Lightning Network Quietly Gaining Adoption
The Lightning Network is shrugging off its criticism and quietly gaining adoption as more exchanges and applications plug into it.
The layer two scaling solution has been subject to lots of critique, especially from shitcoiners, who claim it’s not being used, or that a layer two solution isn’t the answer to Bitcoin’s scaling problems.
And with Bitcoin (BTC) being touted as digital gold and a store of value by institutions, one might think the Lightning Network isn’t needed.
Sure, it’s not a necessity for those who just want to store value in Bitcoin and keep it in cold storage long term, but Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer currency as well. As well as digital gold Bitcoin is programmable money, and the Lightning Network is quietly helping that narrative become a reality.
Leading Cryptocurrency Exchanges Helping With Adoption
Lightning Network allows users to send near instantaneous transactions at a fraction of the cost of the Bitcoin mainchain. However, accessibility of the technology has been limited and adoption has been slow, but things are quietly picking up and we are now seeing more companies utilize the Lightning Network.
Bitfinex was the first exchange to integrate the Lightning Network. The Hong Kong-based exchange is the fifth largest exchange by trading volume, and it has pioneered Lightning adoption and expansion.
As well as integrating the layer two technology into its exchange, Bitfinex and Tether have invested in the development of other layer-3 technologies built on the Lightning Network.
Bitfinex has also developed an open-source library for the development of peer-to-peer applications with the Lightning Network, making it much easier and cost effective for developers to build on LN.
As well as Bitfinex, Malta-based exchange OKEx has integrated Lightning Network into its system. This has onboarded OKEx’s users onto the Lightning Network, who are also benefiting from reduced transaction costs and fees.
OKEx’s subsidiary OKCoin has also integrated Lightning, as has UK exchange CoinCorner. Kraken exchange also announced in December it had hired a team to build its Lightning integration, which it expects to launch in the first half of this year.
The Lightning DEX has made a giant leap too after becoming the first DEX to trade BTC/USDT. The Lightning DEX utilizes the LN and is still in testnet, but the success of the BTC/USDT transaction has brought forward interoperability between the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains.
Strike Global Helping With Bitcoin and Lightning Adoption
If anyone doubted thew capabilities of the Lightning Network, then they should have been keeping track of what Zap CEO Jack Mallers was building.
Mallers announced in December that his new payment application Strike Global was ready for distribution in more than 200 countries and its partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex would onboard more than 100 million users.
Strike Global allows users to send any currency to and from any two locations and transfers the currency to the receiver’s currency of choice, instantaneous and free of charge.
For example, someone in New York can send USD to his friend who needs some GBP in London. The transaction will see the dollars immediately transferred into BTC, and then be sent to the receiver’s wallet and exchanged into pounds for him to spend.
The payment application’s features are only possible because of the Lightning Network which allows for instantaneous transactions at a fraction of a penny.
Strike is also the technology being used by NFL star Russell Okung, who is now being paid in Bitcoin, or at least half his salary is.
Okung made headlines in December after the NFL and his team the Carolina Panthers allowed the Offensive Tackle to immediately transfer half his wage into Bitcoin on pay day.
Earn Free Bitcoin Thanks To Lightning Network
Everybody wants to earn free Bitcoin, but with the cost of transactions on the Bitcoin mainchain this isn’t possible, unless somebody gives you some.
With Lightning Network and marketplace Carrot you can earn free Bitcoin for doing tasks. A bit similar to freelance platforms, Carrot is a marketplace full of offers, which anyone can carry out and get hold of some Bitcoin, or satoshis.
It’s a truly global platform and by using Bitcoin and the Lightning Network anybody anywhere can participate and be compensated for the value they create, in a matter of seconds however small.
You can also earn Bitcoin, or satoshis, in the first-person shooter game Bitcoin Bounty Hunt, where players battle it out in an online arena against others for bounties that can be exchanged for real satoshis.
Players search around the arena looking for bounties, known as Satoshi Cubes, but the arena is full of other armed players looking for the same thing.
If a player comes across another there will be a shootout to the death. It’s a harsh world on Bitcoin Bounty Hunt but the winner of the shootout will keep the riches of the other player.
And like any other game, the better you are, the more you win. Just that on Bitcoin Bounty Hunt, you win satoshis not just points.
Lightning Network Is Quietly Gaining Adoption
The Lightning Network has been the target for more criticism than most projects in the digital asset space, some of it founded, but mostly fud by shitcoiners.
But as the layer two scaling solution evolves, adoption grows. We’re seeing some of the biggest exchanges now integrated into Lightning payments and their customers are the main beneficiaries.
And probably the most exciting technology being built in the Bitcoin eco-system right now is Strike Global. This free and instantaneous payment application is going to completely disrupt the financial industry, and is only possible because of Lightning technology.
Lightning also allows us to earn free Bitcoin. Whether you’re a gamer or have time to do tasks, you can put your time to use and stack sats free of charge.
None of this would be possible without the Lightning Network, and the best thing is it’s only just getting going.
