Why Bitcoiners Should Revisit Decentralized Communication
by Derek Ross
The State of Nostr
Over the past two years, many Bitcoiners have tried Nostr and found it too early in its developmental state to stick around. While the promise of decentralized and censorship-resistant communication was compelling, Nostr just was not sexy enough to pull many away from their love of centralized platforms (with KYC and censorship). Nostr’s ecosystem lacked polish, usability, and applications that could pass the daily driver test. Fast forward to today – while bugs do exist, the landscape has changed dramatically. While the “we’re still early” meme still applies, the Nostr ecosystem is in fact flourishing, with new applications providing seamless user experiences across various methods of communication.
If you previously dismissed Nostr, it’s time to take another look. Here’s what has changed and why you should return to the decentralized social future, leaving your centralized dumpster fire platforms behind once and for all.
How the Nostr Ecosystem Has Grown
Over the past two years, Nostr applications have evolved from basic prototypes to full-fledged platforms. Developers have focused on improving usability, adding features, and refining user experience (which led to a few more bugs along the way, too). Onboarding and user discovery still need work; however, it’s clear that improvements have been made. Key areas of growth include microblogging and social feeds, which have enhanced discovery, monetization options, and better UI/UX. Blogging and long-form content have seen the emergence of dedicated publishing and consumption platforms and expanded client availability, helping to fuel the value for value ecosystem. Audio and video communication have expanded with live streaming, podcasting, and decentralized video sharing. New community and chat applications have introduced feature-rich alternatives to centralized community chat services like Telegram and Discord.
For a curated and growing list of the best that Nostr has to offer, you’re going to want to visit nostrapps.com and explore the Nostr ecosystem.
The Freedom to Communicate
Decentralized communication takes many forms. Whether it’s micro-blogging, long-form writing, live audio, or visual content, Nostr now has a diverse range of applications for these different use cases.
Micro-blogging and Social Feeds
Bitcoiners familiar with Twitter/X-style engagement will appreciate Nostr-powered alternatives like Amethyst, a powerful Nostr client for Android that showcases the best of decentralized social media, including a robust note discovery feed. Primal, available on Android, iOS, and the web, provides a polished platform with a familiar experience, a configurable and powerful feed marketplace, and a built-in Bitcoin wallet for easy zaps. Damus, designed for iOS, offers a fast and smooth user experience. Iris, a feature-rich web platform, includes a built-in Cashu wallet for private eCash transactions. Coracle offers robust and powerful feed configuration options, giving users more control over their feeds and their attention than ever before.
How is this different from Twitter/X, you ask? Users have never had a choice over their feeds and their attention before. Users have never had the choice to completely choose or build their own algorithms. On Nostr, you can configure your own feed based on your interests and priorities rather than being at the mercy of opaque algorithms designed to keep you enraged and engaged. Whether you prefer chronological timelines, filtered content, or curated discovery, you are in control. This ability to self-govern your content consumption is not only healthy, it’s powerful. This is a major shift in how social media operates, empowering individuals rather than platforms.
Audio & Visual Communication
Decentralized communication extends well beyond text and these applications bring censorship-resistant audio and video to Nostr. Olas, available on iOS, Android, and the web, is Nostr’s answer to Instagram and TikTok, allowing users to share images and videos. Olas has recently become so popular that the majority of Nostr apps have now incorporated Olas images and dedicated image feeds or galleries.
Zap.stream is a live video streaming platform for events, conferences, and gaming. NostrNests.com is a live audio streaming app for real-time discussions, podcasts, and community conversations. HiveTalk.org is a meeting room platform for online collaboration, including screen sharing. Live streamers will love these platforms too, as creators can directly receive support from their audiences without having to meet any arbitrary follower counts and monetization metrics.
These platforms all expand Nostr’s capabilities beyond traditional social feeds, offering rich multimedia experiences that rival their centralized alternatives. Since these platforms are built upon Nostr, they ensure users retain control over their content, communication, and identity.
Blogging, News, and Long-Form Content
For those who prefer more in-depth content creation, Nostr now has dedicated blogging platforms. Highlighter.com is a publishing tool for writers and creators with an integrated creator studio. Yakihonne, available on Android, iOS, and the web, offers a streamlined blogging platform featuring a built-in no-KYC wallet and Smart Widgets. Habla.news is a simple and effective web-based platform for publishing articles and news.
One of Nostr’s most powerful features is interoperability. Therefore, once you publish your articles on these platforms, this content will show up in popular Nostr applications such as Amethyst, Primal, Damus, and more, allowing for easy and on the go reading, engaging, and zapping.
Community & Chat
Nostr is also becoming a strong alternative to legacy messaging and community-building platforms. Chachi.chat is a secure chat application for group discussions with a built-in Cashu wallet. Flotilla.social is a Discord alternative for creators who want full control over their content and community. 0xchat is a feature-rich messaging platform supporting direct messages, public groups, and private groups, all with Cashu integration.
No longer do community builders need to rely on centralized platforms that can take away their audiences with the click of a button. Nostr provides a decentralized and censorship-resistant space where conversations, discussions, and group interactions can thrive without fear of sudden bans or suppression. For creators, this means complete ownership over their content, audience, and monetization. Unlike traditional platforms, where terms of service can change overnight, Nostr ensures that your community remains yours. The freedom to engage, build, and grow without intermediaries is now a reality.
Why You Should Return to Nostr
The growth of the Nostr ecosystem has transformed from a grassroots movement into a viable communication network for Bitcoiners. If you value censorship resistance, financial sovereignty, and the ability to communicate freely, now is the perfect time to return and explore what has been built.
But this is about more than just using new social platforms—it’s about reclaiming control. In the same way that running your own Bitcoin node ensures you validate your own transactions, verify your own balances, and remove trust from financial intermediaries, running your own Nostr relay allows you to take ownership of your digital identity, your content, and your communications. When you control your own relay, no platform can silence you, no corporation can manipulate what you see, and no centralized entity can dictate who you interact with.
Being a sovereign individual means more than holding your own keys. It means being in charge of your attention. It means choosing what you engage with. These actions free you from opaque algorithms designed to maximize ad revenue at your expense. It means taking ownership of your content.
Doing so ensures that what you create and share, remains yours, with no risk of de-platforming or arbitrary censorship. It means owning your identity and separating who you are online from corporate-controlled login systems, instead relying on cryptographic keys that no one can take away from you.
Just as Bitcoiners recognize the necessity of self-custody in finance, the same principles apply to communication. Running your own relay is the social equivalent of running your own node: it ensures resilience, independence, and a communication layer that cannot be altered or revoked by centralized powers. By embracing Nostr, you are taking the next step toward full sovereignty—not just over your money, but over your voice, your entire social graph, and your ability to engage with the world on your own terms.
Try these applications, engage with the Nostr community, and experience decentralized communication firsthand. Bugs and rough edges still exist, but no one ever said decentralization would be easy. What matters is that the foundation is solid, the tools are improving daily, and the legacy alternatives are just that dystopian.
Pura vida!
Note from Stackchain Magazine: No Bitcoin (or inferior monies) were exchanged for this article. This article was written by Derek Ross, Developer Relations at Soapbox. You can find Derek on Nostr derekross@grownostr.org. If you’d like to send Derek some 丰 for the article you can do so via LNURL derek@npub.cash