Living the standard

I started writing this column one year ago.

Among other topics, we’ve covered the definition of money, why monetary systems fail, AI integrations, Bitcoin and the Lightning Network, and the next 100 years of money.

Recently, I’ve been writing more about using Bitcoin for daily finances as well as long-term savings.

Today, I’d like to clear up why I care so much about ‘living the standard’. It all started long before I began building Europe’s most complete Bitcoin app.

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I moved to Europe after graduating and soon found out how difficult it was to send money back home.

Fintech apps like PayPal and Revolut work well in the West, but African and Asian governments often regulate strictly to keep the banks in control of fiat money movements. Converting strong currencies to weaker ones is possible, but it takes a long time and is expensive.

Anyone who sends remittances knows the feeling of losing hard-earned money just to allow their family access. Bitcoin solves this problem (especially the Lightning Network).

Many Bitcoiners in more stable economies seek long-term protection from inflation. For periods of over three years, Bitcoin is the best store of value. With a >50% CAGR in each of the last 10 years, it beats cash, bonds, stocks, and even gold, hands down.

Getting paid in Bitcoin (as I did in my previous job) causes problems.
Offramping (conversion to euros) was very slow and clunky—almost as bad as sending money via Western Union. Exchanges would add waiting periods, ask all sorts of questions, and neobanks would block or close accounts based on rudimentary transaction flags.

As I worked in Bitcoin and attended meetups and conferences, I met many developers who had been in the ecosystem longer than I had. They had a lot of their wealth tied up in Bitcoin, which is great for storing, but harder to access for spending.

These Bitcoin OGs almost always share my opinion that without utility (being used to exchange value), Bitcoin’s store of value does not hold up to scrutiny. Those who attack Bitcoin will call it a pet rock or a Ponzi scheme because they can’t imagine the need for money outside of fiat rails.

Building the Bridge

I talked last month about how some purists idolise Bitcoin transactions. Don’t get me wrong, P2P Electronic Cash is Bitcoin’s use case, and that’s where we are headed, but adoption (especially at the merchant level) could take decades.

I decided to build a tool so that the cypherpunks and visionaries who built the Bitcoin space could actually use it daily.

When I started Bringin, I focused on fixing very specific problems.

• Allowing people to stack Bitcoin to avoid the loss of purchasing power.

• Helping Bitcoiners wanting to offramp to euros avoid banking blocks and 3-day waiting periods.

• Enabling fast and low-fee transactions.

• Making Bitcoin instantly spendable everywhere.

In the last few years, we have seen growth and change that allow Bitcoin to be considered money… because people can use it to live.

1. The Lightning Network has scaled into a trustworthy Layer 2 with simple self-custody options.

2. vIBANs created frictionless off-ramping in the eurozone (solving bank blocks)

3. Increased bridging solutions to help sovereign bitcoiners deploy holdings for daily use.

Now, after 18 months of beta testing and around 1,000 early users moving over €9 million, the Bringin full release is live, opening the doors for bitcoiners in the eurozone to save, store, send, receive, and spend Bitcoin in one simple app and finally ‘live the standard’.

I use it every day to pay for deliveries, groceries, taxis, and online shopping. Here’s how...

In two seconds, 50,071 sats arrived from my GetAlby node to my @bringinxyz (LN address)

They were instantly converted to euros (€47.65) to fund my virtual Visa card. I placed the order with Bolt Food (card already stored).

The whole process took 30 seconds.

This process is the complete app I dreamed of when first moving to Europe. On/off ramps, self-payments, tap-to-pay cards, and money management tools are available under one roof for the first time in the eurozone.

If you are a bitcoiner who values self-custody and needs a fast and reliable system to manage your finances (euro/btc), try the app. It’s out now!

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Thoughts on the journey

Rather than share stories about resilience and perseverance, I would like to express my gratitude. Every developer and founder knows how many roadblocks (and even car crashes) you’ll experience in your startup journey.

But for all of those, you’ll receive positive reviews, change people’s lives, and learn meaningful lessons.

Bringin has helped team members network and launch their own apps.
We’ve formed mutually beneficial partnerships with other bitcoin-native firms.

The app has helped individuals access previously unavailable funds to buy everything from a loaf of bread to a new house.

I’ve met inspiring investors, had dozens of productive calls with customers, and worked with brilliant problem solvers and creative people.

All of this is underpinned by belief in the mission. Bitcoin must be a medium of exchange for everyone to benefit. For that to happen, we need to build bridges to the fiat world, as the two monetary systems will have to co-exist for some time.

What’s next

The infrastructure we’ve built in Europe is just the beginning.

The same rails that let me pay for groceries in Tallinn can enable a construction worker in Berlin to send money home to Guadalajara in the time it takes to order a coffee. What once took days and cost 8-10% in fees could happen instantly for a fraction of a cent.

Imagine sending €100 from Tallinn to my family in Bangalore. Euros convert to Bitcoin, travel through the Lightning Network, and flip back to rupees in their local account. Real-time fund movement and settlement—no waiting periods, no intermediary banks taking cuts, no questions asked.

This is banking rebuilt on Bitcoin rails. The technology exists. Now it’s about extending it beyond Europe.

Opening the doors

But we can’t build everything alone. Our recently added self-custodial Lightning wallet would not be possible without the Breez SDK. I’m delighted to follow their open-source ethos and let others take what we’ve built even further.

That’s why we’re going to open Bringin’s APIs to developers worldwide. Any builder, just like me, can launch a financial application to onboard the masses—without taking the hard path of building a VC-backed institution.

Developers should be able to focus on the community they care about and on the technology that can solve critical problems for them, whether that’s remittances to the Philippines, merchant payments in Lagos, or something we haven’t imagined yet.

Thanks for reading,

-Prasahnth