A mobile messenger has emerged that lets users use encrypted messaging and bitcoin payments in a single app. It is designed so users can send and receive bitcoin directly in chat windows without opening a separate wallet app or copying wallet addresses. Interest is growing over whether it can improve the convenience of everyday cryptocurrency payments.

Decrypto, a blockchain media outlet, reported on July 7 local time that Radar Chat unveiled a mobile app combining end-to-end encrypted messaging and a self-custodial bitcoin wallet. The app is available on both iOS and Android. It is designed to let users send bitcoin instantly in one-on-one chat windows.

Its biggest feature is that it integrates a messenger and a cryptocurrency wallet into a single service. Previously, users had to move from a messenger to a separate wallet app or share a wallet address after chatting. With Radar Chat, users can send bitcoin during a conversation without those steps.

Transfers use the Lightning Network, bitcoin’s layer-2 payment network. The Lightning Network is a technology that supports faster and cheaper transactions than the bitcoin main chain and has mainly been used for small payments. The company said it has completed testing for payments of up to $5,000. It explained that actual transfer limits are determined by Lightning Network liquidity, not the app.

It also stressed security and control of assets. Radar Chat adopts a self-custodial structure designed for users to store private keys themselves. The app operator does not store or control users’ assets, and it provides a seed phrase during initial setup so assets can be recovered on another device. It also supports an encrypted backup function based on a Signal account as an additional recovery method.

A development team led by Vikrant Sharma (비크란트 샤르마), the founder of Cake Wallet, unveiled the project. The company said Radar Chat is an independent company separate from Cake Wallet. It also said the messaging function was developed based on Signal’s open-source protocol, but is a separate project from Signal.

Sharma said the idea came from the fact that messengers and payments are still separate. "Even though most of the people you message and the people you send money to are the same, the two functions exist separately," he said. He said he chose an approach that combines bitcoin payments on top of privacy technology that has already been proven.

He also stressed differentiation from existing centralized payment services. "Services like PayPal, Cash App and Venmo are convenient, but are structured so the operator holds funds and can freeze accounts or check transaction history," he said. By contrast, Radar Chat aims to return control to users through a self-custodial model in which users manage their own assets, he said.

Radar Chat presented everyday small payments such as splitting lunch bills, transfers between friends and paying tips as key use cases. The developer said that, as it integrated into one service an experience that previously required using a messenger and a cryptocurrency wallet separately, whether users find it convenient will be key to the service’s spread.

Your messages. Your Bitcoin. Together, at last. Radar brings private messaging and self-custodial Bitcoin Lightning together in one seamless experience, and because it's built on Signal's incredible network - the people you already talk to come with you. pic.twitter.com/Rg6BBbfvGS