最新报道：This is a snippet from The Drop newsletter. To read the full version, subscribe. A cryptocurrency researcher has built an open-source payment processor in a week that lets buyers pay for goods simply by tapping their cryptocurrency wallets on their mobile devices, without paying the typical processing fees of credit cards and terminals like Square. Tim Robinson, head of cryptocurrency research at venture capital firm BlueYard, shared a video this week showing the device in action when making a payment using the MetaMask app on his phone. The terminal, which he calls FreePay, contains several different components, including an NFC reader and a screen for sellers to enter the amount they want to charge. “We should replace TradFi, not join them,” Robinson said. Robinson built a companion app for sellers to use FreePay, and an Android app for customers, but he noted that FreePay only works with MetaMask and Coinbase Wallets (at least in its current form). I’m tired of seeing all these crypto debit cards for wallets, we should replace TradFi, not join them! How hard is it to do this in a crypto-native way, anyway? So I created this — FreePay — the world’s first open-source, fee-free payment terminal. pic.twitter.com/zLyZAY81fY — Tim Robinson (@timjrobinson) July 2, 2025In recent months, crypto companies from Coinbase to MetaMask, Avalanche to Solayer have launched their own various crypto payment cards, using traditional payment processors like Visa, Mastercard, and even American Express. But while these TradFi big boys have wide reach, their fees are not insignificant and can cut into a business’s profits or cause those higher costs to be passed on to consumers. Visa credit cards can cost upwards of 1% to 2% per transaction, while Amex fees are typically higher, perhaps 1.4% to 2.5% and up. Blockchains have their own set of fees, of course, but ultimately it depends on the chain being used. Ethereum Layer 2 and Solana have much lower fees, especially when factoring in credit card fees and the additional 2.6% and up that are added just for using a Square terminal. “I started with Layer 2 support because that’s what I’m best at, but because it’s open source, anyone can extend it,” Robinson told me in a FreePay private message, adding, “Would love to see others add more chains and more wallets to support the standards needed to work with it.” Cryptocurrency does have some tax rules in the US, though, which may prevent some from using it as a payment method, as it’s more complicated than stablecoins or fiat payments. But hey, if you want to spend your crypto directly from your wallet via tap-to-pay, FreePay looks like a potential way for merchants to let you do that. I personally think we’re still a ways off from actually seeing crypto being used for everyday, micropayments, but the crypto industry really should rethink its wholesale embrace of over-feeing, overtly centralized payment systems (and systems that deny banking services to businesses like legal pharmacies and sex workers). As others have pointed out, crypto could also benefit from a wider range of open source technologies, including hardware wallets. Open source technology is inherently more decentralized by design — and allows for different motivations besides maximizing profits to come into play. The big crypto companies make a lot of compromises in their pursuit of “mass adoption.” But maybe it’s time we look back at history and remind ourselves why Bitcoin was invented in the first place. Get news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:The Breakdown: Decoding cryptocurrencies and markets. Daily. Empire: Crypto news and analysis to kickstart your day. Forward Guidance: The intersection of crypto, macroeconomics, and policy. 0xResearch: Get Alpha straight to your inbox. Lightspeed: All about Solana. The Drop: Apps, games, memes, and more. Supply Shock: Bitcoin, bitcoin, bitcoin.