Bitcoin Forum

OrangeFren (https://orangefren.com) and eXch (https://exch.cx/) are happy to announce the public project aiming to initiate development of Bisq 1 light client in order to make it lightweight and usable for everyone.


Why?

Bisq 1 is the only existing fully decentralized Bitcoin exchange with meaningful volumes, which makes it a very valuable project.

The current state of the whole Bisq 1 project development is almost fully stale without addressing very important issues, and unfortunately we believe it has a very dubious future without such initiatives, while there is still a chance it can see a bright future if users are provided with a light client that does not require extreme specs and user efforts to run and maintain it. This is a list of some of its current issues: 

- constant UI lags
- random application hangs
- recurring connectivity issues
- extremely long launch times
- lack of trust in complex Java software builds that can't be verified causing many to run it in VMs which makes it even slower

We have also reviewed many messages on this and other forums/socials containing brief feedbacks on Bisq which showed us that people like the project and its concept but don't like its Java software stack realization, which causes most users prefer to CEX and other platforms to trade just to avoid running heavy Java software full of bugs and random issues due to its code complexity and lack of optimization.

We believe that the current Bisq implementation is its current entry barrier for both developers and users due to being based on Java, thus it needs an alternative client that:

- is fast
- is lightweight
- doesn't take ages to sync (but still with an option to use a self-hosted node)   
- provides a variety of options to manage user identities (add/remove/swap) without having to close and resync the client
- comes with absolutely necessary reproducible builds

Therefore we are volunteering to develop the concept, curate and sponsor the whole development roadmap at its initial stage until the first fully featured release.

How will it be done?

We will use Electrum (https://electrum.org/) as the core concept base for the implementation of the Bisq Light Client, since Electrum is one of the best light clients that were ever made and we think that the whole Bisq functionality can fit fully into Electrum-alike interface.

Here are some core concepts we wish to implement:

- The client will be written in Python using same concept Electrum has - being the GUI, the command-line interface and the RPC API in one piece of software, using the absolutely same GUI framework Electrum uses (Qt).

- It will have its own SPV servers for faster data synchronization of the BSQ chain, while still leaving an option to do it in a Bisq way for hardened privacy.

- It will use Electrum SPV servers for faster synchronization of Bitcoin data as a primary method (which might be penalizing for privacy), while still offering options to use full remote and local Bitcoin Core nodes.

These three points are core anchors to solve the performance issues that are present in the current Bisq 1 implementation. Once there is a protocol fully implemented in Python and a working CLI, the development should become easy and straightforward, enabling the FOSS community from the whole world to contribute.

Who will develop it?

We will wait for interested developers to contact us in order to distribute tasks and launch the initial development.

We also expect some current Bisq 1 core developers and contributors to attend and participate in this project development.

OrangeFren and eXch teams will also perform code security review at the first development stages since we have expertise in Python.

The Github repository will be managed by OrangeFren, eXch and current core Bisq 1 developers/contributors who will manifest interest in helping with its maintenance. An independent security audit will also be performed once there is a full featured release.

What is the funding?

The initial current project funding is 5 BTC (but not limited to) provided by eXch, whose team will also distribute the funds across all the contributors after each project stage completion based on their participation.

The distribution of funds evaluation will be performed by OrangeFren, eXch and any interested parties who wish to contribute into this project.

We also accept donations at the following addresses to be distributed across the contributors:

BTC: bc1q852fnqadh9w4fssnsh8jnh0ranqnrj2qn8pe7k
LTC: ltc1qrfvaw3y3rax4rz9420jffkuvatw3p6sc4gqjrg
ETH: 0x1087D9f292BD2148dAec878b0F383AeC4c63E0A7 (if stablecoins, please avoid USDT and USDC, while DAI is preferred)
XMR: 45JxXNs3AJYEyVNsT6TJWLYJKttw6b8yoSRBSXu3AgWEUys1oxiuFDL6VHMVaMDVUnBXtbCSCS4QfaT ymryniM4KGQ1vq6v

(These addresses belong to OrangeFren who will be responsible for proper distribution of donated funds)

How to participate?

