How to convert Hive or Hive-Engine tokens to Bitcoin sats using the v4v.app

View the real time Hive-to-sats v4v.app video

View the video on 3speak...

Read the step-by-step tutorial on the v4v.app

I've long been interested in Bitcoin and sats. For instance, I made the Satoshi Bitcoin Converter tool to help navigate BTC units and values and to answer questions like, "How much is one satoshi actually worth?" Also, in 2015, I proposed that the Japanese katakana "shi" symbol シ be used as the satoshi symbol. It got some traction on Reddit and wound up on the Bitcoin wiki. However, the simple term "sats" seems to have become the standard.

As well as liking Bitcoin and sats, I like Hive! For these reasons, I made @Hivebits (HBIT) on January 1 of this year. The goal is to somewhat meld the two. So...

...when I heard about the v4v.app tool...to swap around HIVE and Bitcoin sats...my interest was piqued!

v4v.app intro

At Hivefest 7 recently, @brianoflondon gave a talk about 4v4.app. It's an online tool to convert Hive or HBD into Bitcoin satoshis (sats), or vice versa. (By the way, v4v stands for "value for value", as in, Hive value for Bitcoin value...a clear enough name.)

Wait, what? I can earn Hive and get them over into Bitcoin as sats? Or, I can obtain Hive-Engine tokens and eventually do the same to wind up with sats? I like the sound of this.

Until the Lightning Network (LN), fees on the Bitcoin network essentially made dealing with small units like sats cost-prohibitive. However, with the LN, it's very doable. This post will describe how to go from a Hive-Engine token, to HIVE, and then to sats. The video will illustrate the same thing in real time.

How to convert a Hive-Engine token to Bitcoin sats with the v4v.app

Goal: go from a Hive-Engine token, to HIVE, and to Bitcoin sats.

Step 1 - sell a Hive-Engine token to get SWAP.HIVE

When I made Hivebits (HBIT), I included the little animation below suggesting that a user could mine HBIT, then by selling on a market, could eventually wind up with Bitcoin. Theoretically, this is true. But, with fees and costs, this really isn't practical. Now, I think it's different.

If you have any Hive-Engine (H-E) tokens in your wallet, you could sell them on tribaldex.com or hive-engine.com. This will earn you SWAP.HIVE, which is another H-E token.

If you're wondering how much your H-E tokens are worth, check out my converter tools at http://crrdlx.websavvy.work.

Step 2 - convert your SWAP.HIVE to HIVE

This is very easy. On Tribaldex.com, go to your wallet, then simply choose "Withdraw." A pop-up box will appear. From the dropdown menu "Please select a token", choose "HIVE", then type in how much you wish to withdraw.

Tapping the blue withdraw button will get you HIVE. The HIVE will show up in your regular Hive wallet (like PeakD, ecency, Keychain, or whatever wallet you use).

Step 3 - get a Bitcoin Lightning Network wallet

If you don't have a Bitcoin Lightning wallet yet, you need to get one. There are many, some are easy, some not. Choosing is a bit overwhelming. The simplest I found for my purpose is "Alby." For my purpose, I wanted to use my phone for the v4v.app and my desktop for the wallet. Alby, at https://getalby.com, is a browser extension, therefore it runs on desktop/laptop.

Simply install the browser extension, set up your account, and you're ready. Additionally, I'm liking Alby because I can sync my desktop Alby wallet with BlueWallet on my phone. Now, my Bitcoin LN wallet is both on desktop and wallet.

Step 4 - on Alby, make an "invoice"

Think of our goal...to get Hive turned into Bitcoin sats and have those sats show up in our Alby wallet.

Open your Alby wallet and choose "Receive"...we want to receive sats there. Next, enter a satoshi amount, say, 1250 sats. Enter a description (a memo) if you wish, such as "testing the v4v.app tool from hive to alby." Choose "Create Invoice" and a QR code is generated. You're ready to receive 1250 sats.

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Step 5 - use the v4v.app tool to convert HIVE, get sats

On a mobile device, go to https://v4v.app and make sure LTN is chosen. Tap the camera to go to scan mode.

Simply point the camera at the QR code. It should pick up the invoice and build a green info box. You'll see a red button if you want to convert HIVE to sats, or green to convert HBD to sats. Choose the one you prefer.

Then, it will likely ask you to log into Hive with either Hive Keychain or Hivesigner. I didn't have luck with Keychain for some reason, but Hivesigner worked.

After signing in, there's a short delay (seconds), and then, boom...you've got sats!

You've just gone from Hive-Engine tokens, to HIVE, to Bitcoin sats. Pretty awesome!

Feel free to drop me a few sats at https://getalby.com/p/crrdlx 😃

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_{Not on Hive yet? Watch the animation I made: The Hive Story Animation and you'll learn all about it. The top benefits of the Hive blockchain: (1) no ONE person/group runs it, (2) YOU own and control your content, and (3) YOU earn the rewards that your content generates. Learn more or consider using my referral link to get your free account here and I'll support you as you begin. Alternately, you can see other options here.}

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