Funding open-source development of Bitcoin payment rails and decentralized e-commerce.
Supporting infrastructure projects is key to our mission at Okcoin — contributing to the decentralized ecosystem by making it easy and safe to buy and sell crypto using local currencies globally. We believe that the most impactful way to do this is by backing open-source developers; the ground troops and projects dedicated to creating and improving the core infrastructure that the rest of us build on.
OKCoin’s Developer Grant
Crypto exchanges are built on the foundations of open-source development that came before us and we rely on the continued work of developers. Our services benefit from ecosystem improvements and our business benefits from improved experiences. Last year, we launched the Developer Grant, an initiative that provides necessary funding to developers of open-source Bitcoin projects. Our first recipient was Fabian Jahr, a Bitcoin Core developer.
Today, we’re very excited to announce BTCPay Server as the second recipient of the Okcoin Developer Grant with $100k USD in funding. BTCPay Server is a self-hosted, open-source cryptocurrency payment processor enabling cross-border Bitcoin e-commerce. The project encourages adoption and greater use of Bitcoin by increasing its utility across global merchants, allowing businesses to transact in the cryptocurrency. Payment infrastructure is a critical component of Bitcoin’s future adoption and increasing its use in commerce advances the entire industry.
“The BTCPay project sustainably advances cryptocurrency adoption,” said Hong Fang, OKCoin CEO. “Their efforts support our vision of a responsible financial ecosystem built upon digital assets. Our intention is that the grant helps accelerate the pace of Bitcoin development and highlights the significance of open source developer communities like BTCPay.”
Making it easy to pay with Bitcoin
Bitcoin provides a fast, cost-effective, and secure international payment system, and BTCPay makes it easy to use. With BTCPay, users can quickly generate an address, issuing BTC invoice requests with real-time pricing.
Bitcoin is decentralized, but typical payment processors are not. For store-owners and charities, BTCPay offers a direct way to receive bitcoin payments and maintain the privacy of customers and donors. In keeping with Bitcoin’s ethos, BTCPay doesn’t compromise on security or personal privacy, providing a reliably censorship-resistant payment solution. Being decentralized ensures this; there is no third party collecting information and developers are able to leverage BTCPay’s code, building on top of it.
Moving BTCPay forward
BTCPay will put the grant towards contributor developers and API development. The project’s contributors include developers focused on improving documentation, ease of deployment, video materials, and improved UI/UX. BTCPay is working to deploy a new API called GreenField, allowing enterprises and developers greater flexibility when building on BTCPay Server.
“Without financial support from the community, we wouldn’t be able to focus on the addressable problems that we’re passionate about. BTCPay is a free service that doesn’t charge fees or involve third parties,” said Pavlenex, contributor at BTCPay Server. “Grant programs like OKCoin’s initiative are incredibly impactful for the long-term evolution of the Bitcoin ecosystem.”
Supporting merchants
Last Friday, May 22, was the 10-year anniversary of Bitcoin Pizza Day remembering the man who paid 10,000 bitcoins in 2010 for two Papa Johns pizzas that were originally purchased in fiat currency. Today, purchasing things like delivery pizza is made convenient with BTCPay. Bitcoin was built to be easily transacted; that is the purpose of its design and development. But while bitcoins have been transmitted across the network since its inception, it hasn’t been easy or cost effective for merchants to accept bitcoin for payment for goods and services. BTCPay’s mission to provide 0% fees and no third party increases the attractiveness of accepting bitcoin, as traditional payment processors charge between 1-3% of the transaction to the merchant.
OKCoin continues to work towards increased adoption and use of digital assets by providing easy fiat on-ramps through our exchange. Now, we seek to broaden our contribution with grants for the developer community, the very heart of our industry. Fiat on/off ramps and payment processors are essential and complementary pieces of an ecosystem, offering exciting possibilities for synergy. We look forward to growing together.
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