NWC MCP Server: Bitcoin Lightning Meets LLM Agents (Deprecated)

Important Note: This project has been deprecated. The team at Alby has consolidated this functionality into their main Alby MCP server, which includes all NWC tools plus additional Lightning capabilities.

What This Was About

The NWC MCP Server was an early experiment in connecting Bitcoin Lightning wallets directly to LLM agents through the Model Context Protocol. It used Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC/NIP-47) to let your AI assistant handle real Bitcoin payments - checking balances, creating invoices, and sending payments on your behalf.

Why This Mattered

Before this, there was no standardized way for AI agents to interact with Lightning wallets. You'd have to:

• Manually copy payment requests between your AI chat and wallet
• Switch contexts constantly when dealing with Bitcoin-related tasks
• Build custom integrations for each AI platform and wallet combination

This MCP server eliminated that friction by giving LLMs native Lightning wallet access through a single, secure connection.

How It Worked

The server acted as a bridge between your AI agent and Lightning wallet:

1. Secure Connection: Used Nostr Wallet Connect to establish an encrypted channel to your wallet
2. MCP Integration: Exposed Lightning operations as standardized MCP tools
3. Multi-Platform: Worked with Claude Desktop, Goose, Cline, and N8N out of the box
4. Flexible Deployment: Supported both local STDIO mode and HTTP server mode

Real-World Applications

This opened up powerful workflows like:

• AI Bookkeeping: "Check my Lightning balance and create an invoice for $50"
• Automated Payments: "Pay this invoice if the amount is under 10,000 sats"
• Payment Workflows: Building N8N automations that handle Bitcoin payments based on AI decisions
• Content Monetization: AI agents that could instantly create payment links for digital content

Integration Examples

Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nwc": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@getalby/nwc-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "NWC_CONNECTION_STRING": "YOUR_NWC_CONNECTION_STRING"
      }
    }
  }
}

N8N with SSE

The server could run as an HTTP service, making it perfect for workflow automation platforms. You'd connect N8N's MCP Client to the SSE endpoint with your NWC connection as bearer auth.

Why Use the New Alby MCP Instead

The Alby MCP server includes everything this tool did, plus:

• Additional Lightning Network tools and utilities
• Better maintenance and ongoing development
• Enhanced security features
• Broader wallet compatibility

If you're interested in connecting Lightning wallets to AI agents, that's where the active development continues.

The Bigger Picture

This project demonstrated how blockchain protocols could integrate seamlessly with AI agents through standardized interfaces like MCP. It paved the way for more sophisticated crypto-AI integrations where agents can handle real financial transactions autonomously within defined parameters.

The concept of giving AI agents controlled access to financial tools through secure, standardized protocols remains compelling - it's just moved to a more comprehensive implementation.