There are multiple options for hosting your BTCPay Server solution depending on your level of technical knowledge, the needs you're looking to fulfill and the cost your willing to pay.
This guide will cover LunaNode and third-party hosting through Bull Bitcoin. You will be provided with the resources in order to also use hardware solutions. To learn more about the other options, go here.
LunaNode is a Canadian-based hosting provider that accepts Bitcoin payments and requires no personal identification except for a phone number verification.
This method is highly recommended if you don't have a lot of technical knowledge.
You will be able to use all of BTCPay Server's features, including the Lightning Network payment option by hosting a Bitcoin node through their service.
Bull Bitcoin has a BTCPay Server hosting solution which allows you to avoid deploying your own self-hosted BTCPay Server and managing it.
You still receive payments directly to your wallet. We never ask for your Bitcoin private key to do so.
BTCPay Server does not allow server hosts to view the stores of other users nor have access to any personal data (except for a registration email address). The extended public key and even balances of other users can't be seen.
All payments made through the Lightning Network will go to your third-party's wallet. Take precautions and only use this option while using a trustworthy third-party host to ensure you get your funds back.
You also have the option of building your own node using hardware that you purchase.
Method | Difficulty | All features available? | Approx. Monthly Cost |
---|---|---|---|
LunaNode
Yes
$10
Third-party host
Host: Yes Hostee: No
Free or Paid
Hardware & Cloud as a Service
Yes
Varies on provider
Virtual Private Network
Yes
$10-$70
Manual deployment
Yes
Components + Electricity
Hardware Build
Yes
Components + Electricity
This option avoids deploying or building your own node and greatly accelerates and simplifies the process of getting your own BTCPay Server up and running.
You avoid the time it takes for your server to be fully synced, you do not need any technical know-how and you do not need to deal with maintenance.
If this is an option you'd like to use, please contact us so that we can get you onboarded. You can refer to the rest of this guide in order to know how to connect your wallet and customize your shop.
Note that enabling Lightning payments is a custodial service. You will need to contact your account manager in order to withdraw funds accrued from Lighting payments. On the other hand, accepting on-chain Bitcoin payments remains entirely self-custodial.
There are several options which enable you to host BTCPay Server on your own hardware device. You can either build the device yourself or purchase it pre-assembled.
Once the hardware in hand, you can then select the service (some offer free versions) you'd like to use to download and manage your node:
Build or buy any one of the above nodes to begin using BTCPay Server on your self-hosted device.
BTCPay Server also provides instructions for setting up your self-hosted server from scratch, but this method is much more technically advanced. Find it here.
Click “Deposit Credit” to pre-fill your account.
Choose a payment method and the amount and click Add Credit
button.
Add your phone number and Continue
.
Verify your phone by entering the 4 digit PIN you received via SMS.
Wait for your invoice confirmation (you will receive a confirmation e-mail).
Click “Create VM” on the left-hand side menu.
Give your VM a name in the hostname
field, for example – btcpay.
Click on the Memory optimized
plans from the tabbed selection
Choose the m.2
plan.
Scroll down, and in the Image
section, select the operating system for your machine – Ubuntu 18.04 64-bit.
Create virtual machine.
Go to Volumes
in the dashboard.
Select volume location
from the dropdown menu, add name and write 80 in the size field.
Create volume.
In Volumes
, scroll down to the Volume List
.
Find the volume you previosly created and click on to “Manage”.
When the volume opens, choose Attach to VM
.
In the pop-up window, choose the virtual machine to which you want to attach the volume.
Attach volume to VM.
We need to enable additional CPU usage so that our node can properly sync Bitcoin's blockchain. If you select a better plan than m.2, this might not be necessary.
Virtual Machines > Find your machine > Manage
.
Click on the CPU
from the tabbed menu.
From the first drop down menu Pay for CPU utilization
– select YES
.
Click Update
.
Go to the API section and create a new API.
Do not close that page and proceed to the next step.
Paste the API Key and API ID created in the previous section and continue.
Use your own domain or an automatically-generated one by LunaNode.
Customize the web-wizard settings according to your needs.
Click Launch VM
.
Wait 6-7 minutes for Virtual Machine deployment.
If you've used a custom domain:
SSH into the VM using either the password generated by LunaNode or your private-public key pair.
Run the following commands:
Visit the domain, create an account and log in.
Now you need to wait for the blockchain to sync fully. With CPU utilization enabled, with Bitcoin and LND, it will take 1-2 days.
The sync pop-up window will disappear when your node fully syncs.
Create an account .
The best plan to chose is .
Go to