Startup Q&A: Breez CEO, Roy Shenfield
RTIH: Tell us about Breez
RS: Breez allows users to send and receive Bitcoin payments instantaneously, seamlessly, and securely over the Lightning Network. We combine full-service, non-custodial Lightning mobile apps for end users and merchants.
We make technology that the Lightning Network needs to thrive, focusing on delivering high quality UX services that do not sacrifice Bitcoin’s P2P, trustless foundations. Our ultimate goal is to make the Lightning economy and Bitcoin mainstream.
RTIH: What was the inspiration behind setting the company up?
RS: The core Breez team are Bitcoin maximalists, and we recognised immediately how the Lightning Network could make a Bitcoin-based economy a reality. Lightning is the key to the cryptocurrency’s inevitable progression from a store of value into a medium of exchange - a real currency used by billions in their everyday lives.
With our backgrounds in tech and product development we also realised that Lightning needed a flawless, seamless, polished UX. If we can preserve Bitcoin’s founding principles while simultaneously delivering a UX comparable with Venmo and PayPal, it will become more appealing to the everyday user over fiat.
RTIH: What has been the industry reaction thus far?
RS: It’s been overwhelming, but in the best way possible.
Breez was the first non-custodial Lightning service to conceal the complexity of interacting with the Lightning Network. We’ve done it by creating the world’s first Lightning Service Provider. We were also the first to release non-custodial, Lightning-only, cross-platform clients with a very simple UX. It’s a zero-configuration approach, giving users a single balance and letting them send and receive payments within approximately ten minutes.
We sometimes hear from the community that it’s “too simple” to use. That’s like saying a cashmere sweater is “too soft.” We humbly accept the criticism.
RTIH: What has been your biggest challenge/setback?
RS: The biggest challenge is probably conservatism in the community. Although Bitcoin and Lightning are revolutionary, many are wary of change. That’s fair, because scammers colour Bitcoin’s past, and many in the community rightly value privacy, decentralisation, and trustlessness.
So first of all, we have to convince Bitcoiners that we share their values, and second, we have to prove it with our code. Talk the talk and walk the walk.
Some also have a narrow view of Bitcoin, seeing it as an asset for a chosen few HODLers. But we realise its full potential to be a peer-to-peer electronic cash system.
“Although Bitcoin and Lightning are revolutionary, many are wary of change. That’s fair, because scammers colour Bitcoin’s past, and many in the community rightly value privacy, decentralisation, and trustlessness”
RTIH: What are the biggest challenges facing the omnichannel retail sector right now?
RS: We’re building the Lightning economy, and omnichannel retail is a big part of that, but just one part. Retailers already know that their customers are always potentially online. What they might not realise is that fiat and the custodial banking system that supports it is on their last legs. For retailers, it all comes down to that one interaction — the transaction — and that’s where we come in.
Breez offers a Point of Sale app to help retailers transition smoothly into the Lightning economy as well as an in-app marketplace where they can reach the early adopters on a leading platform.
RTIH: What's the best question about your company or the market asked of you recently by a.) an investor and b.) a customer?
RS: An investor recently asked what event would catalyse mass adoption. That’s like asking when a volcano is going to erupt. We know that it’s coming, but we won’t know until it’s well underway.
One precondition is a killer app for Lightning that cuts barriers to entry down to zero. Exogenous factors, like increasing fiat volatility or another Bitcoin super boom, will also play a role.
And customers like to sit in the back seat and ask “are we there yet?”, i.e. when we’ll reach general availability. Well, the beta works great, but GA is too important to rush.
RTIH: What can we expect to see from Breez over the next 12 months?
RS: 12 months is a long time for Bitcoin and even longer for Lightning, so expect plenty of innovation. The focus is to optimise the Lightning UX. Specifically, this includes instantaneous fiat-to-Lightning onboarding. And users can already make Lightning transfers anywhere, but we want to let them transfer any time with asynchronous payments via a new technology we are working on building called Lightning Rod.
There are also exciting ways to increase capacity, like AMPs, that we’re looking to integrate. Finally, we’ll release our non-custodial Point of Sale app to start onboarding merchants.
