--- name: "IBEX Hub" slug: ibex-hub tool-type: service category: payments two-sided: "consume + offer" maintainer: "IBEX (\"Powered by IBEX\")" docs: https://docs.poweredbyibex.io site: https://www.poweredbyibex.io payment: "contract-negotiated (no public rate card); fees estimated per-transaction via the API" status: "published" --- # IBEX Hub > Custodial Lightning-as-a-service — one REST API for Lightning invoices, on-chain, LNURL, sub-accounts, and webhooks over IBEX's managed node cluster, with fiat and stablecoin settlement rails layered on top. ## What it is IBEX Hub is a **custodial Lightning-as-a-service** API: a REST surface that lets a business accept and send Bitcoin payments **without running a node**. Through one integration you can **create and pay Lightning invoices, spin up unlimited sub-accounts, attach on-chain BTC addresses (send and receive), use LNURL** (LNURL-pay, LNURL-withdraw, static QR, Lightning addresses), and receive **webhooks** for asynchronous events. It all runs against **IBEX's managed Lightning node cluster**, so the customer never touches nodes, channels, or liquidity management. IBEX (now branded **"Powered by IBEX" — "The Internet of Payments"**) is a Central American Lightning-infrastructure company (Guatemala / El Salvador). Beyond the core Lightning + on-chain rails, the rebranded platform markets **banking rails (deposits, withdrawals, beneficiaries) and crypto on/off-ramps** for cross-asset settlement, including **"instant, interoperable settlement in regulated stablecoins."** The Lightning and on-chain BTC rails are the confirmed, documented core; the fiat/stablecoin settlement reads as an enterprise-onboarded capability rather than an open, self-serve one. Because IBEX **holds the funds and runs the nodes**, this is a **custodial** service: convenient and node-free, but you are trusting IBEX with custody. ## When to use it - A business or agent needs to **accept and send Lightning + on-chain BTC behind one API** without operating any node infrastructure. - You want **sub-accounts, LNURL, and webhooks** out of the box for a multi-user or multi-department integration. - You need **fiat/stablecoin settlement rails** alongside Lightning and are comfortable with a custodial, enterprise-onboarded relationship. ## Dependencies & payment A **business/organization account**, and onboarding is **human-gated, not self-serve**. Sandbox credentials are provisioned by emailing IBEX (`info@poweredbyibex.io`) with admin and organization details; **production access sits behind business-development contracts**. Auth is an **OAuth 2.0 client-credentials (machine-to-machine) flow** — the only one the live docs describe. You create a **Client ID and Client Secret** yourself in the Hub Console, exchange them for an access token, and **the token expires after 1 hour**. *(IBEX's own docs disagree with themselves on the lifetime: the prose says one hour while a response sample shows `expires_in: 86400`. The prose is the explicit statement; assume an hour and refresh.)* Requests are rate-limited to **30 per minute per client**, and a **Postman collection** is published. A **sandbox** exists (`ibexhub-api.sandbox.poweredbyibex.io`) but is throttled — e.g. a **10,000 sat/day sending cap** and slower responses. **Pricing is not published** on any primary IBEX page — no rate card, tiers, or free-tier statement; fees appear to be contract-negotiated (the API does expose send/withdrawal **fee-estimate** endpoints). ## Quick start The API is publicly documented at `docs.poweredbyibex.io/reference/welcome`, and the docs publish an **`llms.txt`** index for LLM/agent consumption. Authenticate with the OAuth M2M client-credentials flow (Client ID + Secret from the Hub Console), then call the Hub endpoints for invoices, on-chain, LNURL, and sub-accounts; register **webhooks** for async events. There is **no official SDK and no MCP server** — integration is hand-rolled REST. Point at the **sandbox** base URL first (mind the 10k sat/day cap), and note that **credentials are not self-serve** — a human has to request sandbox access and sign contracts for production, so an agent cannot onboard itself today. ## Gotchas - **Custodial.** IBEX holds your funds and runs the nodes — no self-custody / key-control option. You trust the provider. - **Stablecoin/fiat legs are issuer- and custodian-freezable.** Regulated stablecoins can be frozen or blacklisted by their issuers regardless of who holds them, and a custodian can freeze the account — self-custody of a freezable asset isn't the same as censorship-resistance. The plain **BTC/Lightning** leg carries none of that. - **Sales/contract-gated onboarding.** No self-serve API key: sandbox by email request, production behind contracts and business KYB. - **Sandbox is throttled** (≈10,000 sat/day, slower responses); no clear Bitcoin testnet — it's a limited replica, not a full test network. - **No SDK, no MCP.** REST only (though an `llms.txt`, a Postman collection and an OAuth M2M flow make it more machine-friendly than most). - **Pricing opaque** — no public rate card; likely negotiated per contract. - **Brand in transition.** `ibexmercado.com` / `ibexpay` are legacy and redirect to `poweredbyibex.io`; don't confuse this IBEX with unrelated entities of the same name (energy exchange, DeFi, etc.).