Bitcoin developer and co-creator of the decentralized social media protocol Nostr, Fiatjaf, has teamed up with his employer Zebedee, a Bitcoin gaming and payments company, to create a new social media layer. The social media layer, powered by Nostr, is set to be integrated into Zebedee’s flagship app in the near future.
Zebedee announced the new features on Twitter, stating:
Read about the latest Nostr-powered feature in the ZBD app. And how it has the potential to change social media forever 🔥
— ZEBEDEE (@zebedeeio) June 7, 2023
By @DelRayMan from @Forbeshttps://t.co/wOrjTnmazA
Reportedly, the rapid expansion of the Nostr user base prompted Fiatjaf and Zebedee to develop the social media layer powered by Nostr. This layer would be included in Zebedee’s app, which boasts millions of users. Social networking apps like Damus would be able to make use of the integration by allowing users to opt into the Nostr-based social networking component.
Nostr was created by Fiatjaf and Bitcoin proponent Ben Arc in 2019, and No Big Deal (NBD), Zebedee’s non-profit arm that promotes open-source Bitcoin development, helped develop it.
In 2022, after hearing about Fiatjaf, former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey donated 14 Bitcoins worth around $245,000 to the project. Later, Dorsey donated $10 million to OpenSats, a nonprofit supporting free and open-source Bitcoin initiatives, in May 2023, including $5 million specifically towards Nostr’s advancement.
On the heels of this partnership, Nostr has made notable strides in the social media world, amassing 18 million users. The protocol allows users to migrate their profiles and followers to any competitor using the same protocol, creating a network of interoperable networks. Zebedee has also announced a waitlist for early access to the updated version of the app featuring the new social media layer, underscoring the anticipation surrounding this innovative collaboration.
Recent enhancements to Nostr have made it more accessible and functional. A significant feature is the ability for users to transfer Bitcoin among themselves. Already, 500,000 daily Nostr users have conducted 792,000 Bitcoin transactions worth $1.9 million. This development has attracted dozens of companies to build new applications on the network.
