A year after Nick Sullivan, ChangeTip's CEO, gave an interview to the Bitcoin Knowledge Podcast outlining the company's philosophical stance on decentralization, those ideas are turning into code. The
A year after Nick Sullivan, ChangeTip's CEO, gave an interview to the Bitcoin Knowledge Podcast outlining the company's philosophical stance on decentralization, those ideas are turning into code. The Satoshi Roundtable will host a demo of the ChangeTip Wallet this weekend. The app hands users complete control over their private keys, a major shift from the service's previous model.
ChangeTip built its reputation on simple tipping across social networks, but the platform carried a critical limitation: it held users' bitcoins. When people deposited funds, ChangeTip took custody, functioning as a bitcoin bank. The new wallet changes this equation. Private keys remain on users' devices. Anyone sending tips through Twitter, YouTube, or similar platforms now owns their funds outright.
This shift unlocks new possibilities. Because ChangeTip stops acting as a custodian, the company can remove restrictions. Sullivan told MiningPool: "The sending limit is lifted for ChangeTip Wallet users. There are no limits to ChangeTip Wallet transactions. It is bitcoin."
For dollar-denominated balances, ChangeTip must still hold funds in the short term. The team is researching alternatives. Tether, a USD-denominated colored coin on Omni, interests the company. ChangeTip is also studying various hedging mechanisms. Both approaches could let users avoid relying on ChangeTip for fiat balances.
Pockets, the existing platform, will operate alongside the new wallet. Users on Pockets will move to the wallet environment in stages.
Decentralization has costs. Wallet transactions settle on the Bitcoin blockchain, not ChangeTip's servers. Users pay network fees. Confirmations take minutes instead of seconds. Implementing sidechains could address these issues, but ChangeTip favors the Lightning Network. Users with Lightning would enjoy near-instant transfers and reduced costs while keeping control of their private keys.
Sullivan defined the wallet's intended purpose. "People should use ChangeTip when they want to: appreciate content online (like a blog post, Reddit comment, or Tweet), pay back small debts to friends, give props to people they know, or introduce someone to Bitcoin," he said. "There are many more use cases, but these are the ones we see the most, and how we'd guide people to make use of the platform."
Some users may hesitate to link their public Bitcoin addresses to social media accounts. Sullivan addressed this concern. ChangeTip didn't design the wallet for privacy or storing large sums. Users needing either should look elsewhere.
The wallet is in closed beta.
