by Ben Fitterman and Leon Siegmund
The Orange Pill App is a new bitcoin startup that wants to help Bitcoiners to connect with like minded folks around the world. We tested their product “The Orange Pill App” and in this article you’ll get the insights.
The company says it “was created in the midst of the 2022 bear market by a group of Bitcoiners who thought there had to be a better way to connect with other Bitcoiners locally.”
Makes sense. If you are nomadic Bitcoiner or have recently relocated, finding other bitcoiners isn’t always easy.
How To Use Orange Pill App
The app can easily be downloaded and installed on Android phones and Iphone.
You can easily enter your profile information after the installation.
After you create a profile you will be asked to pay for the app. You can pay in Bitcoin and depending on the market price of Bitcoin, the cost is around $20 – $50 for a one year plan.
The plans available are:
Yearly = 100k Sats
Lifetime = 300k Sats
Gigachad = 500k Sats
While the app store prohibits app purchases with Bitcoin, those who seek to use Satoshis for payment can do so on the OPA website.
There is no free version available and the reasons for that are pointed out on the FAQ: “Unfortunately free trials attract the wrong kind of users such as spammers, scammers, bots, NFT enthusiasts, shitcoiners, and those with low engagement. This is contrary to the type of users we hope to welcome into OPA”
Finding Bitcoiners On The Orange Pill App
When starting the app, a screen shows “Loading Bitcoiners” and indeed, the start screen is an infinite scroll of Bitcoin profiles. They are sorted after distance and you can immediately find out if you have an orange friend in close proximity.
If you find someone interesting you can then request to connect and send a message. If the other person accepts your request, you can start chatting.
Advantages and Downsides of the Orange Pill App
The Orange Pill App has potential to be a great platform for connecting with other Bitcoiners. So far we didn’t encountert any shitcoiners or normies on the platform.
However, the app falls short due to its lack of group chat and event features. The current method of randomly friend requesting individuals could be off-putting to many users. Moreover, attractive female users might receive a barrage of unwanted attention from thirsty guys.
To improve the app, the addition of group chat features would be crucial to screen potential friends and partners in a public setting. By having group chats that are geographically based, users could connect with others in their area and build meaningful relationships with like-minded individuals.
Another option would be a more detailed profile similar to Twitter that gives more insights about a person’s life and interests and more reason to connect. The only issue we see with this approach is that it might be hard to compete with Twitter and Nostr where most Bitcoiners mingle online.
While the app developers claim they do not sell user data, it is still a risk to upload personal information as it is easy to sign up for malicious actors. Now, if you already have a public profile on Twitter that might not be a big problem for you.
Orange Pill App Is Not A Dating App
While Orange Pill App is specifically advertised as not being a dating app, it has great potential in the dating aspect of it.
As Bitcoiners are a niche group, they can be difficult to find in real life, making it challenging to connect with others who share similar interests. Moreover, Bitcoiners tend to have a different set of values compared to fiat currency enthusiasts, making compatibility difficult.
For instance, Bitcoiners have a low time preference and prefer to save money, while fiat enthusiasts have a high time preference and enjoy spending money. Similarly, Bitcoiners tend to be distrustful of the government and hold unpopular views, while fiat enthusiasts tend to trust the government and more mainstream institutions like schools and vaccines.
The app’s decision to have a paid membership model will limit its audience, as people prefer free apps but this can of course also have a positive effect in regards to the quality of users, privacy standards and profitability of the business. Instead of charging users, the app could implement chat moderation and eliminate fake bots to ensure a safer and more enjoyable user experience.
If the app developer were to take inspiration from popular dating apps like Tinder and Grindr and integrate features like location-based live streaming, the app could become a real contender in the dating app space. By allowing users to connect with others in real-time based on their location, the app could help users find potential partners who share similar interests and values.
Comparing Telegram with Orange Pill App
Ultimately, while the Orange Pill App has profiles which Telegram does not, it still lacks the functionality and ease of use of Telegram. As such, it remains to be seen whether the app will be able to compete with established platforms like Telegram in the Bitcoin community.
The event feature that will be announced soon, will hopefully bring OPA on its next level and make the user experience much more valuable.
Conclusion: A great start is done and more to come
In conclusion, the Orange Pill App has the potential to become a leading platform for Bitcoin enthusiasts to connect and find potential partners and friends. We enjoyed the experience and it was interesting to discover likeminded “plebs” around the globe. Since the app doesn’t have any competition in its niche yet, any Bitcoiner interested to join the Orange Pill App has no alternative to do so.
