Cointext.io
Cointext promises something very simple, sending bitcoin cash (BCH) by SMS without the installation of an app or the requirement of a smartphone.
There are only 5 commands (START, SEND, RECEIVE, BALANCE, HELP), so it’s very simple to use. You can choose to send transactions to a phone number or a direct BCH address.
That was worth another experiment and here are my findings.
Cointext really offers what it says and is very honest.
If you’re concerned about the safety of your keypair, I suggest reading this article which goes in technical details:
https://cointext.io/en/technical-questions-about-cointexts-security-and-private-keys/
The elimination of the keypair after each transaction is genius, because it
- Prevents a single point of attack
- Keeps the Cointext company requirements clean
- Prevents Cointext to be considered a money service for regulation purposes because it holds no funds or access to funds in custody
Honest sidenote, I had slight problems to start using the service because:
- My Lykke wallet didn’t allow me to withdraw BCH, I battled through support tickets and got it resolved in 2 days.
- My first 3 cointext transactions didn’t come through because I used a “+” in front of the phone number, so make sure to copy the commands very carefully.
Advantages of Cointext:
- No explanation required
- No dependence on smartphone
- No dependence on app
- No dependence on internet
- Extremely fast and cheap
Disadvantages of Cointext:
- Dependence on access to phone number (If someone has access to your phone, they can steal your funds)
- You have to reveal your phone number
- Price Volatility of BCH
- Currently only available in 15 countries, but this list is growing weekly
Verdict
Obviously the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and Cointext grows very quickly. If any of the countries in the list would be in monetary problems, they would have an imminent working alternative. Nobody has to prepare for it.
For BCH transactions, apps like Bread can work without mobile network, but Cointext can work without internet, moving cash between the 2 takes literally less than a minute.
So I have both.
Test it!
If you want to try it out, you need no installations or password, only 1 minute of free time.
Step 1:
Check if your country is on the list
CoinText Access Numbers
USA – 17077776185
Canada – 15067002100
UK – 447491163242
Australia – 61488811810
Netherlands – 3197014200771
South Africa – 27872406777
Switzerland – 41798073741
Sweden – 46700861888
Spain – 34957870414
Mexico – 529993193199
Chile – 56945950999
Finland – 3584573976101
Lithuania – 37066841321
Ireland – 353861803183
Belgium – 32460225732
Step 2:
Send the command “START” to the access number in step 1
Step 3:
Send the command "CASH" and you will receive USD 0.50 worth of BCH to start (while supply lasts, funded by a faucet of donations)
Step 4:
Now you’re ready to start making transactions.
For instance you can try a transaction to me for the (current) equivalent of USD 0.05:
SEND .0001 BCH qr0je5z3fky7n8sk4ndmf9pevtm3zyv5cs4s502jvu
Step 5:
Confirm the transaction by responding with the 2FA code that’s sent to your phone number
If you have more questions, please have a look at the links or leave a comment below
Homepage: https://cointext.io/en/
More instructions on transactions: https://cointext.io/en/howto/
Other FAQ: https://cointext.io/en/faqs/
Let me know if it worked in the comment section!