Cash App, the 56 million user mobile payment app, has officially integrated the Lightning Network to facilitate bitcoin payments on its platform. The new feature is currently only available to users in the US, although New Yorkers still do not have access to it.
Cash App boosts bitcoin payments
Mobile payment app Cash App has announced via a tweet that it now supports the Lightning Network for bitcoin payments.
Although Cash App is only available in the US and UK, this new feature will initially be restricted to US residents, with the exception of New Yorkers.
Lightning Network is now available on Cash App. It’s the fastest, free way to pay anyone in bitcoin.
Buy tacos, tip your favorite Twitter comedian, or send a friend money abroad-anywhere that accepts lightning. pic.twitter.com/65TXSJ6yL6
– Cash App (@CashApp) February 7, 2022
The Lightning Network integration was made possible by the Lightning Development Kit (LDK), a tool for developers to integrate the Bitcoin Network Overlay (BTC) into their applications.
It is a feature developed by Spiral, a subsidiary of the company Block, formerly known as “Square”, which is owned by Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter who left his position as CEO last year to devote himself entirely to Bitcoin.
It was he who introduced the Lightning Development Kit last December, one of the biggest moments of his career according to him.
Fast and free payments
Eligible Cash App users can send bitcoins to any digital wallet as long as it is Lightning Network enabled. They can also use it as a live payment method as they can scan a QR code directly from the app to access the transaction details and confirm the payment.
Thanks to the Lightning Network, transactions made from the app are completely free of charge and, above all, very fast, in the order of a few seconds.
Cash App’s announcement directly echoes Solana’s announcement a week ago, in which the blockchain company launched its “Solana Pay” payment service for merchants to accept certain cryptocurrencies as payment in their shops.
Although New York users are not supposed to have access to the new feature, some have already found a solution that is only possible thanks to decentralisation: you only need to manage one node of the network to be able to use it, regardless of your geographical location.
The Lightning Network continues to grow
The Lightning Network was created to solve scalability problems and to facilitate micropayments by drastically reducing transaction fees.
Its use has increased dramatically, especially since the adoption of bitcoin as a legal tender in El Salvador for the same reasons, making everyday payments easier.
Lightning Network user curve (Source: txstats.com)
We also recall that Twitter had implemented a tipping feature on the beta version of its network, following an announcement by Jack Dorsey last June, where he said the implementation of the Lightning Network was “only a matter of time”.
Moreover, according to a report by Arcane Search, the number of Lightning Network users could be close to 700 million by the year 2030. One thing is for sure, it is in any case democratising at great speed.
