Bitcoin Made Simple: An Interview with Joël Kai Lenz, Press Spokesman of Relai by Shauli Zacks
Shauli Zacks
Published on: March 7, 2025
Bitcoin adoption has grown significantly over the past decade, but for many, the journey into self-custody and decentralized finance remains complex. That’s where Relai comes in—a Bitcoin-only investment app designed to make buying and holding BTC as simple as possible.
To learn more about Relai’s vision, the importance of self-custody, and what’s next for Bitcoin investment, SafetyDetectives interviewed Joël Kai Lenz, the company’s press spokesman. With over eight years in the Bitcoin space, Joël brings a deep understanding of the industry’s challenges and opportunities. In this interview, he shares what inspired him to join the crypto world, how Relai simplifies Bitcoin investing, and what users should know about security, regulations, and the future of BTC.
Can you introduce yourself and share what inspired you to join the Bitcoin space?
My name is Joël Kai Lenz, I’m the press spokesman of Relai and I got into Bitcoin because I wanted to buy a plane ticket anonymously and found Bitcoin. Once I saw how powerful this technology was, I never looked back and decided to work in the space full time over 8 years ago.
Relai has positioned itself as a simple and user-friendly Bitcoin investment platform. What inspired the creation of Relai, and what problem does it aim to solve?
This was out of necessity. Our co-founders wanted a simple Bitcoin only app to invest in and have something to share with friends and family. When they didn’t find one, they created Relai 0.1 and we were off and running. We aim to solve simple Bitcoin investment with a few clicks in an app and on autopilot with our auto-invest plan to profit from Bitcoin DCAing.
Self-custody is often emphasized in the Bitcoin community, but it can be overwhelming for beginners. What should people know before managing their own Bitcoin securely?
Always make sure to have multiple copies of your seedphrase. Ideally in a non-fire and non-destructive setup. If you do this, you got peace of mind. And then it’s up to learning self-responsibility. Make sure to get used to managing your own funds.
With increasing scrutiny on exchanges and custodial platforms, how can Bitcoin investors protect themselves from counterparty risks?
By using self-custody platforms such as Relai and if they chose to use exchanges, immediately withdraw the funds after buying to a hardware wallet.
Transaction fees, price volatility, and regulation are common concerns for potential Bitcoin investors. How do you see these evolving in the coming years?
I think we will always have swings, where fees increase due to more demand on-chain. But this is being solved by scaling solutions and better on-chain management.
What’s next for Relai? Are there any upcoming features, expansions, or partnerships that you’re excited about?
We aim to get the MiCA license in Europe this year and bring the app to even more users. The first step was done with our launch in Italy, more on that here, and now we’re going for the whole continent. If there are more feature requests then, we will make sure to ship them.
