The text-messaging platform, Cointext has this week announced its public launch of a feature service that will allow any mobile phone user to make bitcoin cash transactions without internet. Cointext uses a mobile phone’s SMS (Short Message Service) protocol, and the planned beta release will be tested across the US, Canada, the UK, Switzerland, South Africa, and Netherlands.
This development means that BCH users in the said countries can now send and receive the digital currency without necessarily having an internet connection. Cointext’s developers launched the beta version of the text messaging platform on March 27. Vin Armani, Context’s lead developer, co-founder and CTO announced the public launch.
“Cointext is the most powerful and easiest way to transact bitcoin cash as it works with all types of mobile phones and you do not need any knowledge on cryptocurrencies to use it,” Vin Armani stated during the launch.
The Killer App
Since Cointext runs on the Short Message Service communication protocol for mobile phones, its wallet can do various things that most traditional crypto wallets can’t. For example, with Cointext, users of bitcoin cash can send the digital currency to feature phones (Nokia-type). This will be especially helpful to users in developing countries. Reports say that over 2000 people have already signed-up for Cointext during the beta version’s soft-launch for private testing.
Cointext is also reportedly giving away free bitcoin cash following donations offered by the bitcoin cash community. The company is giving $0.50 in BCH to new users while supplies last. To get the free BCH first time users only need to type the word CASH and send it to Cointext’s access number. You can find more guidelines on the offer and command lines on the firm’s website.
“Currency or money has often been the killer application for bitcoin and not merely some store of value,” the CTO emphasized, adding that the company is now “delivering the promise of borderless, permissionless money to those unbanked around the world.”
The company is hoping to attract billions of users across the globe
The team of developers detailed that the company doesn’t hold the funds of its users. All transactions done on the SMS platform are always settled on the bitcoin cash network on-chain. The client cannot censor or modify any transaction, and in case a user loses his number, the company says it cannot recover funds. The collects about 0.05 cents in bitcoin cash for sending transaction messages. The charges are always the same.
Armani also explains that during trials of the beta version, the company will be collecting feedback from bitcoin cash users that will be experimenting with the new platform. Cointext hopes that the app can be used in 54 countries across the world and attract billions of people. “If everything goes as planned, we will launch another wave of our access numbers next month and in May, including our first language translations,” the co-founder added.
This development is good news for the BCH community. Some users are already saying they “can’t wait to use the new platform.”
