Bitcoin funds service BitPay has introduced instant help for the Lightning Network by its fee processing platform, permitting retailers that leverage this platform to obtain funds from Lightning wallets and enabling less expensive, cheaper bitcoin transactions by the Layer 2 protocol.
“BitPay merchants can now receive payments from Lighting-enabled wallets like Cash App and Strike,” per a press launch shared with Bitcoin Magazine. “Consumers now have a low-cost alternative when paying with bitcoin at a BitPay-enabled merchant.”
Serving as a bitcoin fee processor for retailers since 2011, BitPay is one of many oldest corporations within the cryptocurrency house. With this help enabled, customers can checkout by way of Lighting with a wide array of merchants that settle for bitcoin funds by BitPay, spanning hundreds of millions of people across more than 200 countries worldwide.
“PacSun is excited to be one of the first BitPay partners to accept bitcoin payments using the Lighting Network,” stated Michael Relich, the co-CEO of the retail clothes model, in accordance to the discharge. “The Bitcoin Lightning Network provides our customers with instant payments and exceptionally low network fees, and creates more opportunity for all holders of bitcoin to shop online.”
The Lightning Network has vital potential to unfold Bitcoin’s use for on a regular basis funds, as Lightning nodes function fee channels that solely settle their ultimate stability on the principle Bitcoin blockchain when they are closed, lowering the amount of transactions that have to be confirmed on the base layer — a comparatively time-consuming and dear course of. But the Lightning Network is not as broadly used as legacy fee rails like bank cards are. The addition of Lightning help at BitPay might go a good distance in altering that.
