Martti Malmi, the early Bitcoin developer who worked directly with Satoshi Nakamoto and received the first-ever Bitcoin transaction, released a new version of Nostr VPN this week. The open-source mesh VPN replaces the trust model of conventional VPNs with cryptographic keys, decentralized relay infrastructure, and user-operated exit nodes. Malmi, who also maintained bitcoin.org for years, is positioning the tool as a direct alternative to commercial VPNs that require users to trust a provider not to log or share traffic — a promise that's been broken repeatedly.
How Nostr VPN works
Nostr VPN uses the Nostr protocol as its signaling and coordination layer, employing public-key cryptography similar to Bitcoin's. In this setup, the user operates their own exit node — think a home server or a rented VPS — instead of routing traffic through a company's servers. That eliminates any third party that could be compelled to produce logs. The philosophy is straightforward: remove the trusted intermediary, remove the single point of failure and control.
This release isn't happening in a vacuum. Governments, including the UK, are moving to tighten controls over VPN usage and expand surveillance capabilities. At the same time, commercial VPN providers have racked up trust violations — services that promised no-logging were later found to maintain logs. Nostr VPN's model makes that kind of betrayal structurally impossible. The timing isn't great for the surveillance crowd, but it's a concrete option for users who'd rather not hand their traffic to a company that might flip under pressure.
Philosophy borrowed from Bitcoin
Malmi's approach mirrors the design of Bitcoin itself. Both systems replace trust in a central party with cryptographic proof and decentralized infrastructure. Just as Bitcoin lets you transact without a bank, Nostr VPN lets you use the internet without a VPN provider watching. Malmi's history — the first Bitcoin transaction from Satoshi, years maintaining bitcoin.org — gives the project a credibility that a random open-source repo wouldn't have. The new version is available now, with the code hosted on the Nostr VPN repository.
