Announcing Sats App with SatsBack!

Today we are thrilled to announce Sats App with SatsBack—the easiest way to use Bitcoin and the Lightning Network on iOS and Android, with rewards features focused on increasing adoption of Bitcoin, Lightning and cyberspace nodes.

At Casa, we build Bitcoin security tools for individuals and small teams. We support thousands of sovereign clients in 60+ countries who protect their Bitcoin using Keymaster multisig, and who run the Bitcoin and Lightning network on Casa Node devices.

Now we’re using our deep security and design expertise to improve adoption with:

1. Sats App – the easiest Bitcoin and Lightning app for iOS and Android that connects securely and privately to your Casa Node.
   
2. SatsBack rewards – earn Bitcoin in new, unique ways by using Sats App and other Casa products. Get ready to stack sats with Sats App!
   
3. Simple onboarding features – Sats App features simple setup, new Testnet mode, and the ability to level up to deeper control. We want Sats App to be an app you are confident recommending to friends that want to learn about Bitcoin and Lightning!

Casa Gold, Platinum and Diamond members will get first access to Sats App and SatsRewards, so if you’re a member then watch your email.

If you’re not a Casa member, get your Casa Node with Gold Membership to get first access to Sats App and more!

Sats App makes Lightning easier

Why launch an entirely new app?

Our existing mobile app Keymaster is focused on secure self-custody with multi-signature technology. Embedding Lightning payments and Casa Node management in the Keymaster multisig app just isn’t the right fit.

As we explored both maximizing use of your Casa Node and making it easier for new people to experience Bitcoin and Lightning, it became clear that an entirely new type of app was needed.

Use your Casa Node from anywhere

The Sats App lets you connect to your Casa Node wherever you are, whenever you want.

Connecting to a node inside your home from the outside isn’t a user friendly process. It requires getting the node’s authentication macaroon and TLS certificate, which most people don’t know how to do (and therefore don’t do it securely).

We’ve worked to make this process as simple as possible by using the Tor Network. With Tor, communication to your node is encrypted by default, and each node has a unique Tor address that doesn’t change. Those are the bones needed to build a secure, easy to use connection feature from the Sats App to your node.

Send and receive using SatsTag

One of the biggest barriers to adoption of Bitcoin is the ability to transact using human readable addresses and account names. Every new Bitcoiner has to learn about addresses and feel the stress of double- and triple-checking a long string of random characters before sending a transaction. On the Lightning Network, you connect with others using an even longer combination of a public key and IP/Tor address.

We’re trying to eliminate every possible barrier to using Bitcoin, and that’s why we’ve created the SatsTag.

The SatsTag is a human-readable, pseudonymous username that you can optionally link with your Casa Node address, making it easy to transact with your friends just like you would expect to with other payment apps today.

It even allows you to make Lightning payments to other nodes without receiving an invoice first!

Currently, Lightning payments must be requested by the receiver of the payment. We’ve used our deep integration between the Sats App and Casa Node to allow sending payments without an invoice request.

We realize that not everyone will want to link their node with a SatsTag, so we will always fully support invoice- and address-based payments as well. Simplifying experience for new users is important, but only if we can do so while respecting user sovereignty by including full existing Lightning payment methods.

Try Lightning payments using Testnet mode

One of our main goals with Sats App is to provide an easy onboarding experience to using Bitcoin and the Lightning Network. With that in mind, we’ve added a Testnet mode for new users.

Testnet mode allows you to try out sending payments in the Sats App without sending real Bitcoin. This is a great way to show your friends what it can be like to stack and send sats! These test transactions show up in account histories but do NOT move any real funds.

Earn Bitcoin with SatsBack

Not everyone has an easy way to get their first sats. Exchange accounts for buying bitcoin aren’t available to everyone. Mining any meaningful amount has an even higher barrier to entry.

That's why we're giving people an easy, third option: earning Bitcoin!

SatsBack gives people entirely new ways to earn Bitcoin satoshis by taking simple, everyday actions. We’re working to make earning sats as easy as using any of our other products.

Today we’re revealing the first of our SatsBack features—a 20,000 reward for simply connecting your Casa Node to Sats App. To connect your Casa Node, you’ll need to activate Tor and be fully up to sync with the network. We believe this is a great first incentive, as it will drive more use of Bitcoin Tor nodes on the network.

Future SatsBack features will not only help people earn sats -- we hope they will encourage better usage and adoption of Bitcoin. We’ll be announcing and rolling out more SatsBack features over the coming weeks!

Start using Sats App

We are opening beta testing of Sats App with SatsBack today!

Apply for Sats App beta using this form.

If you’re selected to participate in the beta, we’ll send you an email with next steps on how to download the app. We’ll be inviting iOS users starting next week, and Android will follow soon after. Then, in a few weeks, after the initial roll-out is complete, we’ll open up Sats App to anyone for sign-up.

This is a limited beta, and priority access will be given to Casa Gold, Platinum and Diamond members.

If you aren’t a Casa member, join a Casa Membership plan today to bump up your spot in line for the Sats App beta!

Thank You to our supporters and friends

After months of careful design and hard work by the Casa team, we are thrilled to finally reveal Sats App with SatsBack to the world.

But we would be remiss to not send a huge THANK YOU to our advisors, investors, supporters, families, friends, and clients!

We are working hard to bring Bitcoin to billions globally, and it is only with your support that we can ship new products like Sats App.

We also want to send a special shoutout to other companies that came before us and inspired us as we built Sats App with SatsBack. The 21co team was one of the original pioneers in earning Bitcoin around new experiences (and building nodes!), and the Cash App team at Square has done an excellent job of making personal cash banking drop-dead-easy. We learned a lot from both companies’ products, recombining core lessons with many totally new ideas to design the simplified Bitcoin and Lightning experience that is Sats App.