Exploring Vancouver’s Bitcoin Boom 🌆
Vancouver's bitcoin business scene is bustling in our feature story from Bitcoin News.
From Vancouver's thriving Bitcoin scene to global innovations in Lightning technology—discover the tools and stories shaping the future of Bitcoin commerce.
80+ Merchants across Vancouver are accepting bitcoin payments
Bitcoin Magazine looks at potential solutions to the last mile problem in bitcoin payments
Breez showcases bringing bitcoin lightning to a huge variety of applications
Spanish language guide makes learning Bitcoin for Business easy
Strike opens their “Strike Black API” to all developers
Looking for a laugh? Check out our Bitcoin meme of the week at the back of the Roundup! 😁
Find it all here, and thanks from the Velas Team!
Take a 12-hour tour of Vancouver's Bitcoin businesses
Vancouver gets some time in the spotlight in this great writeup from Bitcoin News. The writers document a 12-hour journey across the city, spanning a huge variety of merchants accepting bitcoin.
The team reportedly tallied up 30 bitcoin lightning payments, starting with a morning cup of coffee and ending at a local restaurant and bar. Along the way they racked up payments at tanning salons, convenient stores, a barbershop, food trucks and more!
Here’s another interesting insight from the article:
“Remarkably, two-thirds of the businesses we visited were owned by immigrants, underscoring the universal appeal of Bitcoin, particularly to those from countries with less stable currencies.
I noticed their insights into the flaws of traditional monetary systems often surpassed those of lifelong residents.”
It’s inspiring to see a city with such a bustling brick and mortar bitcoin commerce scene.
Check out the article here:
https://bitcoinnews.com/adoption/vancouver-bitcoin-economy/
The “last mile” problem for bitcoin payments and potential solutions
The Bitcoin Network is a fantastic vehicle for trustless, global payments. The Lightning Network improves this even further by making payments instant and economical. All of this functions perfectly, right now, around the clock, everywhere in the world with an internet connection.
So what is the “last mile” problem?
It’s all about the Bitcoin Network fees. Increased demand for transactions on the Bitcoin Blockchain can cause fee spikes that first, make regular on-chain payments unfeasible, and second, can make even Lightning channel opening transactions unfeasible.
To put this a little more simply: when Bitcoin network transactions fees spike, it makes first bitcoin on-chain transactions, and then bitcoin lightning payments way too expensive for most everyday payments and users.
It can cause a real hassle for Bitcoin businesses, commerce and the network overall.
There are solutions out there, both solutions that are possible today and some that will require upgrades to the Bitcoin Protocol in the future.
Solutions that are effective today:
E-Cash integrations
Liquid sidechain integrations
Custodial -> Non Custodial hybrid models
Solutions that need some upgrades to be effective:
Lightning Channel factories
ARK payments
Network fees are currently quite low, but it’s only a matter of time before we see fee spikes again.
This excellent post in Bitcoin Magazine will help get you prepared:
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/assessing-the-lightning-networks-last-mile-solution
Breez is making the tools to add Bitcoin Lightning to mobile and web apps
Breez just published their first “Feel the Breez” newsletter showcasing how their Software Development Kit (SDK) is helping to add Bitcoin and Lightning Network to a huge variety of apps.
There is an ever growing list of apps using the Breez SDK, including one which we help to develop called Picnic Groups, which we hope you will check out : )
And, speaking of the “last mile problem” in Bitcoin and Lightning Network, the SDK now supports Liquid Network to Lightning payments. It’s a trust-minimized solution that aims to:
Simplify user experience
Eliminate channel opening fees during fee spikes
Encourage self custody
For Bitcoin Commerce that aims for non-custodial, in-app bitcoin wallets, it’s really great technology.
Check out this and lots more in their first ever newsletter here:
Spanish Language Guide for Bitcoin for Business
We found this hidden gem and needed to share it with you all. If you, or someone you know, is looking for an easy to digest, Spanish language guide for Bitcoin for Business, look no further.
The guide breaks down the theory, the benefits, and the most user-friendly tools for accepting bitcoin at your business.
It even covers some tricky aspects such as regulations, taxes, and the differences between custodial and non-custodial bitcoin.
Check it out here at habla.news and pass it around!
https://habla.news/u/gnome@nsec.app/1723207764843
Strike opens their “Strike Black API” to all developers
Rounding out this edition is the news that Strike is now making their API open to all developers. For Bitcoin Commerce, this means that there is another tool available for your platforms to:
Buy and sell bitcoin
Make Lightning payments
Link payment methods like credit cards, bank accounts and bank transfers
If your business is looking to build fiat on and off-ramps into your platforms, this could be a great solution.
Check it out here:
And our Bitcoin Commerce meme of the week.............🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁
🧭 Navigate Bitcoin’s Lightning Network in a New High Fee Era
The recent spike in Bitcoin prices and network traffic have made a unique combination of headaches and opportunities. It’s also generated a lot of thinking on the future of scaling Bitcoin. Check out our deep dive here.
⚡Tapping into Taproot Assets
Lightning Labs is working on a series of short demo videos walking through using the Taproot Assets Daemon, tapd, from install to mint to transfer to burn! Find the playlist on YouTube here.