Make A Bitcoin Lightning Tip Jar
Easily Print Your Own Bitcoin Lightning Network Tip Jar
I started writing about the Lightning Network to educate the world about the Lightning Network, the fastest way to send money worldwide. We have the email of money, but most people in the world have never heard about it, let alone have a Lightning address. So I started writing a blog to tell the world. Nobody cares, aside from a few Lightning Network nerds.
Now the Lightning Network is finally gaining traction. Bitcoin is accepted at Steak n Shake and Square terminals. I can finally buy a cheeseburger in the real world. It’s the most bullish news for peer-to-peer electronic cash ever. I’ve never been so excited. It was the bullish of times; it was the bearish of times.
Most people do not share my enthusiasm. They only know how to use Bitcoin to buy one thing: fiat. Therefore, they only look at how many dollars they can buy with 100 million satoshis held by a trusted third party, of course. I can yell about peer-to-peer electronic cash until I’m blue in the face, but it won’t matter. The news only talks about the price of 100 million sats denominated in dollars.
So I started writing vibe code. English—the word is actually English—but AI now makes English a programming language. Now, instead of writing about the Lightning Network and telling people what it is, I get to turn some of my old blog posts into websites that bring my ideas to reality. One of these ideas was a Lightning tip jar. I’ve been experimenting with manually creating a tip jar like a nerd. I copied and pasted a Lightning address using a format only a Nostr expert would know. I wrote it down for an audience that wouldn’t care. A lot of people looked at me like I was some sort of wizard just because I knew how to make a QR code. Now, it’s as easy as typing an email address and clicking a button. You still need scissors, a jar, and tape. I suppose I could print a jar with a 3D printer, if my son would ever let me touch his machine (fat chance), but it’s just easier to use an empty pickle jar.
Easily Make Your Own Bitcoin Tip Jar
- Go to https://lightningtipjar.shakespeare.wtf/
- Watch the video (optional)
- Enter your Lightning address.
- Generate Tip Jar
- Print, fold, cut, and/or stick it on a jar.
That’s it. The website makes it easy. The code is vibed, but I drew the art myself, aside from the “Lightning Accepted Here” portion. I stole that from https://cryptocloaks.com. Just kidding… I asked permission. Thanks, Rick!
Who Is This For?
Bitcoin is money for the People. I want to keep it that way. We still believe in capitalism, free markets, and Adam Smith’s theory of moral sentiments. We propose a solution to the double-spending problem.
Dan Carlin asks for at least a buck per show. He said he was an Internet street performer on his latest podcast. This is the quintessential example of what Gigi described in “The Freedom of Value.“. Hope to see street performers using the Lightning Network. What if the hamburger makers at a Shaking hamburger shack could earn tips in sats? What if the Square Terminal-trained bartender had a Lightning tip jar herself? That’s who the Lightning tip jar is for.
Bitcoin is for the people. We must keep it that way. It is not some investment for the Cantillionaires to collect NGU points on a screen and outsource cybersecurity. P2P cash, not the French word, cold hard cash-money, cash meant for commerce on the Internet. I’ve come to the conclusion that people will not learn this by reading white papers, blogs, and README.md files.
Learning Bitcoin requires using Bitcoin. The Lightning Tip Jar makes Bitcoin easy to use in everyday life for anyone with a mobile phone able to download an app or use a website.
WTF Is a Lightning Address?
Trouble is, almost nobody outside of the little Nostr protocol has ever used the Lightning Network. We have a marketing problem. Ask the average person on the street if they have a Lightning address. Hopefully nobody puts you in an insane asylum. Most people have no idea what that is. It’s a terrible name. It should be called a money email address because it’s like an email address that allows people to send money instead of spam. That’s what “The Blockchain” is after all. It is a hashcash-style stamping system, time-stamps stamped on thousands of computers all around the globe.
Without boring readers with technical mumbo-jumbo, this stamp allows people to send money all over the planet as fast as an email to an address like marc@breeze.tips. That’s not an email address. It’s a money address. Anyone with a Lightning address can send money to that address.
- But what if I don’t trust Bitcoin and think it is a scam Ponzi that can only buy nothing burgers?
Bitcoin can work for you too. Are you a fiat lover? Bitcoin is for you too. Strike gives anyone with a government-issued ID and a selfie one of these money email addresses. You can choose to accept Bitcoin or USD (in the U.S. at least). In other words, you can use this tip jar for dollar-dollar bills, y’all. Not financial advice, of course. I would keep the sats, but I realize most people want dollars.
In a papers-please 🤡 world, we will need money email addresses that help people preserve the right to own property and remove the ability of nation states to arbitrarily deprive personal property. You just can’t get that with a BTC ETF or BTC Treasury company stock.
The Lightning Network is small. Most people have never heard of it. It’s starting to gain traction at brick-and-mortar businesses like Steak n Shake and Square terminals. Most people still think Bitcoin has no use case aside from speculation. Tip jars show them this is not speculation. I made this website with employees of “Bitcoin accepted here” companies in mind. I want the people serving Bitcoin burgers to get Bitcoin tips. This is in my own self-interest, not altruism. This will have the side effect of showing customers that Bitcoin is electronic cash people can use every day. That’s my real goal. Helping bartenders and burger artists stack sats is a byproduct. Bitcoin is for everybody, not just stock owners.
Lightning Tip Jar Video Tutorial
https://youtu.be/hmjzG8rVvV0?si=Rh-Ofd2oUpAWoo5p
How to Get Your Own Lightning Address?
- Sign up with Strike. (I am considering adding my affiliate link, but this is currently not an affiliate link 🔗)
- Check out other options at https://github.com/andrerfneves/lightning-address/tree/master. GitHub too scary? Try this: https://lightningaddress.com/
Disclaimer
This is educational information. I use art to make tangible Bitcoin education. This is not financial advice. I don’t know if Bitcoin will buy more fiat or less fiat tomorrow. I don’t know if USD will buy more steak or less steak in the future. If you need dollars for whatever reason, Strike is a great option. For the record, I don’t feel comfortable recommending the loan products on Strike…. Mostly because I don’t understand them. I personally like the bill pay feature on Strike, but it takes some getting used to. Again, this is not financial advice. I play with cutting-edge tech. There might be bugs I am not aware of.
The Lightning Network is not something you should use for generational wealth. Please don’t be reckless.
Thanks for reading.
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