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 Staff: 5 full-time workers and 5 part-time workers/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 this 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 simple method.
With Vexl, Petrášová and the crew 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 cellphone 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 supplies.
Petrášová and the crew at Vexl are on a mission to allow folks to make use of Bitcoin the way in which 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 have now no different rights. Bitcoin offers us the final word entry ticket to a monetary system that isn’t inherently exploitative and oppressive.
Nevertheless, for it to serve this goal, it can’t be tied to 1’s identification. We offer our customers with an possibility to purchase or promote bitcoin peer-to-peer with out KYC, in a manner that isn’t solely personal, but in addition accessible, user-friendly, and safe.
Corva: What had been you doing earlier than Vexl?
Petrášová: I was a mission 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, significantly in DeFi. Whereas the initiatives 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 get entangled?
Petrášová: This concept had truly been brewing in Slush’s (co-founder of SatoshiLabs, Trezor, Vexl) thoughts for just a few years. As one of many trade’s OGs, he anticipated the rules lengthy earlier than they got here into impact.
When he came upon I had just lately wrapped up my earlier job, he reached out and pitched what would later turn out to be Vexl, basically providing me the chance to tackle the chief administration of the mission. 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 essential so that you can design it this fashion?
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 drawback: how one can purchase or promote Bitcoin with out KYC, outrageous charges, or important safety and security dangers.
We could not design a product we would not be keen 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 quite a lot 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 sort of thinker you may ask any query, and he’ll reply with an authentic reply. The vary of his data and pursuits is deeply spectacular. But, he approaches folks and initiatives with kindness, respect, and most significantly, an excellent 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 if you happen to don’t monetize it?
Petrášová: We rely instantly on donations and grants. I’ve deep gratitude and mad respect for everybody who has helped us make Vexl successful. However because of open supply, if, for any purpose, we had been to fail, I wish to consider that another person would decide up the place we left off and maintain issues shifting ahead.
Corva: Vexl is actually 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, by way of varied third events and monetary establishments, can create registries of bitcoin holders. These people might then be censored, prosecuted, taxed, and have their possession managed, compromised, and even outlawed.
Realizing the identities of Bitcoin customers weakens Bitcoin’s capability to operate 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 rather more sensible: Each time I orange-pilled somebody and didn’t wish to ship them to an change, I didn’t have a very good various. My choices had been both promoting them my very own bitcoin or going by way of a prolonged search to search out another person who might.
Don’t get me mistaken, 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 change, 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: Nicely, initially, we’re a non-profit, so we function in a very completely different area. I don’t see different options on the market as competing, fairly view them as complementary.
The true innovation that Vexl introduces is our distinctive popularity mannequin. On our market, you may solely view anonymized affords out of your contacts and their contacts. Till each events resolve to disclose their identities, you don’t know who the opposite individual is, however you may 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 inconceivable once you’re connecting two strangers from reverse sides of the world — to not point out, it may be downright harmful if you happen to’re utilizing a fiat wire switch for settlement.
If you happen to actually give it some thought, we managed to carry a real-world popularity into an app. And this social facet — human interactions and expertise — can’t get replaced by any know-how. That’s why on Vexl there isn’t a escrow, no charges, and no have to have already got bitcoin with a view to be a part of.
Lastly, I’m significantly happy with our consumer expertise. Whereas creating Vexl, I saved asking myself, “Might my aunt use this with out a hitch?” That mindset formed our UI, and I consider it’s much 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 crew as small as ours, we have now to suppose 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 filled with extra urgent app enhancements.
What’s nice is that Vexl is already politically decentralized. Anybody who doesn’t wish to depend on my selections can merely take the code and alter it nevertheless they see match.
Corva: Why does Vexl ask for cellphone numbers?
Petrášová: If you happen to 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 troublesome job. So, we selected a unique route: Why not construct on high of an current community? However then got here a good greater query: Which one?
We additionally needed one thing that’s not going away anytime quickly and that’s extensively adopted internationally.
The reply was clear to us: utilizing cellphone numbers and make contact with lists. From there we simply needed to discover a manner to make use of them whereas nonetheless preserving them personal and safe.
Corva: Do you ever see mass adoption of Vexl or do you suppose the common individual will discover going to a regulated change like Kraken extra handy?
Petrášová: Generally 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 stated, nothing is best advertising and marketing for us than the present monetary system changing into increasingly unbearably unusable and commerce changing into more and more permissioned. From this attitude, it will be a fantastic world if instruments like Vexl turned out of date.
However Vexl has been invented, and it can’t be uninvented. Possibly will probably be used for peer-to-peer bitcoin transactions. Or it is perhaps 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 assert their monetary sovereignty — even when it solely serves a small neighborhood of customers.
Corva: The place are you seeing probably the most adoption for the app so far? Why do you suppose folks in these areas are adopting it?
Petrášová: Most of our customers are from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. I feel the success has so much 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 towards oppression with stronger currencies and taking part within the grey financial system. Moreover, the assist of SatoshiLabs positively helped us so much throughout the launch, particularly in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, the place SatoshiLabs is well-known and revered.
We additionally see important progress in Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and the UK, principally scaling by way of meetups. In current months, I’m actually thrilled to see native Vexl initiatives thrive in African international locations, as effectively.
Corva: What’s subsequent for Vexl?
Petrášová: Over the course of the summer season, 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 value they pay for consolation or comfort when giving up their private knowledge on monetary establishments.
