Foreword
This article is to help foreigners who don’t know Chinese get started with the app Mixin Messenger quickly.
In order to avoid the boring technical explanation session, I deliberately changed the format to a sitcom dialogue, which I hope will be helpful to newbie.
Metaverse Drama ： Act I
Location:
Metaverse Bar
Appearances:
M（22225）；A（Alice）；B（Bob）
> Start of Act I
M（22225） met A（Alice） and B（Bob） in a bar in Dubai for the first time and had a nice chat with each other.
When they parted, they tried to give their contact information to each other.
A(Alice): How to reach you again online? Which social media do you use?
M（22225）： I use a lot of social media:Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, WhatsApp, Instagram, Tiktok, Wechat, etc…
But recently I didn`t use them for I don’t like the app pushing tailored ads based on personal privacy.
B (Bob): I don’t like their bloated size and frequent updates either, but you have no choice if all your friends around you are using them.
M: You always have the choice. I prefer niche software with simple functions that don’t take up space, such as Mixin.
B: What’s that?
M: Let me describe it as briefly as possible .
It looks like a traditional social app, but in fact not only does it enforce encryption for communication, but it also uses blockchain technology at the bottom.
A: It doesn’t sound brief. Is there a more detailed description?
M: I’ll try my best.
It`s …… full name is Mixin Messenger,which runs on Mixin Network, just like chrome runs on the internet.
It looks like an instant messaging software that can also send and receive many types of cryptocurrencies quickly and losslessly.
Many types means 40 public chains and digital assets issued on each public chain, such as BTC\ETH\SOL\BNB\MOB \EOS\TRX\ZEN. or MANA on ETH, IQ on EOS, etc.
Quick and lossless means that you can send 1 Satoshi BTC and the other one will receive it in one second and it is irreversible.
Encrypted communication can protect privacy, and encrypted assets can circulate quickly without loss.
These two points alone may be the foundation applications for the future metaverse application explosion.
Did I make it clear?
A : I only got the last sentence, I mean ……Metaverse .
That`s a hot topic since last year, and many tech companies are betting on it as the future direction of development.
B: Indeed, Facebook has even changed the name of the company to metaverse.
Many of my friends are talking about it.
I `m sure blockchain technology is one of the foundations.
As for crypto assets can be circulated quickly without loss ……
A:It`s sounds like a common exchange app added chat area, with free internal account transfers.
B: It’s more like the Telegram or Signal has added a wallet feature.
Have them been upgraded recently?
M: Unlike what you think, the private key is not stored on a few separate servers in some server rooms, but is recorded on the Mixin Network, which is maintained by dozens of nodes distributed around the world.
The app is open source encrypted chat software, and the Digital Asset Transfer is just an additional feature.
B: You have managed to get my attention, since it is open source, just shut up and show me the code.
M: OK, the URL is here https://github.com/MixinNetwork
B: Let me check.
A: Don’t mind, when it comes to programming technology he becomes obsessed and rigorous, no offense really.
I prefer the product experience, would you please show me the app?
M: Of course.
Just like you can choose Chrome, Firefox or Safari to surf the web，the app has different optimized model versions in order to comply with the local laws of different countries,.
In China, it is called JustChat; in Japan, it is called Links; but its native version, called Mixin Messenger or Mixin, pronounced Mix-in~, means Mixing Everything.
A: I have searched in the app store, and the installation only requires entering my cell phone number to accept the verification code once, right?
It’s done ~
Now tell me how to send and receive cryptocurrency without loss and with fast confirmation,please.
M: Do you have the native version installed?
Awesome, it doesn’t hide the transfer feature, but other optimized versions do, such as Justchat.
Anyway,click the + sign at the bottom and the transfer option will pop up.
The operation is just as easy as sending emoticons with all kinds of chat software.
A: Wait a minute …… It prompts me to set a 6 digit password, what is it?
M: Just like your bank card PIN, this 6-digit PIN is a simplified private key, which is your credentials to operate the assets in your account.
