ZapCart: Bitcoin-Native Retail Checkout

Let’s Make Bitcoin Visible. Scan. Pay. Walk.

Overview

ZapCart is a frictionless, Bitcoin-first shopping experience. It uses low-cost shelf displays (SATtag+) to show live prices in Sats and allows customers to scan and pay for items instantly via Lightning—no checkout lines, no fiat friction. Designed for real-world retail, ZapCart brings the Bitcoin circular economy straight to the grocery aisle.

Problem

Retail payments are stuck in fiat infrastructure—slow, fee-heavy, surveillance-based. Bitcoin adoption stalls without visible, real-world use. Consumers don’t think in Sats, and merchants struggle to onboard.

Solution

ZapCart makes Bitcoin visible and usable in everyday shopping. Each SATtag+ displays real-time Sats pricing and includes a Lightning QR code. Shoppers scan, pay, and walk. No registers, no apps. Think “Amazon Go,” but open-source and Bitcoin-native.

How It Works

  • Each SATtag+ pulls BTC/USD and displays live Sats price
  • Shopper scans the Lightning QR to pay instantly
  • Payment confirmed on backend; shopper keeps walking
  • No account, no fiat, no checkout bottleneck

Hardware: SATtag+

  • 2.13” E-Ink Display
  • Wi-Fi-enabled ESP32 microcontroller
  • Rechargeable coin cell or solar-powered
  • Printed or dynamic LNURL-pay QR code
  • Designed to fit standard grocery shelf brackets

Business Model

  • Option 1 — SaaS (Sats-as-a-Service): Free/low-cost hardware; stores pay a monthly Sats subscription per tag
  • Option 2 — Direct Sales + Integration: Sell hardware kits and offer BTCPay/LNBits onboarding, signage, and training

Market Opportunity

  • 38,000+ independent grocers in the U.S.
  • 100,000+ small merchants globally who could adopt Bitcoin with the right tools
  • Early-stage Lightning ecosystem primed for real-world use

Pilot Launch

  • Location: Small grocer or food co-op
  • 10–20 SATtag+ devices deployed
  • Branded signage and customer education
  • Payments processed via BTCPay Server or LNBits

Why Now

  • Lightning is ready
  • Bitcoin culture is growing
  • Consumers are seeking alternatives
  • ZapCart turns Bitcoin from savings tech into daily spendable money

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