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1014 sats \ 32 comments \ @cyb3r17 29 May privacy

Hello everyone!

Just wrapped up a project for the Bitcoin 2025 Official Hackathon (hosted by btc++) that I'm super proud of, called darkwire.

The project is about making sure you can still use Bitcoin and send vital messages even if the internet is down or heavily censored. darkwire uses simple, affordable LoRa radio hardware to build a decentralized, off-grid communication layer. Basically a mesh layer

Think of it as a backup system for freedom. No ISP, no central authority, just direct communication between nodes. Because, like I believe, the internet is optional, but freedom isn't.

Links to check it out:

GitHub: https://github.com/cyb3r17/darkwire

Website: https://darkwire.cyb3r17.space

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEsVZjViFdM

This is my first bitcoin based project! Let me know your thoughts or if you have any questions!

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36 sats \ 9 replies \ @SimpleStacker 29 May

@siggy47 thoughts?

104 sats \ 8 replies \ @siggy47 29 May

This is what spurred my interest. My Lilygo stopped working, so I'm in the process of getting a better device. @kepford is way ahead of me on this. I would like his input.

93 sats \ 6 replies \ @SimpleStacker 29 May

I'm curious about the technical feasibility. I've not done a deep dive at all, but just from an online search I see that Lora radios transmits data at 0.3 to 11 kbps, whereas Bitcoin produces a 4MB(=32,000 kb) block every 10 minutes.

At 11 kbps (0.001375 MB/s) it would take 2,910 seconds (48 minutes) to transmit one block's worth of data, so these Lora nodes wouldn't be able to keep up with the chain, not to mention initial sync.

Does this comport with your understanding, or am I missing something here?

155 sats \ 4 replies \ @cyb3r17 OP 29 May

right so you're not shifting the blockchain completely to radio. You're simply relaying the transaction from node (not a BTC node, a darkwire node) in a mesh network. So you're just sending the transaction hex to be pushed to the blockchain by an exit node (a darkwire node connected to the internet).

This isn't made for the average bitcoiner, but rather for people living in areas where the government simply kills the electricity or the internet (censorship prone areas say like Rafah or Tibet).

30 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 29 May

The issue with LoRa I have found is density of adoption. The local user base needs to grow. The tech works and I love your idea. I'd LOVE to dive into it but time is always the issue for me.

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @SimpleStacker 29 May

Cool, I think this is a really noble idea and I'm just trying to wrap my head around the details.

So the idea is the Lora device would still be communicating with an internet-connected node over the airwaves.

30 sats \ 1 reply \ @cyb3r17 OP 29 May

yep, just one node (darkwire) needs to be connected to the internet, each darkwire node has a range of 10km with direct LoS. and 3-5kms in realistic conditions (cities or forests).

it's a wip progress but the base project works and you can watch the youtube video to see it working. I plan on adding nostr support to it as well.

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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 29 May

Good questions

36 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 29 May

In haven't been active with the LoRa stuff for months. Been too busy with life stuff but I plan on diving back into it once this busy season has passed. I have more curiosity than time usually.

41 sats \ 6 replies \ @jakoyoh629 29 May

This always makes me scratch my head, how's it even work? I don't really grasp LoRa technology, but I assume there's a maximum range and at some point the LoRa network needs to connect to the internet to talk to other nodes. What's the performance of this tech like when it comes to miner communication? Can you actually run Stratum over LoRa?

36 sats \ 5 replies \ @cyb3r17 OP 29 May

at some point the LoRa network needs to connect to the internet to talk to other nodes

yep, that is it. it isn't made for the everyday bitcoiner but for people living in censorship prone areas

5 sats \ 4 replies \ @jakoyoh629 29 May

So, what's the furthest you can stretch a LoRa connection?

27 sats \ 3 replies \ @cyb3r17 OP 29 May

10km with direct line of sight in ideal conditions 3-5kms in urban/forest environments.

You can create a mesh network and increase the whole area coverage by adding more darkwire nodes

100 sats \ 2 replies \ @jakoyoh629 29 May

Can Bitcoin LoRa devices hook up to this network and broadcast transactions?

https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/map

21 sats \ 1 reply \ @cyb3r17 OP 29 May

havent looked it up, I'll check it out and lyk

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35 sats \ 1 reply \ @supratic 29 May

keeping an eye on it #986579

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cyb3r17 OP 29 May

ah lol, thanks for posting. weird it didn't show up when I made the post

5 sats \ 0 replies \ @cyb3r17 OP 29 May

https://decrypt.co/322192/project-send-bitcoin-without-internet-access The decrypt also wrote an article on this btw incase you wanna read more

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @wolfsbane 29 May

This is awesome. Internet optional, freedom mandatory that’s the right mindset LoRa mesh as a fallback for Bitcoin comms is exactly the kind of resilience we need.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @c9d8743c7f 29 May freebie

This is incredible work. Truly the kind of project that embodies the spirit of Bitcoin — resilience, sovereignty, and censorship resistance. The fact that you're enabling off-grid Bitcoin transactions and communication with affordable LoRa hardware is huge. This isn't just a hackathon project; it’s a critical piece of future-proofing for anyone serious about self-sovereignty. Massive respect. Subscribed to the repo and looking forward to experimenting with it! 🔥🛰️

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @unschooled 29 May

the internet is optional, but freedom isn't.

💯🎯

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @sangekrypto 22h

very good, very cool

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @robbabuona 30 May

This is a well developed project about the idea of mesh radio network: https://github.com/markqvist/Reticulum

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Alice_and_the_Wonderland 30 May

#990245

According to the article link shared, at least one node requires an internet connection.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @metadavid 29 May

Super interesting -- congrats!

It'd be cool to see a demo, but it looks like the infra required isn't exactly stuff I'd find around the house, haha.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @flat24 29 May

This is the kind of ideas that revolutionize the world. Congratulations on work. well done!