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Connect to Coincards using Joule Lightning Browser Extension!

27 Aug
Looking to connect to Coincards using the Joule Lightning Browser Extension? Our node is operational and has plenty of liquidity for both inbound and outbound transactions making it one of the best nodes to connect to when getting started!

Use Joule Lightning Browser Extension to quickly connect your own full node to ours and manage channels!

Download Joule Lightning Browser Extension
*Coincards is not partnered or affiliated with Joule and makes no gaurantees on its software. This tutorial is strictly for information purposes.*

Pay with Lightning in under 60 Seconds:

HOW COINCARDS WORKS:

Ordering from Coincards is Quick and Easy!
01.

Select An Amount and Add to Cart

02.

Complete Your Payment

03.

Receive your Gift Code and Redeem!

Joule - Spending on Coincards:

Using Coincards.com with the Joule’s Lightning Browser Extension is an extremely easy way to control your own node through your browser. We’ve written this quick how-to guide to get you started!
We’re going to start off by assuming you are A) running your own full node, B) have the Joule Browser Extension installed in your browser and C) you have successfully funded it and opened a channel with Coincards.

From there, start off by visiting Coincards.com and selecting the country you want to shop from.

Next, Browse our vast selection of products or use the top bar to search for a particular product. In this demo, we will search for an Amazon.com gift card in the USA region.
Once your cart has everything you need, head on over to our checkout page!
Coincards.com checkout and payments are powered by our own BTCPay Server instance.

After hitting the Proceed to BTCPay button, you will be redirected to our payment screen which defaults to on-chain BTC. For this tutorial, we want to use an off-chain lightning transaction.

Select the “Bitcoin” option and a dropdown will appear. Select “Bitcoin (Lightning)” from the menu. You will now have a BOLT11 invoice.

Click the “Copy” tab on the invoice and select the “BOLT11 Invoice” text to copy to your device.

Open your Joule Lightning Browser Extension up and click the Send button.
Clicking on the Send button will bring you to the Send Payments screen. This is where you can now paste the invoice details which will then automatically fulfill the payment details and automatically fulfill the memo with your Coincards order.

Click the Send button to complete the payment!

Switch back to your Coincards.com screen and you will now see your invoice has been paid and accounted for.
Success! Your order is now completed and your order should be instantly processed with an email in your inbox!

Select your country to get started:

Canada

United States of America

Joule Lightning Browser Extension - Install and Setup:

Joule Lightning Browser Extension is a way to Connect to your existing LND node (Like BTCPay or Zap Desktop) and does NOT include a way to function on its own. For this tutorial, we will be connecting to our previously created Zap Desktop wallet.

Joule Lightning Browser Extension is available as an extension for Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Brave browsers.

In this tutorial, we are installing the extension to Google Chrome through the Extension Store.

After you’ve installed the extension, Start by clicking the Get Started button. You will first be asked what type of node you have. Here are your options:

  • Local Node (For those running their own node and software on their own home machine)
  • Remote Node (For those running their own node and software, on another remote location)
  • Lightning App (For the official Lightning Labs app)
  • Zap Desktop (If you have previously installed Zap Desktop, you can select this)
  • BTCPay Server (If you are running an instance of BTCPay Server, you can select this)

For this tutorial, we have selected Zap Desktop, so Joule will ask us to upload our Macaroon files. Once the files are uploaded, Joule will ask us to confirm the nodes alias, version and chain as well as to set a password that will be asked for with each lightning transaction. *Note, Zap Desktop should be opened and active to be connected to*

Once you’ve setup your password, Joule Lightning Browser Extension will show your current channels and status of your node!

Your node is now usable in your browser for quick and easy lightning transactions!

Joule Lightning Browser Extension - Opening a channel:

Opening channels with Joule Lightning Browser Extension is easy, however you must know the full public key AND host of the node you are opening a channel to. Opening a channel allows you to directly spend your nodes funds in a simple 1-1 connection.
Start by ensuring you have available funds on your node. If you do not, you will need to send BTC to your node by selecting the Deposit button within Joule extension which will present you with an on-chain BTC address for funding.
Once your node has available funds, select the Menu icon in the top right corner of the Joule Lightning Browser Extension and select Open channel.

Copy and paste the entire connection node string, including the public key AND hostname. Set the amount of BTC you wish to commit to this channel and press Open Channel.

For Coincards node:
02233a3b30d7c8b08542eefe66978e45d2962ed21e857ce33ea1452b5b90173d77@54.39.133.223:9735

Your channel opening transaction will now be broadcast to the network and will become available within about an hour based on confirmation times. You will also have the ability to see your transaction in real time on the block explorer by selecting View Transaction.
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