Global instability drives surge in demand for decentralized messaging apps

Political instability in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa is driving a surge in demand for blockchain-based decentralized messaging apps, Cointelegraph reported. The decentralized P2P messaging service BitChat, for example, saw a spike in downloads during recent protests in Nepal, Indonesia, and Iran. Separately, search interest in decentralized social media has increased by 145% over the past five years. Shane Mac, CEO of decentralized communication startup XMTP Labs, said this global instability is pushing users toward decentralized options as people begin to trust open protocols more than closed corporations.