21 Adds List Feature to Bitcoin 'LinkedIn' Alternative

Bitcoin startup 21 Inc has released an update to its previously announced paid messaging platform, soft launched earlier this year.

In a Medium post today, the San Francisco-based startup debuted '21 Lists', a new function that enables 21 users to offer bitcoin as a way to incentivize VCs, CEOs and angel investors to answer email messages from unknown senders. In advertisements, the startup has sought to position the offering as "better than LinkedIn".

"Each list is a mini-directory organized by profession or skill," the post explained.

It went on to detail six lists that group participants into categories including 'VCs', 'CEOs', 'angels', 'founders' and 'blockchain'.

The update is the latest that finds 21 moving away from a former bitcoin mining hardware product play and toward software solutions it believes will spur consumer use of the digital currency.

In statements to CoinDesk earlier this month, 21 CEO Balaji Srinivasan pushed back on claims that the new product marks a pivot, indicating that its main goal is to increase bitcoin adoption.

He went on to compare the bitcoin network favorably to other forms of payment.

"[Bitcoin] allows instant receipt of funds without linking a bank account, it works across borders and it can scale up and down to very small and large payments alike," he said.

Email visualization via Shutterstock