Cash App Integrates Bitcoin’s Lightning Network

Mobile payment platform Cash App announced the integration of Bitcoin’s lightning network on its platform. The new Cash App feature now allows users to instantly send bitcoin to any part of the globe as well as transfer bitcoin through the app to any Lightning or on-chain BTC address.

The integration of Bitcoin’s second-layer protocol was powered by the Lightning Development Kit or The Lightning Network, also often known as Lightning or LN, an open-source layer-2 solution, owned by Block, Spiral, that allows Bitcoin to scale.

The lightning protocol enables faster and cheaper transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain and eases the load by building a separate network where users transact and create minimal engagement with the Bitcoin blockchain.

The Lightning Development Kit (LDK) is a modular Lightning implementation aimed at developers who want to seamlessly integrate Bitcoin’s Lightning Network into their apps. It abstracts away the complexity of Lightning, allowing developers to integrate the network into their apps more easily and quickly.

Spiral operates completely independently of its parent company, with a self-directed group of developers, designers, and project managers working together to advance the adoption of bitcoin.

Cash App made it public a few weeks ago,  through a notification within the app that the company was integrating the Lightning Network. Users can now access the Lightning Network on Cash App by scanning a Lightning QR code using their cameras, confirming the details of the payment, and then proceeding to tap on pay.

Lightning can now be used by all Cash App users to transmit small payments instantly and for free. Cash App, on the other hand, appears to be unable to receive Lightning transactions at the moment. Users can only send them.

The latest development from Cash App has been met with applause and commendation. However, not every user in the United States can enjoy the new feature of the app. The company earlier this month revealed that the feature was going to be available everywhere in the United States, excluding New York. “At this time, New York residents aren’t eligible for Lightning,” Cash App tweeted.

During a conversation with Michael Saylor of intelligence firm MicroStrategy earlier this month, Jack Dorsey stated that incorporating Lightning through the Spiral’s work was one of the proudest moments in his career.

Cash App is a mobile payment service developed and operated by Block Inc., a company founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. The service is only available in the US and the UK. The company revealed back in September 2021 that, it had 70 million annual transacting users and had generated $1.8 billion in gross profit.