Three weeks ago we announced the Public Beta release of the ZBD app for iOS and Android platforms. Today, we’re happy to report that after some bug-fixing and lots of great feedback from our awesome community of testers, the app is now live on the Google Play Store! We expect an iOS App Store release to follow in the coming weeks — in the meantime download the TestFlight version here.

More importantly, today we’re announcing the first companion app for ZBD app users:

zbd.gg – Play. Earn. Share.

zbd.gg is part of the suite of digital products within the ZEBEDEE platform aiming to provide the best user experience for Bitcoin in any environment, reality, or world. Every ZBD app holder has a dedicated zbd.gg webpage linked to their unique ZBD username that provides a programmable, multi-use, interoperable QR code to accept payments of any amount with full messaging support.

Your home. Everywhere.

Powered by the ultimate gamer Bitcoin wallet.

Users of the ZBD app have already been using their zbd.gg webpages and QR codes to receive payments and messages from others in the Bitcoin economy. A use case that truly stands out is live streaming.

Say you’re on a quest with your guild while streaming to Twitch, and you need some money to heal your character before tackling the final boss. Well, now it’s as easy as asking your Twitch viewers to scan the QR code on the screen. They’ll be able to send you emergency funds, along with a message, and participate in the quest that they helped make real.

Value on the internet is no longer bound by a game, platform, or universe. Now internet money is accepted across any reality. All worlds speak Bitcoin.

Here is a video game streamer posting their ZEBEDEE QR code on their Twitch page/stream to receive tips and messages directly from his fans and viewers.

Using the ZBD app you can simply scan the QR code shown above and donate/send a message to Mr. Jarvis yourself! It is just a Static QR code, after all.

Above you can see Christian Moss, host of the MintGox Bitcoin Esports Gaming event displaying his ZEBEDEE QR code to accept tips and messages from members of the audience. These messages are sent directly to Christian’s ZBD app where there is a dedicated Message Stream page alerting him of new payments and comments received in real-time.

We also have a special tool that was created specifically for streamers – ZBD Streamer.

No longer are audience members simply passive participants in online events. ZEBEDEE Static QR codes help break the 4th-wall by allowing streamers to interact directly with their viewership through instantaneous micropayments and messages. Leveraging ZEBEDEE’s SDKs, Static QR codes can be pre-programmed to perform specific actions after certain criteria have been met. For example, after the audience sends 20 power-ups, the game can trigger an in-game event such as releasing a Kraken for players to combat. Let your fans and audience interact directly with your quest!

ZEBEDEE QR codes are fixed QR codes that do not change, even when their underlying properties do. This enables interesting scenarios such as using QR codes for streaming, donations, and even in entirely offline environments. On zbd.gg you can easily save your QR code as an image file directly to your device or computer and also customize, share, and print that QR code.

Yes! You can bring all the goodies of ZEBEDEE Static QR codes to the real world. Any user of a modern Bitcoin Lightning wallet will be able to scan the QR code on a printed page and have the same great user experience. Test it out! Try using your ZBD app to scan the QR codes in the billboards/stickers above. We promise they’re real!

How does it all work?

Lightning has dramatically advanced the user experience of a Bitcoin citizen. Instantaneous, almost fee-less, Bitcoin microtransactions are now in the palm of your hands. At ZEBEDEE, our mission is to provide the products and development tools needed to enable truly scalable Virtual Payments in Virtual Worlds.

If you’ve yet to make your first Bitcoin Lightning transaction, we invite you to download the ZBD app and join the next MintGox Bitcoin Esports Gaming event on November 29th at 2PM EST / 7PM UTC.

Yes, you literally ‘stack sats’ by playing online games and interacting with Esports tournaments!

Unlike on-chain Bitcoin transactions which rely on users sharing Bitcoin addresses, payments on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network use another entity entirely: a payment request, usually displayed as a QR code. If Alice wants to pay Bob, Bob issues a Lightning payment request code and sends it to Alice, who can then perform the payment.

While essential to the functionality of the network, there are two current major limitations to these payment request codes: they are single-use and have a defined expiration time. While this lays out a great experience when performing on-demand or in person (IRL) payments — where sender and receiver are only interacting for an expected short period of time — it fails to provide similar flows online and in virtual environments. In these virtual scenarios, there may be many senders for each individual recipient, and payments may not be performed immediately after issuance of a payment request QR code. For example, if a popular game streamer is interfacing with thousands of fans and viewers through a multi-hour stream, it would be impossible to create a single-use QR code for each of them.

This is where ZEBEDEE Static Charge QR codes come in. We empower you with a simple QR code that can be used in any setting, for an indefinite amount of time, to receive unlimited payments and messages from just about anyone in the Bitcoin Lightning economy — all tied to your ZBD app and personal ZBD username.

Because Static QR codes are so versatile, your zbd.gg webpage can be used by your friends, colleagues, workmates, or guild buddies to pay, tip, gift, and send messages for as little as 1 satoshi.

Your mission control

There are no special requirements for ZBD app users to access their zbd.gg page. When you create an account with the ZBD app and choose your username, your dedicated zbd.gg page is automatically generated. You control your payment experience directly on the mobile app: you can change the payment image, payment description, and success message that is displayed to the payer. These features will always remain optional for ZEBEDEE users — you can always raise minimum accepted payment amounts to disincentivize spam and/or completely deactivate the zbd.gg companion app functionality altogether.

What’s next?

We have lots of planned features and improvements with regards to the content and functionality of the zbd.gg pages, so expect more updates on this soon. If you’d like to suggest a feature or report an issue, check our Feedback Portal here.

Static Charge QR codes are a powerful new way to interact using the Bitcoin Lightning Network, opening up endless new possibilities for different people to interact in virtual worlds. Over the coming weeks we will also be releasing an in-depth technical post elaborating on the underlying protocol that enables the use of static payment QR codes over Lightning (LNURL).

Want to get a zbd.gg page with your username on it and start receiving payments and messages from anyone, in any world?

Get the ZBD app: