Running a Bitcoin-first business? Here's my setup for accepting Bitcoin payments with minimal reliance on intermediaries. 🚀

🔗 **BTCPay Server** for checkout: I process Bitcoin payments (Lightning or Onchain) directly, no middleman, no extra fees. You have full control over your own node, together with LunNode.

🔗 **LunaNode** for hosting: Super cool feature - you can run your own BTCPay Server instance starting at just $10/month. It's reliable and affordable.

🔗 **BullBitcoin** for off-ramping: Instant Lightning transfers to my Euro account via SEPA Instant. For Onchain, the exchange rate locks when the transaction hits the mempool, and funds hit my bank at the first confirmation.

🔗 **Wasabi Wallet** for Onchain custody: Privacy-focused, with UTXO labeling for long-term secure fund storage.

🔗 **Blink** for Lightning simplicity: Integrates with BTCPay Server to skip the hassle of managing Lightning channels - no need to balance or open routes problems. I move funds out quickly to avoid holding them there (watch out for Onchain transfer fees!).

Bonus: Both BTCPay Server and BullBitcoin support Liquid, though Lightning is still king for my clients. ⚡️

Ditch the intermediaries and take control of your Bitcoin payments. What's my go-to setup?

🔗 Links:

OK, folks, I will share with you my experience regarding the search for a new partner for off-ramping from Bitcoin. In the last three weeks, I have encountered the inflexibility of the partners we have been working with until now. I won’t name names, but I can tell you that to renew the KYB/KYC verification, we had to send more than a dozen emails, explaining the situation over and over again to employees who seemed unaware of each other. They took two weeks to verify the identity document!

You will understand that it is not the same to deal with bureaucrats or with Bitcoiners. We have been with these partners for many years, but every time we had contact with them, it felt like they were there to put obstacles in our way, not to help us.

I knew that BullBitcoin had recently opened its branch in the EU, so I initially tested the system as an individual to see how they operate. What took the competition two weeks took them just a few minutes, the KYC verification was done quickly, limited to the essentials, and I was assured that the data used for verification would be deleted afterward. A Bitcoin Lightning exchange to Euro (300 euros) took exactly two minutes, and I had the money in my bank account, at a very favorable exchange rate (see the images).

Then, today, I had the pleasure of having a video call with @`Théo Mogenet` and @`science_genial` from @`BULLBITCOIN.COM` Europe, two true Bitcoiners with whom I felt we shared the same values and visions. They explained to me how their model works, the advantages and features of the platform, and I realized that the company we were working with before would have no chance against them in the near future.

Why? Because we are dealing with two contrasting perspectives: one outdated, trapped in the past and inflexible in the face of challenges, and another that comes directly from the vision of someone who understands Bitcoin not just in essence but especially in its spirit. @`FRANCIS - BULLBITCOIN.COM` has brought to the EU something we desperately needed: an innovative service, from Bitcoiners for Bitcoiners.

As a German proverb says, don’t go to the little blacksmith, go to the blacksmith. "Geh gleich zum Schmied und nicht zum Schmiedl". You will be better off.

As for the rest, what can I say... I hope the EU doesn’t strangle us, this increasingly restrictive and challenging environment is becoming hostile for Bitcoin-related businesses.

Don't trust me, verify! 🟠

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