Yes you do, as clubs can break the reputation model of not managed well. This is the entire point of vexl is to not need a club, but clubs can help you make friends, but if you establish trust with someone you should trade actual contact info. The end game is not needing a club. Because you and your friends are the club. But if you’d like a club we can certainly discuss it.

Now that is something that we are working on. https://primal.net/e/

I get your privacy concerns, but let me clear up some misconceptions. Your data never leaves your phone. We don't see your contacts. We don't see your phone number. We have zero record of any trades because no bitcoin actually moves through the app. It moves between you and your trading partner via Cash or something you have agreed on. You're asking us to build a new social network from scratch when the most robust web of trust already exists, your actual relationships. Your university friend or someone you've known for 20 years has infinitely more trust value than some random Nostr pubkey you collected at a meetup. No, I’m not saying that these people that you meet at meetup’s are not trustworthy. I’m just saying they don’t have nearly as much trust to someone that you actually know and if you get to know someone well overtime then you should feel comfortable actually trading real contact information with them. Look, Nostr has promise, but right now it's a tiny echo chamber. Most people's Nostr networks are Twitter follows, not people they'd trust with their money. You're essentially asking us to abandon the goal of making P2P trading accessible to normal people because you think our target audience is shadowy privacy minded people. But the truth is we have to teach and make privacy default for all. The phone number system isn't about convenience, it’s the reality… Most of the world still uses phone numbers as their primary identifier. You take for granted that you have access to Coinbase or Binance and can use those options if you want to. Like the “average Joe” you stated, but the truth is a lot of people don't. They need P2P bitcoin, and they need it to work with the social connections they actually have. They need NO KYC solutions. We're not reinventing the wheel. We're leveraging the best web of trust that exists right now. When better ones emerge whether it's Nostr, Pubky, or something else we will adapt, but we are a long way from that point. We can't build a circular economy on hypothetical networks with small user base. Our code is open source. If you want to fork it and build Nostr integration, then mission accomplished. The tool you want exists, but the goal is bitcoin freedom for everyone, not just privacy purists with perfectly curated contact lists. However, here is what really bothers me about your comment: You are reinforcing the exact narrative that's poisoning this space. Peer-to-peer bitcoin trading isn't sketchy. It's not just for people who "don't care about privacy." It's the most sovereign way to get bitcoin. When you suggest P2P is only for people buying "non-custodial IOUs on Coinbase," you're doing the establishment's work for them. We need to make P2P normal, not niche. If your network is small, that's a feature, not a bug. Start building real relationships. Share your burner number with people you trust. That's how circular economies actually grow.

Also, Vexl doesn’t touch bitcoin or Fiat so there are no records of any sort of trades or any connection to Bitcoin. Signal, WhatsApp, and telegram all require a phone number to use. The phone number is your human web of trust. It’s not shared with us but it can help you trade with others privately.

This may be the worst meme I’ve ever made… or..

I trade bitcoin peer-to-peer -no kyc required -no fees to vexl -no permission necessary -no data collected -never been hacked -you hold your keys -instant settlements -no customer service needed -no disputes with strangers -no selfies required am i winning yes or no?

You don’t give us your phone number or your contacts. Everything is done client side. We don’t touch Bitcoin and we don’t touch fiat. We have no records of trades. We have no records of anything. We simply connect you with your friends and friends of friends who are interested in trading with Bitcoin.

Because currently there’s not a better web of trust in existence than phone numbers, your phone number is never leave your device. Until we build a better web of trust, then we will use phone numbers. Nostr is a great idea, but currently has a very small network affect. It’s on our roadmap. But currently it doesn’t make sense.

Let’s chat Chris, as it seems someone hurt you or you just ignore all the facts. Your phone numbers are not shared with us. We can’t see any sort of names of anyone in your contact list. Your contacts never leave your device. Everything is hashed locally and the Hash is built out the network moreover, no trades actually happen on Vexl. Vexl is just a social platform with end to end encrypted chat. Lil allows you and the counterparty to discuss what you want to do. Vexl is a nonprofit it does not touch Bitcoin. It does not touch Fiat. We have no records of any trades or any way to connect you to your identity.