GoMining unveils direct‑settlement Bitcoin payment stack with 0.2% fee
GoMining has introduced a new Bitcoin commerce infrastructure, GoBTC Pay, designed to let businesses accept BTC payments that settle directly on the Bitcoin network without converting into fiat or passing through custodial middlemen. The company is positioning the stack as a low‑cost alternative to card networks and many existing crypto payment gateways, charging merchants a processing fee of 0.2%.
The launch includes the first generation of the GoBTC Pay SDK and open API. These tools are targeted at merchants, wallet developers, and broader ecosystem partners who want to embed native Bitcoin payments into their products. According to GoMining, the toolkit is meant to be plug‑and‑play enough that businesses can add BTC checkout flows without having to build their own infrastructure or interact with banks and payment processors.
Initially, GoMining plans to onboard up to ten merchants and partners as a controlled first wave. This limited rollout is intended to test integrations, refine operational processes, and demonstrate real‑world performance before opening the platform more broadly.
Payment rail built directly on Bitcoin
GoBTC Pay is architected to settle transactions on the Bitcoin mainnet, rather than routing them through third‑party custodians or instant‑conversion services that swap crypto for fiat in the background. In this model, Bitcoin itself is the settlement asset from end to end, and users maintain control of their BTC through the payment process instead of surrendering it to an intermediary.
The stack includes tools for merchant onboarding, payment creation and management, online checkout integrations, and a web‑based dashboard that allows businesses to monitor incoming transactions, track settlement progress, and manage reconciliation. Comprehensive developer documentation and an open API are also part of the package, aimed at making it easier for wallets and applications to integrate Bitcoin payments directly into their user experience.
GoMining’s CEO, Mark Zalan, framed the product as a return to Bitcoin’s original intent as peer‑to‑peer electronic cash. He emphasized that Bitcoin was not invented merely as a store‑of‑value asset to sit idle in cold storage, but as a network for transferring value between users. The new stack is presented as a way to make day‑to‑day commerce in Bitcoin more practical for both merchants and end users.
Miners as payment infrastructure
A key design choice of GoBTC Pay is that Bitcoin miners are treated not just as block producers, but as core payment infrastructure providers. The system is built on GoMining’s private mempool infrastructure, which the company says operates at 15 EH/s, and leverages Stratum V2 to coordinate and prioritize transaction processing.
GoMining estimates that, under typical network conditions, settlements can be completed in about 12 hours on average. While this is not “instant” in the sense of card authorizations, it reflects the reality of on‑chain Bitcoin settlement and the number of confirmations many businesses require to consider a payment final. For some use cases, merchants may be willing to ship goods or unlock services after fewer confirmations, depending on their risk policy.
The involvement of miners is also central to how GoBTC Pay’s incentives are structured. The 0.2% fee charged to merchants is split evenly between participating wallet providers and miners who contribute to processing the payments. GoMining argues that this model aligns economic incentives with the entities that secure the network and maintain the payment rails, instead of funneling most of the margin to traditional processors.
Competing with card networks and crypto gateways
GoMining has repeatedly highlighted the fee differential between its 0.2% model and standard card processing costs. Citing market data, it notes that merchants often pay a combined fee of roughly 1.5% to 3.5% per transaction once interchange, assessments, and processor margins are included. In effect, GoMining is pitching its network as an order‑of‑magnitude cheaper than many card rails and cheaper than many crypto gateways that typically charge around 0.5% to 1%.
However, offering such a low fee means the company must absorb a range of operational and financial risks. GoMining has said that it intends to shoulder fraud exposure, price volatility, and infrastructure overhead using its own block‑production economics and mining capabilities. In other words, the margin that would normally go to multiple intermediaries in a legacy card transaction is replaced by a much thinner margin supported by mining rewards and transaction fees.
If this model proves sustainable, GoMining believes a 0.2% network could challenge not only traditional crypto gateways but also specific segments of the card‑processing stack, especially in cross‑border payments and high‑ticket transactions where card fees are particularly painful for merchants.
What this means for merchants
For merchants, the core promise of GoBTC Pay is reduced payment costs and direct settlement in Bitcoin. Businesses that already hold BTC on their balance sheet, or that want to build a native Bitcoin strategy, gain a way to accept payments without dealing with fiat conversion, acquiring banks, or chargeback‑driven card schemes.
Merchants can potentially benefit in several ways:
– Lower processing fees: A 0.2% fee, if stable, can materially improve margins compared with typical card rates.
– Ownership of settlement asset: Instead of receiving fiat and then buying BTC, businesses receive Bitcoin directly.