If you are dev who is interested to make the part of this project, please send an email to bisqproject@mail.orangefren.com and inform us which part of the project you are interested to work on so we can add you to the initial core team.

Devs who wish to make the part of the core team are required to have good Python skills and experience in network application development and basic Bitcoin concepts.

Non-devs who wish to make the part of the team on other concepts (such as marketing, accounting or research) can also email us or simply joins our SimpleX Chat group.

The first development roadmap with a separate taskforce group for each point, which is considered STAGE 1:

- Full implementation of Bisq 1 protocol

- Research and development of public BSQ SPV server along with its synchronization model (either per address sync or per height sync)

- The client command line, GUI and API functionality development to be able to view, take and create Bisq offers. The first GUI concept will be based on Electrum interface tabs and menus.

We accept a possibility that Electrum wallet repository might be forked for development of the initial concept.

Once STAGE 1 is complete, the 5 BTC will be distributed across all the developers fairly.

We accept suggestions.

Please join our SimpleX Chat group to talk on topic:

SimpleX Group url (https://simplex.chat/contact#/?v=2-7&smp=smp%3A%2F%2FPtsqghzQKU83kYTlQ1VKg996dW4Cw4x_bvpKmiv8uns%3D%40smp18.simplex.im%2FwtAB_sTDvJN0xPjtUonxSmN0p_hFhHYL%23%2F%3Fv%3D1-3%26dh%3DMCowBQYDK2VuAyEAGF2-jIO-XCjZYBnX2nFDXwnfPngqQtssFP8P9Ol1Qxs%253D%26srv%3Dlyqpnwbs2zqfr45jqkncwpywpbtq7jrhxnib5qddtr6npjyezuwd3nqd.onion&data=%7B%22type%22%3A%22group%22%2C%22groupLinkId%22%3A%22z8S6_bA_Mh8zWw-sOHQHGw%3D%3D%22%7D)
https://orangefren.com/file/bitcointalk_attachments/bisqproject_simplex_invite.png

Email for any questions: bisqproject@mail.orangefren.com (currently forwarded to OrangeFren and eXch reps, but we also invite all the core Bisq 1 developers and contributors to be added to the forward list)

IMPORTANT: This project is not related to Bisq 2 thus any mentions of it will be considered offtopic

This post will be updated once the basic development team pops up meanwhile we are awaiting for proposals.

Great initiative!
I like the idea of using Electrum wallet as a base, and there is similar looking open source wallet called Feather for monero.
It would be good if more developers join the project, not only from bitcoin since monero has the biggest volume in Bisq I expect to see some xmr developers joining as well.

I think anyone who has written at least one post in the Project Development section uses Electrum by default and out of habit.

That's why a new project whose conceptual base will be similar to Electrum will be an ideal solution... a kind of breath of fresh air. 👓

I think it would be a good idea for everyone involved to agree on a design and layout for each of the tabs before you guys start the coding, just to save time.

Either way, I dislike Java. It's very backwards-compatible, but it eats up too much memory, and its memory usage is evident when you use any large IDE for example.


Feather is a very good design indeed. But I'm about to run my own XMR node, and will move my Bitcoin node there too (bye bye Hetzner). I have just set up a Proxmox machine for it.

I'm quite amazed how this initiative reveals just how universally hated Java is  ;D

Friendly bump!

Enterprise vendors are stuck with it, so it's definitely not going anywhere for the next 50 years.  ::)

Have you found any devs for this project yet?

Yeap someone is already working on the UI prototype:

https://www.talkimg.com/images/2024/10/17/8hodW.png

A few other devs have joined the SimpleX group but I don't know how active they are, I think only 1 dev is working at the moment.

