Radar Chat Lets Users Send Bitcoin Like a Text

Radar Chat launched Tuesday, combining end-to-end encrypted messaging built on the Signal Protocol with self-custodial Bitcoin payments routed over the Lightning Network. The app is available on iOS and Android and was developed by the team behind Cake Wallet; Radar is a separate company.

The app embeds native Lightning payments inside private conversations so users do not need to switch between a chat app and a separate wallet or copy and paste wallet addresses. Private keys remain under user control. During setup Radar issues a recovery seed phrase and offers an encrypted backup tied to the user’s Signal account as an additional restore option.

Radar uses the open-source Signal Protocol for message encryption while handling Bitcoin transfers over Lightning, a layer-2 network that moves transactions off Bitcoin’s base layer to speed settlement and reduce fees. Radar’s engineers report successful tests of payments up to $5,000. Actual transaction capacity depends on available Lightning liquidity and channel capacity rather than limits imposed by the app.

Vikrant Sharma, founder of Radar Chat and Cake Wallet, said, “People we talk to and the people we pay are often the same people, yet messaging and payments still live in separate places.” He described the app as a way to put payments into the same conversation where users already communicate, for tasks such as splitting a bill, paying for lunch or sending tips.

Sharma contrasted Radar’s model with hosted payment services and pointed to custody differences. He noted that centralized platforms can hold funds, freeze accounts and view transaction history, while Radar keeps custody with individual users and routes transfers over Lightning to keep them fast and low-cost.

Radar was developed independently from Signal. The company says it provides financial support to the Signal project and chose the Signal Protocol for its established encryption standards. Messages and payment data are encrypted end to end between sender and receiver.

The company positions Radar for routine person-to-person payments rather than institutional transfers. Users who need larger or more complex settlement arrangements will remain subject to the technical limits of Lightning Network liquidity and channel routing. The app’s release extends a trend of integrating payments into messaging interfaces while preserving user-held keys and off-chain settlement using Lightning.