Monero, self-hosted
You run the node and the coins land in your own wallet, with no one in between. Full self-custody survives the move on this path.
Pact · VI
Coming from BTCPay Server?
BTCPay is the sovereign option. You run the server, the node, and the keys, and you trust no one. We are the hosted option that adds cards and mail next to crypto. This page will not pretend those are the same thing.
The sovereign setup
BTCPay is self-hosted, non-custodial, and principled all the way down. Coins move to wallets you control with no company in the path, including ours. The toolbox runs deep too, with node policy, Lightning, and invoicing built by people who care about the protocol. For a bitcoin-native merchant who can run servers, BTCPay is the high ground.
The price of sovereignty
The server is yours at 2 a.m. too. Hosting, upgrades, monitoring, and recovery all fall to you. The server also speaks only crypto, so a buyer holding a card still needs a second checkout standing next to the first. None of that is a flaw. It is simply the cost of owning everything.
What stays the same
You keep crypto, and you keep custody away from us. NOWPayments forwards coins to the wallet you choose, and the self-hosted Monero option keeps a no-middleman path in the picker. We hold funds in neither case.
The custody ledger
Here is where the keys actually sit after the move, option by option.
Other coins, via NOWPayments
A service sits in the path and forwards coins to your wallet. They hold the coins briefly in transit, and then the coins are yours at rest. We name that trade plainly because it is real.
Cards, via your processor
Card money was always held by a processor. It lives in your own Stripe or Square account, the same as everyone else's. The new part is that cards now share a picker with your coins.
Weigh it honestly
What you gain
- No server to run, patch, monitor, or revive.
- Cards, crypto, and pay-by-mail in one picker.
- One sales log across all of it.
- A free plan to test the whole setup before anything moves.
What you give up
- Full self-custody on every coin. Only the Monero option keeps it.
- The deep bitcoin toolbox: node policy, Lightning, coin control.
- The no-third-party guarantee. We are a third party, and the open SDK is what balances that.
How to make the move
- Create a project, then connect NOWPayments for coins and a card processor, since cards are probably half the reason you are here.
- For Monero, set up the self-hosted option so you keep the no-middleman path where it matters.
- Add products and paste the button where the BTCPay checkout stood.
- Run test transactions, then real ones, with the old server still standing.
- Shut the old server down only when you trust the new flow. It is your server, and nothing is rushing you.
This trade is about principles before it is about tech. If the custody picture still feels wrong after a week, the old setup is yours to go back to.
A fair case for staying
If self-custody is the whole point for you, not just a preference, keep BTCPay. The fairer comparison is our open SDK, self-hosted with your own webhook. Cards are the real reason to come here.
Try it before you decide
The free plan is a full sandbox. You get every feature and 150 transactions a month, and we never ask for a card.