On March 2, Xapo Bank announced its partnership with Lightspark, a company led by David Marcus, former crypto boss at Facebook. The partnership aims to extend the utility of bitcoin and the Lightning Network. Xapo revealed on Thursday that it is the first fully licensed private bank to offer payments through the Lightning Network.
The integration of the Lightning Network into Xapo Bank will allow customers to make small purchases of up to $100 at any vendor that accepts Lightning Network payments. Additionally, Xapo is offering interest-bearing U.S. dollar bank accounts, with plans to soon offer the same for bitcoin. Xapo CEO Seamus Rocca believes that using the Lightning Network can help clients avoid long wait times and higher onchain fees.
Jack Dorsey’s payments firm, Block, also launched a new Lightning Network service provider called “c=.” The c= venture notes on the website that it is partnering with wallets, businesses, and Lightning nodes. During the Xapo-Lightspark announcement, Rocca said that “against a backdrop of hyperinflation, economic uncertainty, and political turmoil,” the demand for bitcoin payment integrations continues to grow.
To use the Lightning Network via Xapo, clients need to have bitcoin (BTC) in their Xapo Bank App. Then, users can scan a Lightning Network invoice and pay any merchant with the application. Xapo detailed that the network will charge a small number of satoshis for the transaction. David Marcus, CEO and co-founder of Lightspark, explained that Xapo has been one of the firm’s closed beta partners.
The integration of the Lightning Network into Xapo Bank is a major step forward for the cryptocurrency industry. It will allow customers to make small purchases with bitcoin without having to convert to USD first. This will help to reduce transaction times and fees, making it easier and more cost-effective for customers to use bitcoin for everyday purchases. Additionally, the partnership between Xapo and Lightspark will help to increase the adoption of the Lightning Network, which is a key component of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
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