Hi, count me in. Due to busy schedule, I will be as active as I can.

Apart from my daily job as a software engineer, I am also writing open-source code in my free time.

Therefore, from now on, I will move all of my open-source time into this project.

PS: It's never easy to find a balance between daily job and open-source. I think we all know that.

GitHub repo for the project:
https://github.com/orangefren/Bisq-Light-Client (https://github.com/orangefren/Bisq-Light-Client)

If you'd like to work any part of the project simply fork the repo and submit your code there

November bump :)

Great initiative! I love how everything is done transparently and how much emphasis is being put on open source! I'm a big fan of FOSS so I will keep an eye on the repo for issues/progress.

December bump!

Here's some updates about the project:

https://talkimg.com/images/2024/12/18/Dm5A1.png


Feel free to join the SimpleX group to follow the ongoing development of the project:

It's good to hear that things are moving in good direction.
Do we know how many developers are currently working on Bisq Lite project?
I am sure it wouldn't hurt anyone to get few more brains joining the team if it's not to late.

Since the project is open-source, I am certain that you can help.
And since you seem to be a valuable member of the forum, I am certain you 'll help as much as you can.

Unfortunately, my schedule hasn't allowed me to help... At first I thought I 'd be more available, but life is busy these days. I 'll jump in as soon as I can.

I could be wrong, but it seems that Cockatiel is working on his own at the moment. There are, however, two or three active devs in the SimpleX group, who (I suppose) will be able to contribute to the project at a later stage probably.

January bump :)

The project keeps moving forward, friends! :)

The headless app (without UI) is almost ready now, you can see the recent updates on the following link: https://github.com/thecockatiel/bisq_light_client

It's great to see the project moving forward, cockatiel is producing a ton of work very quickly!
By the way, as always feel free to join the SimpleX Chat (https://simplex.chat/) group to follow the ongoing development/discussions about the project:

Incredible work by Cockatiel, but also everyone who has participated. I wish I had more time, but nevertheless, I am happy to see such a fast-paced progress.

February bump!

Bump for this project that will benefit our entire community!

Thanks OrangeFren and eXch for announcing the project. It's advantageous building Bisq 1 with Electrum because light clients aren't eating resources & they're a strategic choice for ppl using older processors. I've seen regular commits from thecockatiel in git repo (https://github.com/thecockatiel/bisq_light_client) he's industrious. It's a superb initiative which deserves a triumphant completion.

As usual, eXch is keeping its word, and has already distributed two rewards (for a total of 1.25 BTC) for the development of the Bisq Light Client :)

• The first reward of 0.55 BTC was sent at the end of December to Cockatiel (https://github.com/thecockatiel/bisq_light_client) with TXID 3fcebcf2043abbc4ad60cd0af1b085533ad6f1fe918b892ba408c60524fa367b (https://mempool.space/tx/3fcebcf2043abbc4ad60cd0af1b085533ad6f1fe918b892ba408c60524fa367b).
  Details from the SimpleX group:
  https://talkimg.com/images/2025/03/15/01wIj.png

• Yesterday another 0.7 BTC was sent to Cockatiel (https://github.com/thecockatiel/bisq_light_client) in 44232a707d69a27d449885f2d920c441980964e119fed61a2585c6913449f972 (https://mempool.space/tx/44232a707d69a27d449885f2d920c441980964e119fed61a2585c6913449f972).
  Message from the SimpleX group:
  https://talkimg.com/images/2025/03/15/01A7G.png

As a Bisq user who is quite frustrated by the software's bugs, heaviness and punitive synchronization, I'm glad to see that the Light Client project is moving forward quickly and in the right direction!


