Company Name: vexl
Founders: Lea Petrášová, Marek Palatinus and Pavol Rusnak
Founding date: June 2022
Headquarters Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Amount of bitcoin held in Treasury: Most of the treasure is bitcoin.
Number of employees: 5 full-time employees and 5 part-time employees/volunteers
Website: https://vexl.it/
Public or Private? Private
Lea Petrášová is a cypherpunk at heart with over 10 years of experience in the world of software development.
This made her a perfect candidate to help create vexlan open source application that allows users to conduct private peer-to-peer bitcoin transactions in a relatively simple way.
With Vexl, Petrášová and the team SatoshiLabs (known for creating Trezor hardware wallets) created what Petrášová calls a “social network” that connects buyers and sellers of bitcoin through their phone contacts, as well as their contacts' contacts. Furthermore, communication between users is private and Vexl does not charge for the service it provides.
Petrášová and the Vexl team are on a mission to enable people to use bitcoin the way it was intended: without KYC, privately and without third-party intermediaries involved in the process.
We spoke with Petrášová to get more details about Vexl's mission.
Frank Corva: Tell us about Vexl's mission.
Lea Petrašová: We believe that without the freedom to transact, we have no other rights. bitcoin offers us the ultimate ticket to a financial system that is neither inherently exploitative nor oppressive.
However, to serve this purpose, it cannot be linked to one's own identity. We provide our users with the option to buy or sell bitcoins peer-to-peer without KYC, in a way that is not only private, but also accessible, easy to use and secure.
Corva: What were you doing before Vexl?
Petrašová: I used to be a project manager for a small venture fund that also operated as a software company. In 2018, I launched a spin-off focused exclusively on web3 development, particularly DeFi. While the projects were academically interesting, after selling the company, I realized that I wanted to dedicate my time and energy solely to bitcoin.
Corva: How did the idea for Vexl come about and how did you get involved?
Petrašová: This idea had actually been brewing in x.com/slush”>Mud(co-founder of SatoshiLabs, Trezor, Vexl) for a few years. As one of the industry's OGs, he anticipated the regulations long before they went into effect.
When he found out that I had just finished my previous work, he reached out and proposed what would later become Vexl, essentially offering me the opportunity to take over executive management of the project. I didn't doubt it for a second.
Corva: Vexl seems to embrace much of the spirit of bitcoin. It is an application that allows peer-to-peer trading, does not require much KYC, and is open source. Why was it important for you to design it this way?
Petrašová: We are not just Bitcoiners; We are also cypherpunks and activists.
When we came up with Vexl, we were solving our own problem: how to buy or sell bitcoin without KYC, outrageous fees, or significant security risks.
We couldn't design a product that we wouldn't be willing to use ourselves. There was never any debate about the nature of the software; We knew from day one that it had to be open source, KYC-free, and peer-to-peer.
However, we spent a lot of time researching and balancing the “trilemma” of usability, security, and privacy.
Corva: What has it been like working with Pavol Rusnák, a legend in the bitcoin/cryptocurrency wallet space?
Petrašová: Humiliating. He's the kind of thinker you can ask any question and he'll respond with an original answer. The range of his knowledge and interests is deeply impressive. However, he approaches people and projects with kindness, respect, and most importantly, a great sense of humor. It's really inspiring.
Corva: You don't plan to monetize Vexl. Because?
Petrašová: We firmly believe in the importance of our mission and are committed to making it as accessible as possible.
Corva: How will Vexl continue to exist if you don't monetize it?
Petrašová: We depend directly on donations and subsidies. I have deep gratitude and great respect for everyone who has helped us make Vexl a success. But thanks to open source, if for some reason we fail, I want to believe that someone else will pick up where we left off and keep going.
Corva: Vexl is essentially a messaging app, something that connects buyers and sellers to transact with each other much like LocalBitcoins did. Why did you create something like this right now?
Petrašová: Because we clearly saw the need. Think about it: bitcoin is currently the sixth largest monetary asset and aims to become a global, universal store of value.
Governments, through various third parties and financial institutions, can create registries of bitcoin holders. These individuals could then be censored, prosecuted, taxed, and have their property controlled, compromised, or even outlawed.
Knowing the identities of bitcoin users weakens bitcoin's ability to function as a store of value independent of state power. That was the first part of our motivation.
