- Published on
Wisp
Wisp is a fast Android nostr client built by Barry Deen. It packages the familiar parts of a social app into one mobile experience: a chronological feed, photos and videos, rooms, live streams, private messages, reactions, and a wallet for sending money as easily as liking a post.
The client is designed for people who are new to nostr. Wisp implements the outbox model, supports dedicated DM relay sets, and uses end-to-end encrypted private messages. Users can join topic rooms, build custom feeds, upload media through Blossom, and move around the network without depending on a single platform account.
Wisp also includes a non-custodial wallet based on the Breez SDK (Spark). New users can receive zaps, send sats to creators, pay friends, and recover their wallet with a seed phrase. The wallet can display balances in USD, and encrypted wallet backups are stored on relays the user controls.
Why fund it?
Nostr needs clients that feel useful before a user understands relays, keys, or Lightning. Wisp hides much of that complexity while keeping the underlying protocol benefits intact: portable identity, user-chosen relays, open-source code, and direct bitcoin payments.
OpenSats supported Wisp in the seventeenth wave of Nostr grants. The grant helps Barry work on Wisp full-time and keeps development focused on onboarding, mobile polish, private messaging, and payments.
What's next?
Near-term work includes Dark Wisp, an Android client fork focused on more private usage patterns, plus Wisp for iOS and private relay-based communities. Barry is also working on a web client and gift-card cash-outs through Bitrefill.
Grant Announcements
- OpenSats is funding five open-source projects advancing the nostr ecosystem.