Like always, everyone is welcome to join the SimpleX Chat (https://simplex.chat/) group to follow the ongoing development/discussions about the project:

SimpleX Group url (https://simplex.chat/contact#/?v=2-7&smp=smp%3A%2F%2FPtsqghzQKU83kYTlQ1VKg996dW4Cw4x_bvpKmiv8uns%3D%40smp18.simplex.im%2FwtAB_sTDvJN0xPjtUonxSmN0p_hFhHYL%23%2F%3Fv%3D1-3%26dh%3DMCowBQYDK2VuAyEAGF2-jIO-XCjZYBnX2nFDXwnfPngqQtssFP8P9Ol1Qxs%253D%26srv%3Dlyqpnwbs2zqfr45jqkncwpywpbtq7jrhxnib5qddtr6npjyezuwd3nqd.onion&data=%7B%22type%22%3A%22group%22%2C%22groupLinkId%22%3A%22z8S6_bA_Mh8zWw-sOHQHGw%3D%3D%22%7D)
https://orangefren.com/file/bitcointalk_attachments/bisqproject_simplex_invite.png

Great to see things are moving forward with Bisq Light client, but it would be better if more developers join the project to speed up things.
Are there any estimates when can we expect to see early testing release in public that can be tested by general users?

It should be a matter of weeks before we can test the CLI version, as per one recent answer from Cockatiel in the SimpleX group:

https://oshi.at/BHyR/kMXp.png

I am planning to engage as much as I can, starting from the weekend. I have the environment ready. I hope we will decrease the overall time needed for testing.

It’s a lot of work that needs to be done, but I am optimistic.

He's got to be working hard because it's a lot of btc to be given to 1 dev

Indeed he did a lot of work by himself. Let me quote eXch's message:

April bump!

Bisq is not completely decentralized. It has central nodes. Without them, Bisq would not be able to function.

These central points of contact are used to exchange offers and bring buyers and sellers together. This is anything but decentralized.

Are you talking about Bisq or Bisq Light Client Initiative Project ?

It seems your understanding of Bisq network architecture is very narrow since you stated some false facts there.

If you ever looked at the code you would know that the order data is stored in the DAO chain that is only possible to get from online Tor peers. This works exactly like P2P network In Bitcoin Core, thus, Bisq trading data is actually decentralized to the full extent of this term.

Please refrain from making misinformative claims in future unless you get a bit more familiar with the Bisq's network architecture.

What is the future of this project now that eXch lost pretty much all of their BTC?

eXch's funding Bisq Light Client Initiative Project so how's the project going to have a future if eXch's team isn't available. There's reports about $34M seizure I didn't know they've lost all of their btc.

We don't know if all eXch funds were seized. We will probably never get confirmation, whether it is true or not.

As for the Bisq Light Client project, it's now been 8+ months since this thread was started. By now, most of the project should have been completed. In any case, it is not the end of the world if there is no eXch as an investor. Good projects will find their way

Has anybody tried to enter their SimpleX channel to see the project's updates?
Perhaps @paid2 may have some feedback about it. The channel is free of course, so I can join and see for myself, I just don't have too much time to read the older messages.

If eXch doesn't post we won't get confirmation how many btc were seized. Good projects find their way they'll succeed after funding stops. Bisq Light Client Initiative Project's going to be used by many ppl so I hope it gets completed.

A decentralized, lightweight Bisq could lower everyday users’ barriers to trade without surrendering custody.
A light client might need to rely on a network of semi-trusted relays or an SPV-like system. Perhaps drawing from how Bitcoin SPV wallets work (verifying via headers/merkle proofs) could help so users don’t have to sync the entire order book or blockchain. Regarding the central node issues, maybe the community could decentralize that function by having multiple volunteer-run nodes or a rotating federation to reduce single points of failure.

AI generated ?

Feel free to check for AI usage within the forum and report it here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5456516.0
You 'll see multiple AI detectors that you can use and in the OP you can see how to report properly.

No. I use grammaly, tho.

In github it's been weeks since Bisq Light Client Initiative Project received updates. We know eXch team isn't coming back so there isn't a donor who's going pay devs. Is Bisq Light Client Initiative Project dead ?