As a modern internet user, we’ve become accustomed to certain user experiences, slick one-click logins, signing off payments perhaps with a 2FA for added security, and connecting our credit cards to applications for subscription payments, and this is the standard; no one will accept anything more complex.
When sites and services are centralised, it’s easier to manage the user experience and abstract the complexity away from the customer so they can enjoy the best possible user experience. But centralising more of the experience means you must manage actions that might fall outside of your app, website, or platform’s core competencies or bring in third parties, which comes with risks.
As we move towards a more decentralised infrastructure spurred on by the possibilities that Bitcoin provides, it brings with it a new set of problems in the form of interoperability. Suppose you’re running a website and you want to provide Bitcoin payments. In that case, you need to consider how your website will interact with the various APIs, implementations and wallet interfaces, which brings added complexity and friction.
This can impact your website’s user experience, add to technical overload, and discourage integration with Bitcoin. Thankfully, the decentralised world is buzzing with innovation, and two exciting projects, Nostr and the Lightning Network, are leading the charge. While both share goals of empowering individuals and fostering censorship-resistant communication, they operate in different arenas.
Enter Nostr Wallet Connect, a powerful open-source bridge that seamlessly integrates the two, unlocking new possibilities.
What is Nostr Wallet Connect?
The team behind Amethyst, a Nostr mobile client, and Alby, the web-based Lightning wallet, have put forward a solution called Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC), making it easier to integrate Lightning into a Nostr client experience without using a special-purpose wallet.
Imagine a world where your social media app can interact with your Bitcoin wallet without compromising privacy or security. You don’t need to change your wallet, have a particular wallet or set up another custodial wallet. Instead, the nostr app will connect to whatever implementation of Lighting and version of Lightning wallet software you’re running.
That’s the magic of Nostr Wallet Connect.
This open-source software is a translator, enabling Nostr applications to communicate with Lightning Network wallets from custodial options like Blink and Wallet of Satoshi To Browser wallets like Alby or even self-hosted ones like Zeus or Blue Wallet running on your own Start9 or Umbrel Lighting node.
Think of Nostr Wallet Connect as a secure bridge that lets you sign transactions, receive payments, and manage your funds directly within your favourite Nostr app.
How does Nostr Wallet Connect work?
The NWC protocol uses Nostr’s identity architecture and allows an application to generate a Nostr keypair or read from the one hosted in your wallet or signing device. It then uses this cryptographic authentication mechanism to communicate with any supported Bitcoin wallet for access to prompt payments via a BOLT11 Lightning invoice or Keysend payment.
Nostr Wallet Connect leverages the power of Nostr’s decentralised communication layer. Instead of relying on centralised servers, it uses cryptographic keys to verify your identity, authorise access to applications and even generate transactions.
How to connect your app?
- Create a new app connection: Enable the application by creating a permissioned connection to your wallet. This access can be revoked at any time.
- Connect your app: Connect your application by adding the connection secret. Either by scanning the connect QR code or clicking a link.
- Done: Zap and Boost to your heart’s content! Your Lightning wallet will always be available where you need it. And if you ever want to disable it again, simply disconnect the connection again.
Use cases and benefits of NWC
Nostr Wallet Connect reduces the friction for websites and applications to support Nostr and Lightning and brings these user bases into their community.
As for the user, it only expands their current Lightning wallet capabilities, making it easy to use as a unique identifier to access accounts across multiple service providers, manage their spending from one wallet, and simplify the process of using a decentralised payment rail across the web.
Seamless micropayments
If we look at the most popular Nostr clients, they’re filled with social media applications, most focusing on short-form content, while new ones have centred around long-form content. Nostr Wallet Connect makes it easy for users of a Lightning wallet to jump in and out of their preferred client and tip content creators, buy digital goods, or donate to causes directly within any interface.
Collaborative transactions
Collaborative multi-sig schemes can also benefit from Nostr, with it being used as a communication layer that could drastically simplify the coordination between parties and different wallets, with multi-sig support coordinating transaction signing in a user-friendly manner.
DLCs
Discreet Log Contracts (DLC) have been around for some time, starting on-chain but adding support for Lightning, yet it still has yet to become a widespread use for Bitcoin. Since DLCs rely on coordination between both parties and require each party to have access to Oracle signatures to sign off and close the smart contract in case of a dispute, nostr can make this a little easier since a Nostr key can be used to track and acquire signatures when broadcast by oracles.
Gamification
We’ve yet to see a client or game integrate Nostr, but it should only be a matter of time. Mobile gaming and mini-gaming online have a massive audience of casual gamers from computers to grandmas. If you can couple in social interactions and integrate micro-transactions into a wide range of games, I think you have a winner.
Think Ebaumsworld or your favourite Flash game site, but your high scores are now attached to a cryptographic wallet, and you could even earn some sats for taking apart other people’s high scores; what’s not to like?
Did I pitch the next million satoshi idea?
Nostr and Bitcoin continue to complement one another
Nostr excels in social communication and identity, while Bitcoin provides a secure and reliable financial layer, and Lightning is ideally configured to manage micropayments.
By connecting them, Nostr Wallet Connect creates a powerful ecosystem for developers to access a market without the need to cater to every possible setup a user might be running.
Nostr Wallet Connect is not just software; it’s a bridge towards a more open, secure, and interconnected future. By harnessing the power of Nostr and Bitcoin, it empowers individuals to take control of their communication, finances, and online experiences. It also frees up developers to focus on their core product and build memorable experiences that users will enjoy and be happy to pay for in Bitcoin.
Do your own research.
If you want to learn more about Nostr Wallet Connect, use this article as a jumping-off point and don’t trust what we say as the final say. Take the time to research other sources, and you can start by checking out the resources below.
