Wavespace Debuts Self-Custodial BTC Card, Routing Spend via Lightning and Nostr Wallet Connect

Wavespace, a Bitcoin-only neobank operating in the Eurozone, has announced that its self-custodial debit card, wavecard, is now compliant with Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. The card uses Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC) to automatically pull funds from a user’s self-hosted Lightning node whenever a purchase is made, removing the need to preload a custodial balance.

Most Bitcoin and crypto debit cards on the market today require users to preload a custodial account with bitcoin or stablecoins, typically through an on-chain transaction that takes time to settle and demands manual action from the cardholder. If that preloaded balance runs dry, the card stops working until it is refilled. Wavespace says its approach eliminates that friction entirely.

How the self-custodial top-up works

The wavecard relies on NWC, a protocol documented under NIP-47 within the Nostr ecosystem, to connect the card directly to a user’s own Lightning node. Cardholders set a minimum balance — for example $200 — and each time they spend through the Visa network, Wavespace automatically draws the equivalent in sats from the linked self-custodial wallet to keep the card topped up.

According to Bitcoin Magazine, this design is intended to minimize custodial exchange risk while keeping users’ bitcoin exposure intact until the moment of spending. NWC itself is a technology developed within the Nostr ecosystem, which has increasingly expanded from social media applications into payments infrastructure for Bitcoin.

A compliant Bitcoin neobank in a tightening regulatory landscape

Beyond the card, Wavespace operates as a broader neobank, giving customers a personal IBAN they can fund with fiat to buy bitcoin, along with automated dollar-cost-averaging tools that can withdraw purchased bitcoin directly to a user-selected address. The company describes itself as one of the few Bitcoin exchanges to remain operational in Europe following the rollout of MiCA’s compliance requirements.

Because the card’s top-ups move over the Lightning Network rather than on-chain, transactions are not recorded in a single public ledger entry, unlike standard Bitcoin blockchain payments. Wavespace positions this as a middle ground between the privacy-oriented values that originally drove Bitcoin’s development and the compliance demands of a heavily regulated market like the European Union.

Lightning adoption and expansion plans

In an interview with Bitcoin Magazine, Eivydas Račkauskas, described as Wavespace’s “Chief Orange Pill Giver,” said that 70{d19616a33d455f7215be86882b84de16bc0d6d703bafb84e8d0ba56683c22428} of payments made on the platform already use the Lightning Network. He added that the company is evaluating the ARK protocol for future self-custody payment integrations.

Račkauskas also said Wavespace is integrated with Lightspark and is preparing for an expansion into the United States, though he did not share further details on the timeline or structure of that move. He noted that the company has been largely bootstrapped, with the exception of an early angel investment from Relai in 2025, and that Wavespace is currently in the middle of a new fundraising round.