Bringin Makes Bitcoin Easier To Spend In Europe

Founder: Prashanth Chandrashekar

Date Founded: March 2023

Location of Headquarters: Lithuania

Number of Employees: 3 full-time, 3 contract workers

Website: https://bringin.xyz/

Public or Private? Private

With Bringin, it’s now easier than ever to live on a bitcoin standard in Europe.

The web app (and soon-to-be-released mobile app) enables users to almost instantly convert bitcoin from either a base chain or Lightning wallet to a virtual Visa debit card that can be used wherever Visa is accepted.

Bringin’s founder Prashanth Chandrashekar conceptualized the product after struggling to convert his bitcoin into euros.

“Two years ago while living in Estonia, I used to get paid in bitcoin, and it took almost four days to liquidate the bitcoin and get euros into Revolut to spend,” Chandrashekar told Bitcoin Magazine.

[Author’s note: When Chandrashekar uses the term “liquidate,” he’s referring to converting bitcoin into fiat.]

“That's why I wanted to build a tool that allows users to liquidate Bitcoin. I think liquidating bitcoin instantly and being able to use bitcoin is one of the key factors for getting the value of bitcoin into the world today,” he added.

What Chandrashekar and his team have built is comparable to a service like Bitrefill, though more dynamic, and it has more capabilities.

How Bringin Works

Bringin operates in all countries that use the euro, and it lets users convert bitcoin in a Lightning wallet into euros in under a minute. (On-chain transactions take longer, approximately 10 minutes, as they need to be confirmed on the blockchain.)

To most efficiently convert bitcoin into euros, users simply pay a Lightning invoice denominated in the amount of euros they want on their virtual debit card and those euros become available for spending soon after.

On the back-end, the process looks like this: Bringin issues each of its users a virtual IBAN (International Bank Account Number). This number is then used to interface with the SEPA system, which enables users in the Euro Zone to make cashless euro payments.

Using SEPA Instant Credit Transfers, which enable transfers of up to 15,000 euros in under 10 seconds, in conjunction with Lightning payments, users can convert their bitcoin into euros in almost no time flat.

Chandrashekar illustrated how quickly this all takes place in a recent X post:

I just Booked a cab with SATs on my @getAlby node!

Using @bringinxyz debit card!

Living on Bitcoin standard has never been easier than now!

Pre-order one for yourself today! You will get access in days.

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