The Lightning Network strikes again. In a small but significant development for Bitcoin (BTC), a new type of BTC address was introduced: the “Lightning Address”. These unique identifiers are specifically designed for use on the Lightning Network, a Layer 2 payment protocol that operates on the Bitcoin blockchain.
An easy-to-use addition to the ways Bitcoin users can send, receive and even collect money, Lightning addresses can be escrowed or users can connect to their own nodes. Crowdfunding is among the most popular real-world uses for Lightning Addresses.
Cointelegraph spoke with MetaMick, CEO of Geyser Fund, and Stelios Rammos, CTO, to better understand how to use lighting addresses and why crowdfunding is such an easy fruit for this technology. Geyser Fund is a crowdfunding platform similar to GoFundme but using Bitcoin and Lightning.
Lightning addresses are “email-like identifiers that make it possible for users to send value to each other via lightning bolts. They are easy to remember and reusable (unlike bolt11 Lightning addresses),” explained MetaMick, Chief Technology Officer at Geyser Fund. Cointelegraph tried out the service and was able to raise money quickly:
Creators can now receive their project contributions to their lightning addresses. 🇧🇷
Launching a crowdfunding project has never been easier!
“Is that all? That’s too fast, Mick!” @JoeNakamoto pic.twitter.com/hUFZapyUqj
— Geyser (@geyserfund) December 16, 2022
First developed by Andre Neves and Fiatjaf (the developer behind Nostr), Lightning wallet addresses can be created in escrow solutions such as Wallet of Satoshi, CoinCorner or BitRefill and quickly synced to Geyser Fund:
“Simply link your wallet to Geyser and all donations go directly to your wallet.”
Crowdfunding has long been an area of interest in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Thanks to Bitcoin’s self-sovereign and censorship-resistant properties, it is one of the most efficient ways to send money online.
The first widespread use case of using Bitcoin to raise money was the 2011 Wikileaks campaign where Julian Assange raised thousands of Bitcoins when access to banking services was disrupted. More recently, the Canadian Trucker Protests used Bitcoin when the Canadian government ended USD-based crowdfunding solutions; it was a similar story with protesters in Nigeria.
However, Lightning Addresses takes funding one step further in terms of speed and usage visualization. Transactions on the Lightning Network can be completed almost instantly, compared to the 10-minute average for regular Bitcoin transactions. Lightning is ideal for frequent small payments, such as those made in physical stores, or sending small donations to creators around the world.
And thanks to Lightning Addresses, Bitcoin users can now raise money even faster and with a seamless user experience. Additionally, Geyser avoids acting as a custodian, as all funds are forwarded directly to creators’ Lightning addresses thanks to “hodl invoices”. The result is a trustless, non-custodial process, a core tenet of the Bitcoin philosophy.
Related: Not medical advice: Bitcoiner implants Lightning chip to manually make BTC payments
Ultimately, while there are still some hurdles to overcome with the Lightning Network, such as the need for easier-to-use wallets and better integration with existing payment systems, it is clear that the Lightning Network has the potential to revolutionize the way payments are made. , and the money is raised online.
As more users adopt the Lightning Network and enjoy the benefits of these new addresses, we could see a significant shift towards more efficient, cost-effective and censorship-resistant online payments.
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