Lightning Network Integration Speeds Up Bitcoin Use
What Was the Original Intention of Bitcoin?
In the midst of all the talk, controversy, and debate around Bitcoin, it’s critical to keep in mind the initial intent of the platform. Peer-to-peer decentralised transactions without the need for middlemen were the goal behind the creation of Bitcoin. This implies that in the society that Bitcoin maximalists—those who reject competing cryptocurrencies in favour of Bitcoin—imagine, it can be used as money.
El Salvador legalised Bitcoin in 2021 so that it may be used for regular transactions. Scaling is a significant obstacle with this kind of use, though. Due to its low throughput, Bitcoin would find it difficult to handle the volume of microtransactions required to purchase goods like coffee.
What is the Lightning Network?
An additional layer that operates on top of the Bitcoin network is called the Lightning Network, and it was launched in 2018. It has the ability to remove transactions from the main blockchain, enabling the creation of networks among users where speedy and affordable transactions can occur. All of the transactions that were made are then merged back into the main Bitcoin blockchain after the participants end their conversation and shut down the channel.
As a result, quick and inexpensive payments are made and Bitcoin is utilised as a working currency, just as intended.
In order to facilitate seamless conversions between cryptocurrency and fiat, Xapo Bank offers USD accounts that are connected with support for USDC stablecoin. This allows for a smooth on/off ramp for cryptocurrency. Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, is one of the most ardent proponents of the Lightning Network and its possibilities. Dorsey’s current focus is on Block, a finance platform he started in 2021 under the name Square. Block just introduced a service provider named c=.
The purpose of c= is to enhance routing performance on the Lightning Network and tackle the problem of insufficient network interchangeability, which may result in unsuccessful transactions. Even while these are difficulties that must be resolved, the increasing community adoption of these solutions makes them welcome problems as well.
The financial services company Valkyrie Investments released a chart last month that illustrates the remarkable monthly growth in Lightning Network capacity. The chart also highlights important developments along the way, such as the expansion of services and the payment application Strike, which connects Bitcoin with traditional finance.
Capital of Ego Death and Relai
The Bitcoin-only app in Switzerland Relai is an additional developer for the Lightning Network who concentrates on enabling users to buy and sell Bitcoin fast while retaining their own assets in a non-custodial wallet. The business said this week that it has raised $4.5 million in a funding round headed by Jeff Booth, a well-known Bitcoin supporter and co-founder of Ego Death Capital, a venture capital firm.
Relai’s objectives include zero-fee trading services and the creation of a white-label solution that will enable other fintech platforms to offer trading between fiat and Bitcoin in addition to updating to function with the Lightning Network. Relai aims to enable retail onboarding into Bitcoin by offering mobile solutions that are easy to use and don’t require deep technological expertise.
The Lightning Network’s Objective
The primary objective of the Lightning Network is to facilitate the widespread, daily use of Bitcoin. In the end, this goal is related to one of the main reasons that Bitcoin was started in the first place: to develop a more advanced digital money.
