Nexo

Start Earning Up to 16% Interest Automatically

Learn More
Home » News » BitPay Adds Support for Lightning Network Payments

BitPay Adds Support for Lightning Network Payments

by

One of the largest Bitcoin payment processors now supports Lightning payments.

BitPay Adds Support for Lightning Network Payments
Shutterstock photo by S6Wigj

Key Takeaways

  • BitPay has added support for the Lightning Network, allowing merchants to accept Bitcoin payments in this way.
  • This integration will reduce Bitcoin transaction fees below one cent and increase the speed of transactions.
  • BitPay is one of the largest cryptocurrency payment processors, with reported volumes of $1 billion annually.

Share this article

BitPay has added support for the Lightning Network, a Layer 2 scaling solution for the Bitcoin blockchain.

BitPay Adds Lightning Support

BitPay co-founder Tony Gallippi announced the integration of Lightning Network at this week’s Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami.

According to a press release from the company, merchants that use BitPay can now receive payments from Lightning-enabled wallets such as Cash App and Strike, plus over 100 other wallets.

Though the Lightning Network supports both Bitcoin and Litecoin, BitPay says that it will only support Bitcoin at this time.

Merchants will not need to take any additional steps to configure support for the Lightning Network. Customers will see the option to pay with a Lightning-enabled wallet when they make a purchase.

The Lightning Network settles Bitcoin transactions off-chain, meaning that it reduces fees and improves transaction times. BitPay noted that fees on the Lightning Network are typically under one cent (whereas Bitcoin’s average transaction fee is currently $1.72).

PacSun, a California clothing and footwear company, will be one of the first companies to support BitPay Lightning payments.

Other Platforms Support Lightning

BitPay claims to be the largest crypto payment processor. Reports suggest that it handles $1 billion in transactions per year.

This makes it one of the highest-volume platforms to integrate Lightning to date, though various other payment processors have integrated Lightning Network in previous months and years.

Coingate was one of the first payment processors to add Lightning Network in 2018. Swiss processor Bitcoin Suisse also integrated the technology in 2021, while Jack Dorsey’s Cash App announced the addition of Lightning Network in January 2022.

Other companies have also added support for Lightning Network, including Twitter, Substack, Chainalysis, Bitfinex, and Kraken.

Today’s news comes just one day after Lightning Labs announced a new protocol called Taro to bring stablecoins to Lightning.

Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this piece owned BTC, ETH, and other cryptocurrencies.

Share this article

The information on or accessed through this website is obtained from independent sources we believe to be accurate and reliable, but Decentral Media, Inc. makes no representation or warranty as to the timeliness, completeness, or accuracy of any information on or accessed through this website. Decentral Media, Inc. is not an investment advisor. We do not give personalized investment advice or other financial advice. The information on this website is subject to change without notice. Some or all of the information on this website may become outdated, or it may be or become incomplete or inaccurate. We may, but are not obligated to, update any outdated, incomplete, or inaccurate information.

Crypto Briefing may augment articles with AI-generated content created by Crypto Briefing’s own proprietary AI platform. We use AI as a tool to deliver fast, valuable and actionable information without losing the insight - and oversight - of experienced crypto natives. All AI augmented content is carefully reviewed, including for factural accuracy, by our editors and writers, and always draws from multiple primary and secondary sources when available to create our stories and articles.

You should never make an investment decision on an ICO, IEO, or other investment based on the information on this website, and you should never interpret or otherwise rely on any of the information on this website as investment advice. We strongly recommend that you consult a licensed investment advisor or other qualified financial professional if you are seeking investment advice on an ICO, IEO, or other investment. We do not accept compensation in any form for analyzing or reporting on any ICO, IEO, cryptocurrency, currency, tokenized sales, securities, or commodities.

See full terms and conditions.