- Cashapp has confirmed integration of Lightning Network
- Users can now send and receive bitcoin through the Lightning Network
- The implementation is another example of adoption of Bitcoin’s payment solution
Cashapp, the mobile payments platform established by ex-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, has announced that it is to accept Bitcoin transactions through Lightning Network. The news, which comes just days after the Lightning Network crossed 20,000 active nodes for the first time, is another indicator of Lightning Network’s capability to add a payment layer to Bitcoin and is further confirmation of its coming of age.
Implementation Hinted at Last Week
Cashapp announced the addition of Lightning Network payments through Twitter (naturally), allowing Cashapp users to send payments to any other Lightning Network-accepting entity. Dorsey himself celebrated the news with a suitably succinct tweet:
⚡️
— jack⚡️ (@jack) February 8, 2022
The implementation of Lightning Network into Cashapp was made possible thanks to the Lightning Development Kit, an open-source project developed by Spiral, another company owned by Cashapp’s creator, Block (formerly Square).
Integration of Lightning Network into Cashapp would not have been news to those who paid attention to Dorsey’s fireside chat with Michael Saylor last week during the Bitcoin for Corporations event, where Dorsey said that achieving this integration was one of the proudest moments of his career.
Lightning Network Adoption Keeps Growing
Lightning Network has always had the potential to be a critical element to Bitcoin’s adoption goals, but until recently it has flattered to deceive, with uptake limited to individual businesses. However, in December 2019 Bitfinex enabled Lightning Network deposits, with OKEx doing the same in February 2021.
The real breakthrough moment came last year however when El Salvador used Lightning Network as its basis for its Chivo wallet to be used across the entire country in line with its adoption of Bitcoin as a currency. With adoption growing and metrics growing as a result, even during declines in the Bitcoin price, the future is looking bright for the Lightning Network.
