Home Blink: the Bitcoin wallet adapted to Bitcoin villages

Blink: the Bitcoin wallet adapted to Bitcoin villages

5 min read

Bitcoin is revolutionizing the way we interact with money. However, its adoption may still be hampered today by its apparent complexity.

There are several solutions and different wallets that promote Bitcoin adoption worldwide. Some solutions are better suited to certain situations. For example, the Blink wallet was designed to facilitate Bitcoin use, particularly among the least-banked populations. Furthermore, the Bitcoin wallet was designed for optimal use in circular economies based on Bitcoin, such as the well-known Bitcoin Villages.

In this article, we provide you with a summary of what the Blink wallet is in order to better understand its features.

What is Blink Wallet?

The Blink wallet is an open-source (FOSS) wallet available as open access on GitHub . It allows you to send and receive Bitcoin and also supports the Lightning Network for cheaper and faster transactions.

The Blink wallet was previously known as Bitcoin Beach. This name directly referenced the " El Zonte " Bitcoin Village in El Salvador, which was the world's first Bitcoin-based circular economy village. Originally, the project was designed by the company Galoy for use within the village and throughout El Salvador, as the country legalized Bitcoin in September 2021.

So, by renaming the Blink wallet, it avoids confusion and also shows the desire to make it a more global wallet.

Blink Wallet Features

An intuitive interface with quick and easy handling
Available in multiple languages
Support for “Stablesats dollars”, which can be useful for conversions to FIAT
Low transaction fees, especially on Lightning
A feature to learn about bitcoin and earn satoshis at the same time
A merchant map

The Bitcoin Beach wallet offers a range of features that make using Bitcoin easier. Users can send and receive Bitcoins via the Lightning Network.

⚡ The Lightning Network is a second-layer solution on the Bitcoin network that enables faster and cheaper transactions. —> Learn more: The Ultimate Guide to the Lightning Network

What is stablesat?

In addition to being a bitcoin wallet, Blink also supports a dollar-pegged stablecoin called “stablesats.” Stablesats allow people to avoid bitcoin price volatility, for those who want to.

On the application, it is then possible to make instantaneous conversions from bitcoin to stablecoins and vice versa. It is also possible to pay and receive stablecoins directly which can then be exchanged for bitcoin.

This is a particularly useful feature for merchants who want to display “stable” prices and want easier accounting.

A space to learn about Bitcoin and earn satoshis

There's a section on the app dedicated to a fun, educational program about Bitcoin. Users can earn satoshis by completing short, interactive lessons about Bitcoin and the currency through the "Learn & Earn" program. This allows them to earn free bitcoins while deepening their knowledge.

What are Blink’s fees?

The first thing to know about the Blink wallet is that there are no fees between Blink users . If you send Bitcoin to someone who owns Blink, there are no fees. For outgoing Lightning transactions, you will only have to pay a routing fee of approximately 0,002%.

In addition, thanks to the infrastructure built on the Lightning network, fees are minimal, particularly for transactions and for BTC-Stablesat conversions. Conversions to stablecoins are 0,2% spread, no fees.

On-chain deposits incur no fees if the deposit is more than 1 million sats, or 0.01 BTC.

A merchant map

Merchants who accept bitcoin can register on the app's map. This way, users can easily find the merchants of their choice who accept bitcoin payment.

A Payment terminal function for merchants

This is certainly a most useful feature for merchants looking for a simple tool to accept bitcoin. This is what Blink Wallet offers with the simplest configuration. Merchants can then create invoices that can be easily scanned by a smartphone. They can also choose the payment currency of their choice.

The disadvantages of the Blink wallet

Like all bitcoin wallets, the Blink wallet is not without its drawbacks.

This is a custodial wallet. This means that it is not the user who has their own keys. This can be a major inconvenience for those seeking complete control of their funds. Another related thing: some people may also criticize the application for the need to register with a phone number or by email. This can be a barrier to users looking for greater privacy.
On the other hand, the main fault is not so much its functionalities as the fact that it is (for the moment) rather suitable for residents of El Salvador. This involves buying and selling bitcoin on the app which can only be done by having a bank account in El Salvador. For example, merchant maps contain very few addresses and this is because the vast majority of users are based in El Salvador or Latin America.

In fact, if you want to buy bitcoin directly or make conversions into dollars, you will necessarily have to have a bank account in El Salvador.

Thinking about a Bitcoin adoption that would be “Bottom-Up”

The adoption of Bitcoin presents many challenges and significant obstacles which can be explained in particular by the apparent complexity of the technology, the volatility of prices and the general lack of knowledge on the subject.

Thus, the Blink Bitcoin wallet seeks to appeal to a population new to the subject by offering a wallet that is simple and intuitive to use. By offering a wide range of services, the Blink wallet is perfectly suited to circular economies, allowing different groups of the same population to use it easily.

How to register on Blink Wallet?

To register for Blink Wallet, nothing could be simpler. Simply enter your phone number or email to immediately access all the features.

Regardless of your geolocation, the application supports all phone numbers in the world.

Conclusion

Blink wallet is definitely a great and well-designed tool for beginners who want to get started with Bitcoin. It has a variety of features that make Bitcoin more accessible and easier to use, even for beginners.

Precisely, this is an advantage but also a disadvantage for the most experienced profiles. Due to the fact that the wallet is custodial and you do not have your own keys, it is also not a wallet on which you should store a large sum of bitcoin.

Its use should rather be focused on beginners and people who do not feel ready to secure their seed phrases on their own , for example.

Otherwise, overall and in terms of the objective he set for himself (to promote the adoption of bitcoin in bitcoin villages ), then we can say that the mission is accomplished!

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