ETHcommerce

JS library that allows you to accept payments via Ethereum on any website. No backend required/100% javascript!

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Inspiration

When talking about blockchain scalability we always mention the amount of transactions processed by PayPal and Visa ... Those are mainstream payment methods accepted for the majority of merchants. In order for Ethereum to reach mass adoption, showing newcomers that you can actually use it like any other digital currency is as important as creating new protocols, but a lot easier, so we did it!

What it does

ETHcommerce allows any online merchant to accept Ethereum payments on their website. It renders a UI button that generates a Peer to Peer (P2P) transaction between the website and the customer. This means that merchants pay ZERO FEES and FORGET ABOUT CHARGEBACKS, all this powered by a lightweight (~19kb) Javascript library that's really easy to integrate.

The cool thing about it is that it allows any web developer with zero knowledge about blockchain, web3 or Ethereum to start accepting payments. Also, It doesn't require any backend work!

How we built it

After deciding the scope and functionalities, we looked for some inspiration in existing javascript widgets and buttons (for ex. Pay with PayPal button) Then we coded javascript over the whole weekend!

Challenges we ran into

  • The biggest challenge was to find a decent UX that gives security to the merchant (# of confirmations that ensure the transaction is irreversible) without making the user wait for too long in order to proceed with their purchase.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

1) We were able to test this button on a sample page running:

  • Metamask (desktop)
  • Cipher (mobile)
  • Status (mobile)

See the demo

2) We released the library as an npm package

3) We created a good lookin' website

What we learned

Transaction confirmation time is not fast enough for default gas values!

What's next for Eth-Commerce

React Native support, so this library can be used to easily accept Ethereum payments in any iOS or Android app.

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