Bitchat Spikes in Nepal During Youth Protests and Ban of Social Media.

 Bitchat downloads are booming in Nepal, with youth uprisings fueling the protest against corruption and social media censorship, with increasing demand for tech resistant to censorship.

The decentralized messaging app, Bitchat, initiated by Jack Dorsey saw a giant increase in downloads in Nepal. 

This spike is associated with the continuing youth demonstrations against the corruption of the government and a temporary social media prohibition throughout the country.

A similar surge in Bitchat downloads was observed in Indonesia last week as the nation witnessed widespread unrest. Nonetheless, the spike in Nepal is even stronger. 

The application was downloaded by more than 48,000 Nepali users in a few days, and this is higher than the 12,000 downloads that occurred in Indonesia on a daily protest. 

Source – X

These values are by Bitcoin open-source developer “callebtc,” a contributor to Bitchat, who provided the data on X.

Youth Protests and Social Media Clampdown Fuel Bitchat Adoption

The government of Nepal blocked 26 major social media networks, such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.  This was done after the top politicians were accused of corruption and anti-corruption campaigns that revealed the extravagant ways of living by the elite families. 

The prohibition sparked a Generation Z-led movement that demanded openness and the abolition of censorship. Demonstrators invaded the buildings ofthe  parliament and the Supreme Court in Nepal. 

During the confrontations with the security agencies, at least 19 individuals were killed and hundreds more were injured. The corrupt prime minister resigned, and there was a curfew.

The Bitchat feature, as an internet and cellular network independent device, makes it an important tool when such crackdowns led by the government occur. 

It operates on Bluetooth mesh networking to transmit end-to-end encrypted messages among devices in close proximity. 

The result of this decentralization is that it is immune to conventional censorship and monitoring.

Bitchat Emerges as ‘Freedom Tech’ During Unrest

Bitchat became known as a communication tool that was social media-resistant to censorship in Nepal amid the social media blockade. 

The app does not need a phone number, emails, or registration. Users just have to connect locally, where they can converse even when they are blocked by the internet.

This wave of interest underscores an even bigger trend that the citizens are resorting to freedom tech to circumvent the government restrictions. 

Equivalent spikes have been seen in Indonesia and Russia during periods of political instability. This suggests that the world requires the secure and decentralized messaging presented by these applications as digital censorship grows.