You must keep it in mind, if you lose it, even the Mixin developer can’t help you because they can’t get it back.
A: Cool! If they can get it back, it’s a centralized platform, I’m afraid to use it instead.
You know~not your keys,not your crypto.
I set a common password well, now you can demonstrate send and receive cryptocurrency.
M: Your account is empty now, you need to precharge some coins into it if you want to experience sending.
Click the icon of coins, you can find the recharge address, you can copy it, or you can scan the QR code.
A: Wow…… won’t be cheating me to recharge and then run away, right?
I heard that someone swept the QR code then lost coins as the cheater took control of the wallets.
M: It’s always right to be cautious, after all, there are too many scammers in the cryptocurrency space.
You won’t actually lose control by scanning with Mixin.
Anyway, I’ll send you a little bit of coin and you can send it to someone else.
A: Sorry, but please don’t send unknown shit coins to me.
M: Sure. I’ll send 100 Satoshi BTC, and to prove that it’s not fake, you can exchange it for another coin at the Swap service provider.
A: There are also Swap providers that sound amaing!
Hold on, 100 satoshi BTC is not even enough for miners’ fees, right?
B(Online again and speak loudly): Excuse me, I’ll answer this question.
No miner fees.
I’ve had a quick look at the open source part of the code and also searched the official technical development documentation in the meantime.
No miner fees for fast transfers is exactly the features of this technology.
Is it true that the underlying infrastructure network, called the “Mixin Network”, has been running continuously for over 1100 days?
M: Yes, it was launched on February 28, 2019.
For more information you can check out the bot 3056.
A(whispered): What is the bot ,again?( Be Neglected)
B: That`s impossible!
Has it really never lost a coin?
M: Never lost a coin!
B: That`s incredible!
My coder friend will be excited.
How many stable users are there?
Do you have the daily activity data?
M: Maybe bot 3056 will tell you part of the information.
I’m not a member of the project team, just an ordinary user.
I don’t know the exact data.
There are people who set up groups on it to teach, and the entrance fee only accepts BTC, which is about $400 a year.
So the group members are active users!
I joined that group for more than two years, so I know the maximum number of people in the group is nearly 14000 ……
B: That`s unbelievable!
When I was in college, there weren`t so many students in the whole computer faculty.
M: There are also groups with different topics such as reading and fitness, and the members are active,too.
B: I have so many questions to ask you but I’m running out of time.
There’s a private crypto circle party tomorrow afternoon and I’d like to invite you to join, is that okay?
We have a lot of friends who like cryptocurrencies and they must be very interested in this project.
They must also be curious about this application called Mixin Messenger ,or Mixin.
M: Thank you for inviting me, it’s my pleasure. I will attend.
Tomorrow afternoon, right?
I just happened to have an hour available.
B: Yes, My friend has already booked the location of the party, we`ll go to confirm the location later.
By the way, what is your name?
M：You can call me M.
A: So you must have a colleague named 007.
M: That`s funny.
But I do have a digital ID - 22225, you can use it to find me in Mixin.
Each user’s ID is unique, You can change your phone number, but not your ID.
A: Is it the search bar at the top to find the ID?
Wow, I really found you, I will send you the exact time and place of the party in text later.
M: You can send voice too.
If the service provider supports it, you can also send location locators, just like Google Maps.
A: Interesting, I’m going to spend the whole day tomorrow exploring the features of this app.
Its interface looks more like Signal and WhatsApp than the Exchange app.
M: Your intuition is superb.
Mixin uses Signal’s protocol, the chat is encrypted end-to-end, and the latest version of Signal can now transfer MOBs with Mixin to each other.
B: It’s time for us to leave
A: Wait a minute. I’ll check my ID so you know who is sending the address message.
M: How about I teach you a secret word, you can send me to prove that it is you.
A: People in the crypto circle love these kinds of games, right?
Tell me more.
M: The secret word is “牛逼l”
A：What`s that?
B：It’s Chinese , right?
I have learned some Chinese characters，but this is slang word.
M：That means pretty amaing or extreme awesome.
