with out KYC, in a means that isn’t solely personal, but additionally accessible, user-friendly, and safe.
Corva: What had been you doing earlier than Vexl?
Petrášová: I was a venture supervisor for a small enterprise fund that additionally operated as a software program home. In 2018, I launched a spin-off centered solely on web3 improvement, notably in DeFi. Whereas the tasks had been academically attention-grabbing, after promoting the corporate, I noticed I needed to dedicate my time and power solely to Bitcoin.
Corva: How did the thought for Vexl come about and the way did you become involved?
Petrášová: This concept had really been brewing in Slush‘s (co-founder of SatoshiLabs, Trezor, Vexl) thoughts for a couple of years. As one of many business’s OGs, he anticipated the laws lengthy earlier than they got here into impact.
When he discovered I had just lately wrapped up my earlier job, he reached out and pitched what would later turn out to be Vexl, primarily providing me the chance to tackle the chief administration of the venture. I didn’t hesitate for a second.
Corva: Vexl appears to embrace a lot of the bitcoin ethos. It’s an app that permits for peer-to-peer buying and selling, it doesn’t require a lot KYC and it’s open-source. Why was it vital so that you can design it this manner?
Petrášová: We’re not simply Bitcoiners; we’re additionally cypherpunks and activists.
After we got here up with Vexl, we had been fixing our personal downside: learn how to purchase or promote Bitcoin with out KYC, outrageous charges, or vital safety and security dangers.
We could not design a product we would not be prepared to make use of ourselves. There was by no means any debate concerning the nature of the software program—we knew from day one it needed to be open supply, KYC-free, and peer-to-peer.
Nevertheless, we spent lots of time researching and balancing the “trilemma” of usability, safety, and privateness.
Corva: What has it been prefer to work with Pavol Rusnák, a legend within the bitcoin/crypto pockets area?
Petrášová: Humbling. He’s the type of thinker you possibly can ask any query, and he’ll reply with an unique reply. The vary of his data and pursuits is deeply spectacular. But, he approaches folks and tasks with kindness, respect, and most significantly, an ideal humorousness. He’s really inspiring.
Corva: You don’t plan to monetize Vexl. Why?
Petrášová: We strongly consider within the significance of our mission and are dedicated to creating it as accessible as doable.
Corva: How will Vexl live on when you don’t monetize it?
Petrášová: We rely straight on donations and grants. I’ve deep gratitude and mad respect for everybody who has helped us make Vexl successful. However due to open supply, if, for any purpose, we had been to fail, I need to consider that another person would choose up the place we left off and preserve issues shifting ahead.
Corva: Vexl is basically a messaging app, one thing that connects patrons and sellers to transact between themselves very like LocalBitcoins did. Why did you create one thing like this proper now?
Petrášová: As a result of we clearly noticed the necessity. Give it some thought — Bitcoin is at the moment the sixth largest financial asset, aspiring to turn out to be a worldwide, common retailer of worth.
Governments, via varied third events and monetary establishments, can create registries of bitcoin holders. These people may then be censored, prosecuted, taxed, and have their possession managed, compromised, and even outlawed.
Figuring out the identities of Bitcoin customers weakens Bitcoin’s skill to perform as a retailer of worth impartial of state energy. That was the primary a part of our motivation.
The second a part of our motivation was far more sensible: Each time I orange-pilled somebody and didn’t need to ship them to an trade, I didn’t have an excellent different. My choices had been both promoting them my very own bitcoin or going via a prolonged search to seek out another person who may.
Don’t get me improper, I’m an enormous fan of platforms like LocalBitcoins. However as somebody who has by no means purchased bitcoin with KYC or registered on an trade, I do know firsthand the restrictions that include choices like this.
Corva: How does Vexl differ from different P2P apps like Hodl Hodl, Bisq and Peach Bitcoin?
Petrášová: Properly, to start with, we’re a non-profit, so we function in a totally completely different area. I don’t see different options on the market as competing, slightly view them as complementary.