The second part of our motivation was much more practical: every time I gave someone an orange pill and I didn't want to send them to an exchange, I had no good alternative. My options were to sell them my own bitcoin or do a long search to find someone else who could do it.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of platforms like LocalBitcoins. But as someone who has never purchased bitcoin with KYC or signed up for an exchange, I know firsthand the limitations that come with options like this.
Corva: How is Vexl different from other P2P apps like Hodl Hodl, Bisq and Peach bitcoin?
Petrašová: Well, first of all, we're a nonprofit, so we operate in a completely different space. I don't see other solutions that compete with each other, rather I see them as complementary.
The real innovation that Vexl introduces is our unique reputation model. In our marketplace, you can only see anonymous offers from your contacts and their contacts. Until both parties decide to reveal their identities, you don't know who the other person is, but you can always see how many mutual contacts you share and who those people are, and eventually ask them for a reference.
This allows you to better assess individual counterparty risk, which is nearly impossible when connecting two strangers from opposite sides of the world; Not to mention it can be downright dangerous if you use a fiat bank transfer for settlement.
If you really think about it, we managed to incorporate a real-world reputation into an app. And this social aspect (human interactions and experience) cannot be replaced by any technology. That's why at Vexl there is no escrow, no fees, and you don't need to have bitcoins to join.
Lastly, I'm particularly proud of our user experience. While creating Vexl, I wondered, “Would my aunt be able to use this without any problems?” That mindset shaped our user interface and I think it's much easier to use than anything else out there.
Corva: Why isn't Vexl pushing to decentralize its backend?
Petrašová: We are a non-profit organization with very efficient operations. In a team as small as ours, we have to think twice when choosing what to prioritize.
While decentralizing the backend is something we'll focus on in the future, right now our backlog is filled with more urgent application improvements.
The good thing is that Vexl is already politically decentralized. Anyone who doesn't want to trust my decisions can simply take the code and modify it as they see fit.
Corva: Why does Vexl ask for phone numbers?
Petrašová: If you zoom out, you'll see that Vexl is ultimately a social network. Anyone who has ever tried to build one from scratch will agree that it is an incredibly difficult task. So, we chose a different route: why not build on an existing network? But then an even bigger question arose: Which one?
We also wanted something that isn't going away anytime soon and will be widely adopted around the world.
The answer was clear to us: use telephone numbers and contact lists. From there, we just had to find a way to use them while keeping them private and secure.
Corva: Have you ever seen mass adoption of Vexl or do you think the average person would find it more convenient to go to a regulated exchange like Kraken?
Petrašová: I'm sometimes asked what my biggest fear is as the CEO of a bitcoin company, and my answer is always “ignorance.” Often people don't care about financial freedom until it's too late.
That said, nothing is better marketing for us than the current financial system becoming more and more unbearably unusable and commerce becoming more and more authoritative. From this perspective, it would be a beautiful world if tools like Vexl became obsolete.
But Vexl has been invented and cannot be uninvented. Maybe it will be used for peer-to-peer bitcoin transactions. Or it could be used in the gig economy or to pay for goods in bitcoins.
Since we introduced categories on the marketwe have seen the rise of circular economies. I'm creating Vexl for everyone who has the courage to claim their financial sovereignty, even if it only serves a small community of users.
Corva: Where do you see the most adoption of the app so far? Why do you think people in these regions are adopting it?
Petrašová: Most of our users are from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. I think the success has a lot to do with the history of these countries and their economic isolation during the communist era. There is a long tradition of people protecting themselves against oppression with stronger currencies and participating in the underground economy. Additionally, SatoshiLabs' support definitely helped us a lot during the launch, especially in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, where SatoshiLabs is well known and respected.
We also see significant growth in Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, primarily through meetings. Over the past few months, I have been very excited to see how Vexl's local initiatives are also thriving in African countries.
Corva: What's next for Vexl?
Petrašová: Over the summer, we managed to successfully rewrite our backend, which had been a huge obstacle to future development. This opened up the opportunity for us to introduce a wide variety of improvements to the social network that we had on our roadmap for a long time.
Another important focus is to provide education on the importance of bitcoin that is not KYC. It is disturbingly common for users to not realize the real cost they pay for the comfort or convenience of handing over their personal data to financial institutions.