You can say “Mixin牛逼”.
This is what veteran Mixin users will say.
A：Why Chinese？I mean…Why not other languages？
M: The Chinese technical team developed it all.
A：Big surprise.
I’ve never heard of a development team of this caliber in China before.
B: It’s not a surprise.
The world’s largest exchange, Binance, has a team that originated in China.
The largest share of mining computing power also used to belong to China.
Sadly, the exchange and mining industries have closed one after another for policy reasons.
A: Is this team still persisting in development in China?
M: The main development team has been out of China for a long time and they have been working hard to improve it.
A: What a legend.
Antway,The codewords is“Mixin牛逼”, right?
But I don’t know how to type Chinese characters.
M: You may use NB instead of them.
A: Just the same as that sports brand New Balance?
I got it. It has been sent successfully.
A: I received “ Mixin NB”.
It’s actually a very authentic Chinese expression.
I`ll send you 100 satoshi ,and the wallet’s currency icon will appears.
Did you receive it?
A: Not yet …… received!
Wow, it really arrived in a second.
M: In fact, there is a way to send you 127 kinds of coins in one minute.
The number of each kind sent is 0.00000001, just like lighting up the stars in the night sky,
The corresponding icons will become brighter one after another after receiving the coins.
Time is running out, so let’s keep it as a small showcase for the party tomorrow.
A：Come on,I can`t wait.
B: Time to go.
A: Sorry but one last question, what exactly is the bot you just mentioned?
M: Mixin accounts can be divided into two categories based on ID.
One is for individual users with 6-8 digits, and the other is for service applets made by developers with 10 digits, the first six fixed at 700010.
There are thousands of such applets running on the Mixin Network, and the last four digits can be used as identifying marks.
These applets have a bot icon on the right side of the chat input box by default, and that is the entrance to the function menu,so we call these applets bots.
The bot 3056 I mentioned, for example,its full ID is 7000103056, which you can search for directly.
A: Can you recommend a few bots for me? Just as a newbie.
M: Swap bot 3767 allows you to change more.
If you have JustChat installed, you will need to use Wallet bot 1500.
Since you have installed Mixin, you might as well experience the group function first.
Search English group bot 1502, join this group for free, and speak English freely.
A: You just said freely, do you mean there are groups that are not freely?
M: Some groups have made settings so that if someone doesn’t hold the required number of coins ,they can’t send a message at all.
And users have access to different features depending on the level of their holdings, such as sending messages,posting emoji, URL links and videos.
A: Sounds perfect for community management!
I`m sure my friend Cathy will love it.
How do I find these groups?
M：Click the bot icon in the bottom right, you will find the the entrance by yourself.
Just have a try.
A：I know,that`s a good exploration game.
We’re about to check out the location of tomorrow’s party and send you the address.
It starts tomorrow afternoon in a coffee shop, right?
B: Yes, the name is interesting, it is called Bake n more café.
M: What a coincidence!
I know that coffee shop, it’s very very special.
A: What’s special about it?
M:Well. There are many NB signs in the store.
Tomorrow you will know why.
I also have the store’s business card here.
Bake N More Factory LLC
+971 507800813
The address is also sent to you with Mixin
You can try the built-in Google Maps feature
A: Thank you.
There is so much to explore in this app. see you tomorrow.
Bye~
B：Bye，see you tomorrow.
M：Bye bye.
> End of Act I
Postscript
This is the first time I’ve started a theme in English.
There is a lot of information contained in the characters’ awkward conversation.
Please go on to the next article “To be a Mixin-er Pro” if you like it,
Copyright waived, please feel free to redistribute.
Additional Q&A
1.Is the first six digits of the bot fixed at 700010?
A handful of early bots were not like this.
There is almost no robots suitable for foreigners.
If you use Chinese online shopping platforms, try Tapbot (ID 7000000014).
This is a shopping rebate platform that collects promotional offers from sellers and returns them to buyers in the form of BTC after a month.
2.Why after a month？
Avoid disputes over returns
The End