– Reduced dependency on banks: For merchants in regions with limited access to reliable banking, a Bitcoin‑native payment rail may offer more predictable access to funds.
– Global reach: Any customer able to send on‑chain Bitcoin can pay, irrespective of local card penetration or banking restrictions.
On the other hand, merchants must manage Bitcoin price volatility, tax implications, and treasury policies. Some may choose to integrate GoBTC Pay for part of their checkout flow-such as high‑value purchases or cross‑border orders-while keeping fiat options for customers who prefer traditional methods.
Implications for wallet providers and developers
For wallet providers, the GoBTC Pay SDK and API offer a pathway to transform wallets from passive storage tools into active commerce interfaces. Integrating merchant payments directly into a wallet can turn it into a shopping and bill‑payment hub, potentially increasing user engagement and transaction volume.
Because the fee split allocates part of the 0.2% processing cost to wallets, providers gain a built‑in revenue channel tied to actual usage rather than relying solely on spread‑based swaps or advertising. This could encourage wallets to prioritize user experience around Bitcoin payments, support merchant discovery, and build loyalty programs or rewards tied to transacting in BTC.
Developers can use the open API to create new types of applications, such as Bitcoin‑only marketplaces, subscription services billed in BTC, or pay‑per‑use platforms where on‑chain payments replace traditional invoicing. The combination of direct settlement and a predictable fee structure may make it easier to plan business models around Bitcoin rather than treating crypto payments as an experimental add‑on.
How GoBTC Pay fits into the broader Bitcoin economy
GoMining has argued that miners are uniquely suited to operate payment protocols on the mainnet because they already earn block rewards and can layer transaction‑based services on top. By combining mining infrastructure with a payment stack, GoMining is trying to demonstrate that Bitcoin’s base layer can support a commerce ecosystem where settlement is both trust‑minimized and economically competitive.
If this approach scales, it could help shift some Bitcoin activity from speculative trading and passive holding toward everyday use in commerce and B2B payments. The model may resonate particularly with businesses that want censorship‑resistant settlement, predictable fees, and minimal reliance on traditional financial intermediaries.
At the same time, broader adoption would require education and tooling so that finance teams, auditors, and regulators understand how to treat Bitcoin‑denominated revenues and expenses. Accounting frameworks, risk controls, and compliance rules will likely need to mature alongside infrastructure like GoBTC Pay.
GoMining’s background and infrastructure base
GoMining itself operates a Bitcoin mining platform that allows users to earn BTC via NFT‑linked hashrate rather than purchasing and managing their own mining rigs. Users effectively rent hashrate represented by NFTs, while GoMining runs the underlying equipment across a distributed set of data centers.
The company reports that it builds on Bitmain infrastructure for mining hardware and relies on BitGo for institutional‑grade custody of digital assets. It is backed by Bitscale Capital and has assembled an advisory board that includes Tal Cohen and Victor Orlovski. Cohen, who has served in senior roles at major technology and financial firms, joined GoMining’s advisory board in mid‑2025.
By coupling mining operations, custody integrations, and payment infrastructure, GoMining is attempting to vertically integrate several layers of the Bitcoin value chain. This integration underpins its claim that it can sustain very low payment fees while still compensating miners and service providers.
Challenges and next steps
Despite the appeal of low‑fee, direct Bitcoin settlement, GoBTC Pay will need to address several practical challenges:
– User experience: On‑chain settlement times and fee volatility must be abstracted away from end users to compete with near‑instant fiat payment flows.
– Regulatory clarity: Merchants and wallets integrating Bitcoin payments will have to navigate licensing, reporting, and compliance requirements that differ by jurisdiction.
– Market education: Many businesses still view Bitcoin primarily as a speculative asset; convincing finance teams to accept it as a payment medium will require clear guidance on accounting, taxation, and risk management.
– Network conditions: High network congestion or spikes in base layer fees could impact perceived reliability unless GoBTC Pay incorporates robust fee management strategies.
The initial onboarding of a limited number of merchants and partners will function as a real‑world test of how these issues play out in production. If GoMining can deliver stable, low‑cost settlements, build a healthy incentive ecosystem around miners and wallets, and demonstrate tangible savings for merchants, GoBTC Pay could become a reference model for Bitcoin‑native commerce infrastructure.
In that scenario, Bitcoin’s role in the global economy would tilt more visibly from being primarily a store of value or speculative instrument toward functioning as a fully fledged payment network-one in which miners, infrastructure providers, merchants, and users share a more direct, economically aligned relationship.