Bitcoin Gift Cards: Simplifying Bitcoin Gifting
Project Highlights
Bitcoin Gift Cards is an application designed to make gifting Bitcoin effortless. With Bitcoin Gift Cards, users can send gift cards containing real Bitcoin (via ckBTC) to recipients who may not be familiar with cryptocurrency. The only required information is the recipient’s email address.
Each gift card contains ckBTC, enabling low-cost and near-instant transactions.
Recipients do not need to set up a wallet to claim their gift. Instead, they can simply verify their email with Google Sign-In and immediately access their Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Gift Cards won the Chain Fusion Bitcoin Edition Hackathon in the track Best Use of ckBTC.
Web3 Advantages
Bitcoin Gift Cards removes one of the biggest barriers to crypto adoption: complex onboarding. This project leverages Web3 technology to provide:
- Simplicity: Unlike traditional Bitcoin wallets that require seed phrase management, recipients can claim their gift securely without managing private keys.
- Fast Transactions & Lower Fees: Sending Bitcoin through the Lightning Network or traditional on-chain transactions often comes with unpredictable fees. ckBTC enables near-instant transactions for fractions of a cent.
- Fully On-Chain: Both the frontend and backend are hosted on the Internet Computer, ensuring decentralization and reliability.
How It’s Built
The project is built on the Internet Computer and leverages several key technologies:
- Backend: Implemented in Motoko, running on an Internet Computer canister.
- Frontend: Built with React and TypeScript.
- Bitcoin Integration: Uses ckBTC, a Bitcoin-backed token that enables fast and cost-efficient transfers.
Architecture Overview:
- Sender: Converts BTC to ckBTC via the Network Nervous System (NNS) and creates a gift card.
- Backend Canister: Stores gift card data and creates separate subaccounts for each email address.
- Recipient: Signs in via Google to claim and use the ckBTC gift card.
Internet Computer Superpowers
Several Internet Computer features made Bitcoin Gift Cards possible:
- Seamless On-Chain Storage: The backend canister securely manages gift card states without requiring external databases.
- Direct Integration with ckBTC: The Internet Computer enables on-chain transactions that interact directly with ckBTC without third-party custodians.
- Scalability: The architecture allows for handling multiple users and transactions. Scalability limits will be addressed when there is actual demand for Bitcoin Gift Cards and users with hundreds of gift cards.
Go-To-Market Strategy
To drive adoption, I am focusing on:
- Engaging with crypto and Bitcoin communities to introduce the product.
- Gathering early user feedback to refine the UX and make adoption frictionless.
- Prioritizing user feedback to inform feature development.
Fees
Bitcoin Gift Cards is currently free to use, with no platform fees. Users only pay the standard ckBTC transaction fees, which are less than $0.01 at current prices (10 SAT). These fees apply when creating a gift card and withdrawing your balance. Claiming gift cards is free.
Status of the Project
- Version 1 is fully functional, released, and deployed on the Internet Computer.
- Feature Limitations: Sending emails takes a few hours, as each message must be reviewed and approved.
- Security Limitation: There has not been any external security audit so far, and the canisters are still under my control.
- Current Focus: User acquisition, gathering feedback, and refining the product.
Resources
- Website: btc-gift-cards.com
- Presentation: Video / Slides
- GitHub: github.com/f0i/btcgiftcards
- Socials:
- X (Twitter): @f0i, Bitcoin Gift Cards
- Distrikt: @f0i
- Discord: @f0i
Future Plans
- Complete demo/staging deployment to create gift cards with Testnet-ckBTC (WIP).
- Continue improving the user experience based on feedback.
I’d love to hear your thoughts! Try out Bitcoin Gift Cards and let me know what you think!