The actual innovation that Vexl introduces is our distinctive fame mannequin. On our market, you possibly can solely view anonymized provides out of your contacts and their contacts. Till each events determine to disclose their identities, you don’t know who the opposite particular person is, however you possibly can all the time see what number of mutual contacts you share and who these individuals are, and finally ask them for a reference.
This lets you higher assess the person threat of the counterparty, which is almost unattainable if you’re connecting two strangers from reverse sides of the world — to not point out, it may be downright harmful when you’re utilizing a fiat wire switch for settlement.
For those who actually give it some thought, we managed to deliver a real-world fame into an app. And this social facet — human interactions and expertise — can’t get replaced by any expertise. That’s why on Vexl there isn’t any escrow, no charges, and no must have already got bitcoin with the intention to be part of.
Lastly, I’m notably pleased with our consumer expertise. Whereas creating Vexl, I stored asking myself, “Might my aunt use this and not using a hitch?” That mindset formed our UI, and I consider it’s way more user-friendly than anything on the market.
Corva: Why does Vexl not push to decentralize its backend?
Petrášová: We’re a non-profit with very lean operations. In a staff as small as ours, we’ve got to assume twice when selecting what to prioritize.
Whereas decentralizing the backend is one thing we’ll give attention to sooner or later, proper now our backlog is stuffed with extra urgent app enhancements.
What’s nice is that Vexl is already politically decentralized. Anybody who doesn’t need to depend on my choices can merely take the code and alter it nonetheless they see match.
Corva: Why does Vexl ask for telephone numbers?
Petrášová: For those who zoom out, you’ll see that Vexl is, finally, a social community. Anybody who has ever tried to construct one from scratch will agree that it’s an extremely tough process. So, we selected a distinct route: Why not construct on prime of an present community? However then got here an excellent larger query: Which one?
We additionally needed one thing that’s not going away anytime quickly and that’s broadly adopted the world over.
The reply was clear to us: utilizing telephone numbers and call lists. From there we simply needed to discover a means to make use of them whereas nonetheless holding them personal and safe.
Corva: Do you ever see mass adoption of Vexl or do you assume the common particular person will discover going to a regulated trade like Kraken extra handy?
Petrášová: Typically I get requested what my largest apprehension is because the CEO of a Bitcoin firm, and my reply is all the time “ignorance.” Individuals usually don’t care about monetary freedom till it’s too late.
That being mentioned, nothing is healthier advertising for us than the present monetary system changing into increasingly more unbearably unusable and commerce changing into more and more permissioned. From this attitude, it could be a wonderful world if instruments like Vexl grew to become out of date.
However Vexl has been invented, and it can’t be uninvented. Perhaps will probably be used for peer-to-peer bitcoin transactions. Or it could be used within the gig financial system or to pay for items in bitcoin.
Ever since we launched classes within the market, we’ve seen round economies booming. I’m constructing Vexl for everybody who has the braveness to say their monetary sovereignty — even when it solely serves a small group of customers.
Corva: The place are you seeing essentially the most adoption for the app up to now? Why do you assume folks in these areas are adopting it?
Petrášová: Most of our customers are from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. I believe the success has lots to do with the historical past of those international locations and their financial isolation throughout communist instances. There’s a lengthy custom of individuals hedging in opposition to oppression with stronger currencies and taking part within the grey financial system. Moreover, the help of SatoshiLabs positively helped us lots through the launch, particularly in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, the place SatoshiLabs is well-known and revered.
We additionally see vital development in Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and the UK, principally scaling via meetups. In latest months, I’m actually thrilled to see native Vexl initiatives thrive in African international locations, as nicely.
Corva: What’s subsequent for Vexl?
Petrášová: Over the course of the summer time, we managed to efficiently rewrite our backend, which had been a significant hurdle for future improvement. This opened up the chance for us to introduce all kinds of enhancements to the social community that we had on our roadmap for a very long time.
One other main focus is offering schooling concerning the significance of non-KYC Bitcoin. It’s disturbingly widespread that customers don’t notice the true price they pay for consolation or comfort when giving up their private knowledge on monetary establishments.