Best Free Boltz BTCPay Plugin Alternative
If your BTCPay Server store accepted Lightning through the Boltz BTCPay plugin, your store stopped accepting Lightning on August 3, 2026.
The plugin's whole pitch was that you did not need a Lightning node. Incoming Lightning payments were swapped through Boltz and settled to Liquid, and it worked even if you were on a shared or third-party BTCPay instance where you could never run a node of your own. That made it the default answer for a huge number of small merchants.
When Boltz disabled its swap services, that entire path went with it. There is no node to fall back on, because not having a node was the point.
Rizful fills exactly the same slot — a Lightning backend for BTCPay Server with no node to run — and connecting it takes about two minutes.
What Broke, and What Did Not​
Broken:
- The Lightning payment method on any store using the Boltz plugin. Customers who pick Lightning at checkout cannot pay.
- Any new swaps. The plugin cannot create them while Boltz swap services are disabled.
Not broken:
- On-chain Bitcoin payments in BTCPay Server. Those never touched Boltz and are unaffected.
- Funds you already received. Sats that already settled are sitting in your Liquid wallet and are unaffected.
- Your BTCPay Server install generally. Stores, invoices, apps, and reporting are all fine. One payment method is dark.
Boltz's API is still up specifically to process refunds cooperatively, and unilateral refunds work without their infrastructure at all. Check your plugin's swap history for anything pending and see the Boltz swap lifecycle docs. Their support team is still answering.
We are not writing this to dunk on Boltz. The plugin was a genuinely clever piece of engineering that solved a real problem — accepting Lightning is hard, running a node is harder, and Boltz made it a checkbox. They shut down honestly and quickly rather than letting merchants silently fail, and we hope they are back. But your checkout is broken today, and today is when your customers are trying to pay you.
Why Rizful Fits the Same Slot​
Rizful gives BTCPay Server a Lightning backend over NWC (Nostr Wallet Connect) using BTCPay's Nostr plugin. Rizful runs the node and the channels; your store just talks to it.
- No node to run — the reason you used the Boltz plugin in the first place
- Works on shared and third-party BTCPay instances — you only paste a connection string, so you do not need host-level access
- Free account — no subscription, no minimum balance
- Instant settlement in sats — payments land in your Rizful vault as Lightning sats, spendable immediately
- Sweep out whenever you want — send to any on-chain Bitcoin address on your own schedule
- Revocable access — the NWC code you give BTCPay can be deleted at any time, and you can set spending limits and expiry on it
How To Switch, in About Two Minutes​
The full walkthrough with screenshots for every click is in Use Rizful With BTCPay Server. The short version:
- Create a free Rizful account at rizful.com
- Get a send-and-receive NWC code from Rizful — see how to get one. It looks like
nostr+walletconnect://p&9XTp@dGjsUE5BwM... - In BTCPay Server, install the Nostr plugin — Manage Plugins → search "Nostr" → Install → Restart
- Point Lightning at it — Wallets → Lightning → Use custom node, paste your NWC code, click Test connection
- Save, and confirm your Rizful balance shows up in BTCPay
Then place one small test order and pay it yourself before you point real customers at it.
Some merchants have found that Enable LNURL in BTCPay's Lightning settings interferes with the connection. Unchecking it resolves it. Details at the bottom of Use Rizful With BTCPay Server.
You can leave the Boltz plugin installed. When Boltz comes back, you can decide then whether to switch back, run both, or stay put.
How the Two Compare​
| Boltz BTCPay Plugin (Nodeless) | Rizful | |
|---|---|---|
| Node required | No | No |
| Works on a shared instance | Yes | Yes |
| Setup | Install plugin, configure swaps | Install Nostr plugin, paste an NWC code |
| Funds land as | L-BTC in your Liquid wallet | Lightning sats in your Rizful vault |
| Cost to start | Free | Free |
| Status today | Offline | Working |
Related Situations​
- Aqua Wallet users — Aqua's Lightning is down for the same reason. See Best Free Aqua Wallet Alternative, which also covers merchants stranded by the SamRock Protocol integration.
- You need swaps, not a store — Best Free Boltz Alternative to Swap Lightning to Onchain Bitcoin.
- You would rather not run BTCPay Server at all — Best Free BTCPay Server Alternative covers taking Lightning payments straight from your own app over NWC, and Accept Bitcoin Payments on Your Website or App has the code.
- You want a customer-facing checkout wizard — Accept Crypto On Your Website For Free (No KYC).
TLDR​
The Boltz BTCPay plugin was the easiest way to accept Lightning without a node, and it is offline. Rizful does the same job through BTCPay's Nostr plugin, it is free, and you can have your checkout taking Lightning again before your next order comes in. Start at Use Rizful With BTCPay Server.