Video shows first bio-payment using Bitcoin

Bitcoin reached a new milestone today.

No, we’re not talking about its market price topping $330, its highest for the year. What we’re talking about involves Swedish developer Patric Lanhed who works at DigitasLBi in Malmö, Sweden. Tech.Mic explains Patric completed the world’s first “bio-payment” using Bitcoin with a wave of his hand.

So how does it work? First, Patric implanted into his hand a chip that allows him to move money between bank accounts. From here, Patric tapped a near-field communication (NFC) sensor to the implanted chip, which triggers the transfer.

Patric completed the project with Juan Jose Tara Ortiz, a developer for Arduino. An article by Motherboard explains that Bitcoin-related NFC has been around for a while (Bitcoin payment app Circle, for example). Nevertheless, the development from Patric and Juanjo (Ortiz) is clearly taking the next step in the potential of this technology.

It should be noted that this isn’t the first attempt to embed chips into the skin for activities related to Bitcoin. Last year, Martijn Wismeijer implanted NFC chips into his hand to keep coins in his Bitcoin wallet.

Juanjo also told Motherboard that Bitcoin is just the beginning of what they want to accomplish. The pair hopes they can take this payment transfer system and grow it into a bio-payment terminal system to be used in stores.

Check out Patric’s video demonstration below:

Image credit: Siegfried Layda