MicroPay

Inspiration

We got tired of seeing good content locked behind expensive subscriptions. Sometimes, you just want to read one article or listen to one track without signing up for a whole plan. At the same time, creators deserve to get paid — fairly and instantly. That’s where the idea for MicroPay came from — a simple, privacy-friendly way to pay a few cents (or even less) for what you actually use.

What it does

MicroPay lets users unlock digital content with small, private payments using Starknet and Bitcoin. You can pay as little as $0.001 to access an article, video, or game level — no sign-ups, no recurring billing, and no data tracking. For creators, it offers instant, censorship-resistant payouts straight to their wallet.

How we built it

We built MicroPay with Next.js for the frontend and Starknet.js + Cairo for the on-chain logic. The frontend handles the locked/unlocked content flow, while the smart contract manages payments and emits unlock events. For privacy, we experimented with Cashu and Wootzapp APIs to anonymize transactions. Bitcoin payments were integrated using Xverse wallet and Atomiq swaps to move between BTC and Starknet tokens. We kept everything mobile-first, so users can unlock content with one tap.

Challenges we ran into

The hardest part was connecting all the moving pieces — Starknet, Bitcoin, and the privacy layer — without breaking UX. Getting sub-cent payments to feel instant and not look “too crypto” for a casual user also took a lot of tweaking. We also had to rethink how to store minimal metadata while keeping transactions unlinkable.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We got a working prototype that actually lets you unlock content by paying less than a cent — that alone felt huge. Seeing the creator dashboard update in real time after a transaction went through was a big moment. We’re also proud we kept privacy central to the design instead of adding it as an afterthought.

What we learned

We learned how powerful Starknet can be for micropayments when fees are almost zero, and how tricky privacy becomes once real money and user experience meet. We also learned the importance of building with the user in mind — especially if we want Web3 to reach non-crypto audiences.

What's next for MicroPay

We want to expand MicroPay beyond articles — into games, music, and streaming. We’re planning to add pay-per-minute support for videos and group micro-subscriptions so users can share access with friends. Eventually, we’d love to turn MicroPay into an open API that any content platform can plug into.

Built With

• cairo
• react