Ton Kunen

Ton first encountered Bitcoin in 2017, initially from an investment perspective. However, Ton quickly realized that Bitcoin payments on the second layer (Lightning) could potentially mark the breakthrough for Bitcoin. So, his focus shifted in that direction.

At that time, there were few applications where you could pay with Bitcoin via the Lightning Network. The network was still under construction. Therefore, Ton started LNshort.it, a URL shortening service. Later, goingdutch.pm, a ‘Bitcoin tikkie’ (a payment request service), followed. During these projects, Ton gained extensive knowledge of developing on the Lightning Network. Unfortunately, both websites no longer exist because Ton wanted to focus entirely on Lightning Checkout.

At the end of 2021, the team behind BitcoinFocus approached Ton to see if he could help them implement a lightning paywall on their soon-to-be-launched website. Ton didn’t hesitate, and the integration was completed. This marked the beginning of Lightning Checkout, as Ton decided to build a generic solution.

A webshop integration was added to this solution, followed shortly by the Point Of Sale solution. This established a solid foundation for launching Lightning Checkout. In the following years, on-chain payments were added to the service offerings, creating a bridge to receive Bitcoin payments via invoices.