- BitPay has integrated Lightning Network payments into its platform
- Users and businesses can now take advantage of the low fees and fast transactions times
- The Lightning Network has seen huge adoption in the past year alone
Bitcoin payment platform BitPay has announced the integration of the Lightning Network as the layer two solution makes further inroads into everyday use. The Bitcoin payment platform, which launched in 2011, announced the news yesterday, with the development adding another feather in the Lightning Network’s cap. The network has gone from strength to strength in the last year, with the amount of bitcoin in the network and the number of nodes rocketing, matching its growing daily use.
BitPay Lets Bitcoin Payments Off the Chain
BitPay announced the move in a press release, stating that BitPay merchants and their customers will be able to take advantage of the Lightning Network’s lower fees and near instant transaction times. The Lightning Network takes Bitcoin transactions off chain, reducing the strain on the main network and enabling transactions to be near instant and the cost almost zero.
Tony Gallippi, BitPay’s co-founder, explained the benefits of using the network, saying that “BitPay’s integration with the Lightning Network offers customers more choice and merchants more ways to be paid leveraging blockchain technology.”
Lightning Network Continues Stunning Growth
The Lightning Network’s recent growth has been remarkable. After years of underwhelming integration, exchange OKX (formerly OKEx) announced in February last year that users could deposit bitcoin on the network. This was followed later that year with El Salvador using the Lightning Network as the basis for its Bitcoin payment network, and just two months ago Cash App integrated the layer 2 protocol as well.
