Bitfinex, a state-of-the-art digital asset trading platform, and Bitrefill, a provider of digital gift cards and mobile airtime refills using Bitcoin technologies, will enable customers to shop with bitcoin and Bitrefill’s catalog of 2000+ prepaid voucher products.
Starting today, Bitfinex customers can shop for a variety of services, including gaming, dining, entertainment and travel gift cards.
Instant is infinitely faster
Bitfinex customers will be able to use bitcoin in their account wallet to instantly shop from Bitrefill’s international catalog of digital gift cards and mobile phone refills for 170 countries.
Bitfinex recently introduced support for bitcoin deposits and withdrawals on the Lightning Network. With newly added Lightning deposit and withdrawal features at Bitfinex, customers can spend less time waiting and more time trading… or shopping!
The provision of this new payment feature underlines our companies’ commitment to building a new digital economy, Bitfinex and Bitrefill utilize customized versions of Lightning to open large channels together, exceeding the default limits in place, but allowing better flow and reliability to users.
Lightning-powered initiative
Bitrefill and Bitfinex have created the world’s first dynamic B2B settlement process over the Lightning Network.
In the background, Bitrefill and Bitfinex will instantly settle payments automatically over Lightning, using a dedicated channel setup, eliminating the need for B2B credit-term relationships.
“We believe that getting bitcoin exchanges on to the Lightning Network early is integral to preparing for the next wave of adoption and building out a parallel economy for Bitcoin. This collaboration signals a new era for Bitcoin commerce.
We will continue to work closely with Bitfinex and other businesses to develop Lightning solutions and products that make living on crypto a reality, eventually removing dependability on fiat rails”
— John Carvalho, CCO at Bitrefill
‘Closing the loop’ for Bitcoin’s circular economy
The joint initiative aims to ‘close the loop’ for Bitcoin’s circular economy by integrating Bitrefill’s catalog into the Bitfinex.com website while leveraging the cutting-edge capabilities of the Lightning Network.
Earlier this year, Bitfinex and Bitrefill also created a consortium with other industry players exploring the development of open-source technology to enable token functionality on the Lightning Network, based on the RGB protocol.
“Bitcoin’s use as a means of payment represents an important milestone in the inevitable journey towards mass adoption. This is why the Lightning Network is so important.
As an exchange, Bitfinex is at the forefront of developing solutions utilizing this technology. This venture with Bitrefill further demonstrates our commitment to the crypto ecosystem and all the great work that is being done.”
— Paolo Ardoino, CTO at Bitfinex
About Bitrefill
Founded in 2014, Bitrefill’s mission is to allow people to live on cryptocurrency as easily as possible, worldwide, by acting as an alternative cryptocurrency off-ramp, with no bank or exchange account required.
We are currently achieving this through three product lines: digital gift card vouchers, mobile prepaid refills, and Lightning networking services for Bitcoin. We offer more than 2000 voucher & refill options, spanning 170 countries, with a team of 22.
Start living on crypto by buying gift cards with Bitcoin, Ethereum or any other altcoins today.
