There are more bitcoin wallets than can fit on a phone. So if someone is creating a new wallet, it begs the question—what makes it different?
Blake Kaufmann is a 22y (probably-student) old bitcoin developer building Blitz Wallet, a self-custodial bitcoin and Lightning Wallet that integrates spark and is available on mobile and web.
Sounds like a great story, no? Let’s ask him a few questions.
Hey Blake, what’s your story and what mission are you on?
I got into Bitcoin back in 2020 when I was 16 years old. I was taking an AP economics class in high school that sparked my interest in economics. One day I was scrolling through YouTube and found a video talking about the economics of Bitcoin, and since then I’ve been hooked.
With many other wallets, new users are often left with more questions than answers, and they don’t feel confident they could repeat the process on their own. At Blitz, we prioritize usability—and more importantly, simplicity—so users can fully own their payment experience without needing a more technical person to guide them.
From there, I started learning about Bitcoin mining and even ran a miner in my college dorm room. I took the Bitcoin I generated and used it to pay my entrance fee into El Salvador and cover my meals. That was the first time I really felt the power of Bitcoin—being able to use a digital currency that no one else controls to buy food in the real world.
What I’m trying to do now is make that experience—using Bitcoin as a currency—accessible to as many people as possible.
Spark protocol is gaining a lot of traction lately, what made you integrate Spark?
Whenever I think about integrating something new into Blitz, I look at a few core things.
First, does this introduce complexity for the user? In this case, Spark actually reduced complexity for the end user.
Second, does this take away users’ permission over their money? Spark offers unilateral exits, meaning even if Spark goes offline, users can still access their funds. During Spark transfers, the 1/n trust assumption is low enough that while some trust is introduced, it’s not full trust.
Third, does this move us toward a simpler UX that onboards more people? Since Spark reduced complexity across the board, it was a no-brainer.
How do human-readable LNURL-style addresses transform the onboarding experience for new Bitcoin users?
LNURL improves the payment experience for users, but it’s not enough on its own. The issue is that LNURL itself represents a new payment experience, and it’s still unfamiliar to most people.
So by creating what looks like a “simpler” experience with LNURL, we sometimes actually introduce more complexity for new Bitcoin users rather than less.
What specific pain points from other Bitcoin wallets led you to prioritize usability?
Walking someone through setting up a wallet and sending their first payment—especially someone who knows nothing about Bitcoin—really tells the full story.
With many other wallets, new users are often left with more questions than answers, and they don’t feel confident they could repeat the process on their own. At Blitz, we prioritize usability—and more importantly, simplicity—so users can fully own their payment experience without needing a more technical person to guide them.
Can you explain Blitz Wallet’s approach to self-custody and how that differs from custodial apps like Venmo or Cash App?
Our goal is to give users the payment experience of Venmo or Cash App, while ensuring they have full custody of their funds at all times.
This matters because custodial apps make money by taking custody of user funds and deploying them into investments that generate returns. When users control their own funds, they’re the ones who accrue that value—not the organization.
At a fundamental level, it’s about providing as much power to the user as possible without compromising on UX.
What technical breakthroughs made instant, invoice-free payments possible in Blitz, are there trade-offs users should know about?
This is because of Spark. A good article explaining it is by breez:
https://x.com/Breez_Tech/status/2013272487455268975
Some of the best feedback we’ve received has actually come from negative comments. Positive feedback shows you what you’re doing well, but improvement comes from solving what’s not working.
Could you share stories from non-technical users whose adoption of Blitz Wallet surprised you or shaped its development?
Some of the best feedback we’ve received has actually come from negative comments. Positive feedback shows you what you’re doing well, but improvement comes from solving what’s not working.
Early on, our contacts page was confusing, so we rebuilt it to be simpler, which helped a lot. Our receive page hid too much information, so we redesigned it to highlight what users actually want to see. Our onboarding was also slow, so we reduced it from about 45 seconds to 20 seconds.
What risks and safeguards are built into Spark and Blitz Wallet to maintain user privacy and prevent common errors?
On the Blitz side, we don’t require any user information. If we do collect anything sensitive, it’s always encrypted—for example, contact messages. When sending payments between Blitz users, messages are encrypted using a combined key so only the participants can decode them. Messages are also only stored for seven days.
On the Spark side, Blitz automatically enables privacy mode for all users, meaning Bitcoin balances and transactions are hidden from explorers. Spark is also actively working on adding more privacy features in the future.
How do you envision Blitz Wallet’s role in bringing Bitcoin payments into daily life worldwide, are there regions or demographics you see as key to growth?
What I hope to do is bring ultra-simple UX to people all over the world. One major issue with traditional finance is that it has to comply with regional jurisdictions, which means some places get great user experiences while others don’t—and those experiences can’t easily be shared across borders.
Blitz is different. It can be used anywhere, and because of that, we aim to provide the same simple UX to everyone. We don’t see borders.
What’s next for Blitz Wallet, how do you see the ecosystem evolving for Bitcoin payments?
We’re going to continue improving the user experience across the board. One area we’re exploring is purchasing Bitcoin directly within the app. Another is continuing to build out the web app to provide access to even more users.
More broadly, I hope to see increased awareness around the importance of Bitcoin as a payment system—not just something to hold. I think you’ll see new technologies being used in different ways to push toward even simpler user experiences.
