A Researcher Built a No-Fee Crypto Payment Terminal—In a Week
Tim Robinson, who leads crypto research at VC firm BlueYard, just put together something interesting—an open-source payment processor that lets people pay with crypto wallets, no credit card fees required. He calls it FreePay, and it took him about seven days to build.
The setup is pretty straightforward: a buyer taps their phone (with a wallet like MetaMask) to an NFC reader, and the payment goes through. No middlemen, no extra charges. Robinson shared a demo this week showing how it works, typing in an amount on the terminal’s screen and completing the transaction in seconds.
Why Bother With Another Payment System?
Lately, crypto companies have been pushing payment cards tied to Visa or Mastercard—Coinbase, MetaMask, even Avalanche and Solayer have their own versions. But Robinson isn’t sold on the idea. “We’re supposed to be replacing TradFi, not joining them,” he said.
He’s got a point. Credit card fees usually take 1% to 2.5% per transaction, and services like Square tack on another 2.6% or more. Blockchain fees exist too, of course, but on networks like Ethereum’s Layer 2 or Solana, they’re often pennies compared to traditional processing costs.
FreePay isn’t perfect yet. Right now, it only works with MetaMask and Coinbase Wallet, and Robinson admits it’s a starting point. “I began with L2 support because that’s what I know,” he said over DM. “But since it’s open-source, anyone can add more chains or wallets.”
The Catch? Taxes and Complexity
Using crypto for everyday purchases in the U.S. isn’t exactly simple. Every transaction can trigger tax implications, which might scare off some buyers and sellers. Stablecoins or plain old cash don’t have that problem.
Still, if you’ve ever wanted to tap your phone and pay directly from your crypto wallet—without jumping through hoops—FreePay might be a step in that direction. It’s rough around the edges, but then again, so were a lot of things when they first started.
Robinson’s project is more of a proof-of-concept than a polished product. But it raises a question: if crypto payments can be this straightforward, why are so many companies still relying on the same old fee-heavy systems? Maybe they don’t have to.
