If you've been reading this rag since last year, you know how much of a fan Uncle Marty is of TxTenna; an application that allows users to relay Bitcoin transactions over a mesh network in places where there is no Internet, or where the Internet may be censored. Bitcoin aims to be as decentralized as possible, and if it is to be successful in this endeavor things like TxTenna need to become more robust and widely used. Luckily for us, the team behind the project has been hard at work.

Over the weekend, Richard Myers announced that Bitcoin is about to level up again as TxTenna is working with Blockstream to make it so people using the application can send and receive data to and from the Blockstream satellite. Making it so users can leverage a network completely separate from the Internet to use Bitcoin. The gravity of this should not go understated. Only a year after being introduced to the world, TxTenna has put in some WORK to make Bitcoin more robust.

People who live in remote areas with no Internet connection, or who have been subjected to some sort of displacement via a natural disaster or war will not be exiled from the Bitcoin network. They will be able to leverage the assurances of the system as long as they are running goTenna devices that have access to someone running a node connected to the satellite within the mesh network. Slowly but surely, Bitcoin becomes more resilient, more robust, and more secure as the haters stand in awe of its success.

These things only work with participation though. We need more people running goTenna devices to strengthen mesh networks around the world. This is all for naught if a certain level of participation isn't reached. So do your part, research mesh networking, goTenna, and try to figure out how to get one up and running so you can contribute to making Bitcoin, and communication networks overall really, more powerful and immune to censorship.

Fight for your freedom.

Final thought...

Fishtailing in the rain on the high way is never a fun experience.