The Bitcoin Asia conference held on May 9-10, 2024 in Hong Kong marked a significant milestone in the adoption of bitcoin as a legitimate medium of exchange.
This article describes the strategies and technologies implemented to facilitate seamless Bitcoin transactions for goods and services over the course of two days, leveraging self-custodial payment processing capabilities through BTCPay Server.
Executive summary
Throughout the event, 212 Bitcoin transactions were processed, involving four providers and totaling 7,714,253 sats, the equivalent of HKD 36,974.63.
The average transaction was around 36,560 sats (around 175 HKD). Notably, the system maintained full operational availability without any failures in the Bitcoin base chain or Lightning network transactions.
What is BTCPay server?
With banks, you don't have a choice between self-custody or processing payments on deposit.
For example, if you want to run a personal care business with trust funds, you will need to run a cash-only business, which carries a huge risk of theft when centralizing capital in one location. This would also limit your customer base.
To expand our economic reach beyond our local economies, we have created payment networks and payment processors that enable digital transactions.
But what were the consequences of implementing deposited payment systems over time? Why can't we have a standalone digital payment processor? What innovations, freedoms and data do customers and businesses have to sacrifice due to deposit payment processing? What happens if my digital payment method (e.g. credit card, Apple Pay, Venmo) declines even though I have the funds in my account? What valuable data – both financial and personal – am I now able to share for free through these services?
With BTCPay Server, we can facilitate the digital experience of cash-like transactions, meaning we can make peer-to-peer digital payments. Transactions do not require personal information from the payer or an intermediary. This eliminates the risks associated with both cash transactions and reliance on an intermediary.
BTCPay Server is free and completely open source, which means BTCPay Server is not a business, it's just code.
BTCPay Server is a Bitcoin payment processor that allows businesses and individuals to receive payments directly, without relying on third-party services.
Unlike traditional payment processors, BTCPay Server holds funds and charges no transaction fees.
BTCPay Server is a highly adaptable payment processor. It can be integrated into existing systems through APIs, and both individuals and businesses can tailor their payment processing experience to meet specific needs, ensuring seamless integration into their operational frameworks.
In addition to the features listed above, BTCPay Server supports something called Prism Payments.
This feature allows trustless distribution of funds across multiple accounts at the point of sale. This innovative approach fundamentally rethinks the flow of money, enabling real-time compensation of stakeholders and employees.
How to use BTCPay server
Step 1: Set up a BTCPay server
For a complete guide on setting up a BTCPay server, check out this complete step by step tutorial on YouTube.
Step 2: Ensure liquidity and price stability
At the time of writing, the Lightning Network is the only Bitcoin scaling solution that maintains the cash-like properties of Bitcoin when paying with BTC.
The Lightning Network facilitates instant settlement, requires no KYC and offers almost no fees, just like the experience of using cash.
For the Lightning Network to work, it needs liquidity. Providing liquidity often means running and managing a node yourself, but BTCPay Server does it for you.
During the conference, BTCPay server nodes, in collaboration with Flashwhich served as the liquidity provider for the conference, operated smoothly, ensuring no payment defaults.
In addition to bringing in an additional liquidity provider, we also used a price hedging solution in case we experienced Bitcoin price volatility during the conference.
This risk had to be taken into account because the vendors who accepted bitcoin at the conference wanted to be paid in their local currency once the conference was over.
A bearish scenario for a seller would be to receive a $10 bitcoin payment at the time of sale while the price of bitcoin was high, and then, during the conference, the price of bitcoin could have fallen by 50%.
In this type of situation, when it was time to make payment in the local currency for the seller, the seller only received $5 in their local currency, which is unacceptable.
To mitigate this risk, we used “stablesats“, a Blink feature that allows instant conversion to a synthetic version of a stable currency (like the Hong Kong dollar) at the point of sale.
More information about Blink features and services here.
Step 3: Deploying physical POS machines
Despite the digital nature of Bitcoin transactions, physical point-of-sale (POS) machines have been deployed to provide a familiar payment experience for participants and sellers.
We used POS machines from Bitcoinize. These devices also made it easier to issue physical receipts on demand.
Step 4: Simplify access to Bitcoin with Bolt cards
To facilitate seamless Bitcoin transactions at the conference, we also used Bolt Cards.
These personalized “Bitcoin Asia” edition cards allowed attendees to convert fiat currency into Bitcoin for use at the event. The cards allowed simple NFC tapping on POS devices.
Step 5: Training of merchants and employees
A training session was organized before the conference to familiarize suppliers with the use of the BTCPay server.
The 10-minute session was efficient, with minimal questions from participants.
A group chat was set up for support, which remained largely inactive due to the payment system functioning smoothly.
A full video of the training session is available here.
Conclusion
Thanks to free and open source software like BTCPay Server and innovative solutions from companies like Blink, Bitcoin transactions at the Bitcoin Asia conference were incredibly easy.
The successful use of the BTCPay server at the Bitcoin Asia conference demonstrated the potential for broader adoption of Bitcoin in everyday commerce.
Consider using such solutions for your next event or within your local economy.