Bitcoin Box Considers Lighthouse Funding

“You have a merchant that has a store and someone comes in with a smart phone to pay. How can one do this with the technology side, and basically, how can this be as smooth as possible, as secure as possible, and as cheap as possible? Bitcoin Box is my attempt at getting a little bit closer to that and pulling different things together.”
— – Jan Vornberger

Jan Vornberger is a freelance software developer who studied in Germany, and currently holds a masters in computer science. Vornberger met Wendell Davis of Hive and assisted in the development of the Android version of the Hive wallet. Using this experience, Vornberger launched himself into the development of Bitcoin Box.

The Bitcoin Box is a prototype Bitcoin point of sale terminal, designed to work simply. It is built to use Near Field Communication (NFC). NFC evolved from radio-frequency identification, and is used to transfer small amounts of data between two devices at a short range. This was implemented in the Bitcoin Box to provide contact less payments. The hardware can can also display QR codes as a fall back. Only the merchant needs to be connected to the internet, “which is a reasonable assumption to make,” says Vornberger.

Vornberger advises that he is considering two investment options to finalise development, one being Lighthouse.

Lighthouse is a brand new approach to all-or-nothing fund raising. Using advanced features of the Bitcoin protocol it is now possible to create Kickstarter-style fund raising initiatives in an entirely decentralised way.

Vornbergers target is $9000 USD, which includes a "friends and extended Bitcoin family discount” states Vornberger. Pledger’s will receive a build kit, including parts and instructions, as Vornberger is “a big fan of open source and would like the project to be realized in this way.”

According to Vornberger 3 key points require addressing;

• Finishing the software that makes the Bitcoin Box tick. Which includes getting it to a production ready state in terms of reliability and robustness, and releasing it under an open source license.
• Instructions. Including a list of components, on how to build a Bitcoin Box.
• Standardization work. Coordinating with the Bitcoin developer community to agree on and document the technical standards used by the Bitcoin box.

“I’m planning on doing a crowdfunding round using Lighthouse. The resulting open source project, build instructions and especially the standardization work will, I believe, be beneficial to the Bitcoin ecosystem as a whole, so I think a Lighthouse round is a good fit here.”
— – Vornberger

The second option is partnering with BitPay. Currently the Bitcoin Box prototype uses the BitPay API, which Vornberger is very happy with. “I think that BitPay definitely is a leader in the field from the technology side, with the infrastructure,and the standards they support. That’s important to me to have high reliability. ” He has little desire to couple Bitcoin Box with other payment processors, “They would need to be up to speed on the technology from their side,” says Vornberger.

Bitcoin Box will come preloaded with Bitpay software. The intention is to be as simple as an external hard drive, plug and play. Once the account with Bitpay and the Bitcoin Box are linked, the merchant will be able to configure their account in order to receive payments directly to their bank account.

“The idea is that [the merchant] will have a Bitpay account which they set up on their browser somewhere and then there will be API tokens in which they will configure the Bitcoin Box.”
— – Vornberger

Merchants using BitPay are constantly reviewed. BitPay works with regulators and developers to ensure the supply of high grade tools, that businesses require to operate effectively. Due to these standards Vornberger has not been required to add further security to Bitcoin Box, but he says "with payments you always think about security" regardless.

Vornberger is thinking of the consumer side of Bitcoin Box at present. With Bitcoin as a neutral hardware interface, where the consumer does not need to be aware that they are actually using Bitcoin. “It’s just a technical detail in the background, but they would still have the fact that it is secure, it will hopefully be fairly cheap and the merchant will not know anything about you, but just get money from you. Which is the situation it should be,” says Vornberger.

The choice to use BitPay also comes with an additional advantage. Bitcoin Box, Vornberger explains, does not have to apply for certificates and licenses which incur additional costs. This drives down the cost of the hardware which is currently expected to retail at approximately USD$299.