Postmortem by Tristan Bietsch

I’m Pausing BitEscrow to Build Nummus: A Better Bitcoin Ecosystem.

TL;DR

– I’m taking a hiatus from BitEscrow. It’s been an incredible journey, but I’ll return to it one day.

– Nearly got one-shotted by Bitcoin, but I’m still standing.

– Launching a new company: @NummusBTC 

Introduction

After three intense years, I’m stepping away from BitEscrow for now. From ages 20 to 23, I poured my heart & soul into building something revolutionary. We (@btctechsupport  & I) created an incredible product and set a new standard for escrow services in Bitcoin. But the truth is, the world isn’t quite ready for it yet—and that’s okay.

The lack of widespread adoption of BitEscrow falls on me. I’ve learned so much, and this hiatus is a chance to reflect, recharge, and rebuild. If you’ve read Tony’s post about building Mutiny Wallet, you’ll understand where I’m coming from. His journey resonates with me deeply.

Building BitEscrow

BitEscrow was my life. For those unfamiliar, BitEscrow is a Bitcoin-native alternative to Escrow .com. It’s 190x faster, costs 1/5th as much, and is entirely non-custodial—built without relying on external SDKs. I bootstrapped the project entirely, and went into debt to do so.

It all started when I moved to Austin to build a startup. I discovered the Austin Bitcoin Club on October 20th 2021, met @SuperTestnet and together we launched what was initially called LightningEscrow for about a year. After we parted ways, I teamed up with Topher  and pivoted to BitEscrow. He became the sole architect of our backend and created a bespoke development toolkit that powered the platform from scratch that was 100% native. It is truly impressive. Without him, BitEscrow wouldn’t exist.

The journey deserves its own book—so much happened. Those three years taught me the true meaning of resilience. I learned to face failure, how to run (and not run) a startup, and the reality of sacrificing everything for your vision. At my lowest, I was underweight, clinically exhausted, broke, and battling anxiety and depression. I even ended up in the hospital. 

Despite all this, I gave it everything I had. But by Q4 2024, the weight was too much. After months of networking, emailing, and pitching, our seed round fell apart when a key lead investor pulled out. Exhausted and defeated, I decided to step back.

The Abyss

From October to December 2024, I hit rock bottom. I didn’t work, and I didn’t want to. My life revolved around the gym, video games, and Twitch. I became addicted to Factorio, pouring 250 hours into it in a month and a half. I was hooked.

But by late December, I knew I couldn’t stay in that place forever. I gave myself two weeks to figure out my next move. Through meditation, prayer, journaling, and microdosing, I wrestled with three key questions:

– Who am I without my work?

– Do I really care about Bitcoin, or is it just about the money?

– What did I do wrong, and how can I do better?

By the end of those two weeks, I had clarity: I do care about Bitcoin. Building things—even through the stress—makes me happy. 

With renewed purpose, I decided to start fresh.

Introducing Nummus: A Bitcoin Ecosystem

Bitcoin has the power to change the world, but it’s still far too complicated for the average person. Many people don’t know what Bitcoin is, why it matters, or how to use it effectively. The lack of ecosystem—wallets, exchanges, hardware, and development tools—is fragmented and overwhelming. 

If a financial crisis hit tomorrow, people would scramble to buy Bitcoin, relying on centralized services owned by the very banks they’re trying to escape. That’s the opposite of what Bitcoin stands for.

@NummusBTC  aims to solve this by creating a unified Bitcoin ecosystem:

– Simplicity: From buying to storing to spending, everything will be easy to use, no matter your experience level.

– Comprehensiveness: One place for all things Bitcoin—no more jumping between disconnected tools and services.

– Bitcoin-Native: No altcoins, no distractions, just pure Bitcoin solutions.

With my experience and the lessons I’ve learned, I know how to tackle these challenges and build something truly transformative – solo. (for now)

The Roadmap

Here’s the plan for Nummus:

1. Launch a non-custodial wallet.

2. Build a custodial wallet.

3. Develop a hardware wallet.

4. Introduce Bitcoin-backed loans- the right way.

5. Create API + SDKs for developers.

6. Enable spending Bitcoin without selling it.

7. And so much more.

Conclusion

I’m building Nummus in public, sharing every step on Twitch and X. 

Follow along, join the journey, and sign up for the waitlist! @NummusBTC