Open Protocols Drive Innovation
NWC — Nostr Wallet Connect — has an impressive technological lineage. Digital and physical connectors such as cables we use, or internet protocols, work best when they’re open and standardized. You don’t need permission to design a device that uses a standard connector; you don’t have to license special chips from a single company; you don’t need to pay fees to use the protocol. You simply need to follow the publicly available specification and ensure your device or app complies.
The move toward universal, open connectors has been driven by foundational standards such as VGA (for early video output), 3.5mm audio jacks (for analog audio), Ethernet (for wired networking) and USB (for peripheral communication). This evolution ultimately led to USB-C, a powerful, unified connector designed to handle power, data, audio and video across virtually all modern devices. Imagine trying to use another cable for all your devices…
By contrast, some communication protocols are proprietary. For example, Skype uses its own closed protocol to send and receive voice calls. The protocol is not publicly documented, and the Skype application is closed-source. This makes it very difficult for anyone besides Microsoft, as the owner, to develop applications that can start or accept Skype calls. Another example is Sony’s MiniDisc, a proprietary digital music format and disc. It required specific Sony hardware to play or record, and eventually lost out to MP3 players that used open formats and USB mass storage.
Since the introduction of the Lightning Network, Bitcoin payments have seen great innovation aimed at improving the user experience while reducing complexity for developers thanks to open standards like WebLN, LNURL, Lightning Addresses and Nostr Wallet Connect.
The Expanding NWC Ecosystem
NWC (Nostr Wallet Connect) is an open protocol that connects Lightning wallets to apps. It provides a standardized way for both sides to communicate and is capable of carrying multiple signals, essentially acting as the USB-C for apps and Bitcoin wallets.
Today, the NWC ecosystem includes a growing range of apps and wallets from games and fintech tools to hardware devices. It has decoupled from Nostr’s major use case of social media apps.
Despite Nostr’s role as the coordination layer for NWC, wallet and app users don’t need any Nostr keys and specific knowledge to enjoy seamless in-app payments directly from a user’s own wallet.
Each new wallet and app contributes to the overall growth of the ecosystem, but what’s most important is that any other app can seamlessly onboard users from existing NWC-wallets. And vice versa: Each new wallet can immediately offer many new use cases to its existing user base.
This modular and interoperable design mirrors what made the early internet and USB-C successful: the freedom to innovate without asking for permission, and the ability to plug in and play across platforms.
How Wallets Benefit From NWC
Just as USB-C allows seamless connections by linking flash drives to laptops, sound systems to computers and cameras to PCs, NWC makes it just as effortless to connect Bitcoin Lightning wallets with web or mobile apps. Whether a user relies on a custodial wallet, a self-custodial mobile app, or a full Lightning node, NWC enables instant interoperability across platforms.
Here are two examples showing how apps can unlock new environments for wallets through NWC integration.
The Alby Browser Extension transforms any NWC-compatible wallet into a fully featured browser wallet, allowing users to make one-click payments directly on the web: no QR code scanning, no device switching and no browser-specific software required.
The Alby MCP Server, as another example, enables payments via AI agents, turning every Lightning wallet into an agentic wallet that can send and receive payments through chat, or even act autonomously.
In short, several Lightning wallets are already equipped to offer their users completely new environments and, therefore, ways to explore fascinating use cases like agentic commerce or web-native payment experiences like gaming or zapping.
As a consequence, wallets create more opportunities for users at zero additional integration costs thanks to NWC’s standardized API interface.
How Apps Benefit From Nostr Wallet Connect
USB-C leverages the capabilities of host systems to power and communicate with connected devices. NWC works similarly for apps: Instead of implementing full wallet functionality, developers can outsource payment infrastructure to existing wallet providers.
This enables apps to integrate Lightning payments by simply orchestrating payment intents via NWC between connected wallets. The result is a zero-custody architecture where no user funds are held by the app and no regulatory burdens or complex key management. Developers are free to focus on building great app experiences without needing to become wallet providers themselves.
Open standards like NWC don’t just simplify integration — they enable new use cases and business models.
Bitcoin-based subscription payments are a clear example. With well-defined permissions and protective budgets, users can grant apps controlled access to their wallets. In turn, apps can request recurring monthly payments. Tools like Flash help merchants and developers set up these subscription flows, and platforms like Indeehub.studio already leverage NWC to offer premium subscriptions paid in bitcoin.
Just as connecting devices via USB-C is seamless, NWC provides a plug-and-play experience for apps and wallets. The protocol handles all the complexity — so users don’t need to copy and paste connection secrets manually. “Connect your wallet,” whether on Nostr or elsewhere, is now as simple as plugging in your phone to charge.
Outlook
NWC was created to unify and simplify wallet-to-app connections across diverse domains. Its greatest success so far has been becoming a near-universal interface for bitcoin payment use cases: The result is a simpler, faster and more seamless user experience.
Today, USB-C supports Thunderbolt. NWC is equally versatile to include other protocols. The community is actively discussing an extension for on-chain transactions trying to expand NWCs functionality beyond Lightning. Multi-currency support is another promising innovation, with stablecoins to Bitcoin and the Lightning Network. As a straightforward messaging layer, Nostr Wallet Connect is able to accommodate new use cases to keep up with changing user demand and ecosystem requirements.
Just as USB-C delivers electrical power to charge devices, NWC wallets deliver payment capabilities to supercharge apps with in-app transactions in a simple way. That’s what is catching on fast in the developer community. Geyser, bitcoin++ and Presidio Bitcoin already made it a core part of their hackathons.
Today, a growing ecosystem of app and wallet developers is working together to create an alternative to the fragmented cables of the payment world: individual APIs, closed systems, and custom integrations, with one interoperable standard to spur innovation in payments and bitcoin adoption.
