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Cash App Set To Bring Bitcoin Lightning Network To Its 36 Million Users

The Lightning Network has been integrated into Cash App, a peer-to-peer payment service operated by Block, previously Square Inc.

The feature allows transactions between parties that aren’t connected to the blockchain network. It was created to address the scalability issues with the flagship cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin Lightning Important For Speedy Transactions

Block (previously Square), a fintech firm co-founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, owns Cash App. The news of the BTC L2 integration was announced as a notification on the official Cash App app, which Crypto Twitter picked up:

The news are real! @CashApp added #Bitcoin Lightning ⚡Network 🚀 pic.twitter.com/zbbdqcx0dC

— Yegor Petrov 🔑⚡ (@yeg0rpetrov) January 11, 2022

With a throughput of five transactions per second (TPS) and an average transaction price of $1.79, Bitcoin falls far short of the mark in terms of payments.

$1.79 is a bargain compared to the highs of April 2021, when transactions cost an average of $62.78. Nonetheless, any transaction costing more than a few cents is impracticable as a widely accepted payment method.

With its layer-2 solution, the Lightning Network provides tremendous scalability and cheap transaction costs.

It operates by diverting transactions from the main chain and placing them into peer-to-peer “payment channels” between two parties, such as a buyer and a coffee shop. Once the channel is created, it can handle an endless number of transactions in real-time.

The payer must first lock Bitcoin into the network to open a payment channel. After the recipient has been locked, they can invoice amounts based on the cost of the items and services sold.

Fees are a mix of routing fees for sending payment information between Lightning Nodes and Bitcoin transaction fees for opening and closing channels. These, however, are still far less than direct main chain transactions.

In November 2021, the Lightning Network’s total USD value locked (TVL) peaked at $216 million. Since that time, the TVL has reduced.

TVL locked in the lightning network. Source: DeFiPulse

Block CEO Jack Dorsey, who was previously the CEO of Twitter, has long advocated for the tool’s inclusion. “It’s not a ‘if,’ it’s more of a ‘when,’” he told podcaster Stephan Livera in 2019 that they would combine the scaling technology with payments provider Block’s mobile app.

“We don’t think it stops at [bitcoin] buying and selling,” he remarked.

Steve Moser, editor-in-chief of TheTapeDrive and a contributor to MacRumors, tweeted in November that Cash App “is working on Lightning network integration.” Moser said he discovered proof that Cash App was preparing to implement the additional features in December.

Square’s Cash app is working on Lightning network integration. $SQ #Bitcoin #cashapp #LightningNetwork pic.twitter.com/AzMIfU2xex

— Steve Moser (@SteveMoser) November 15, 2021

According to the most recent data from Business of Apps, Cash App had over 36 million users in the United States and the United Kingdom.

BTC/USD trades below $%k. Source: TradingView

Related article | Number Of Bitcoin Lightning Network Nodes Jumps 23% In Three Months

Cash App Is Not The Only One Adding The Feature

Belo App, based in Argentina, said on Monday that it has partnered with infrastructure provider OpenNode to enable Lightning Network access to its users.

Julie Landrum, OpenNode’s Head of Growth, stated that the deal allows millions of people in Latin America to conduct quick Bitcoin transactions.

Last month, ConsenSys, the Ethereum blockchain software startup, announced a solution that makes blockchain technology scalable on the Ethereum Mainnet or for private use, in conjunction with Mastercard.

Related article | Lightning Speed: Taproot And The Lightning Network, A Match Made In Heaven

Featured image from The Block, chart from TradingView.com, and DeFiPulse

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Cash App Launches Bitcoin and Stock Gifting Feature For The Holidays

Cash App has recently launched a new feature that would allow users to gift friends and family stock and bitcoin. The app has taken gifting to another level with this new feature that will literally allow users to gift crypto to their loved ones with this feature. The gifting feature works the same way sending money in the app does but this time around, users will be able to gift as little as $1 in stock or crypto.

Gifting Bitcoin With Cash App

The payments app had taken to Twitter to announce the new feature roll-out. It explained that users will be able to gift crypto and stock to their loved ones regardless of whether or not they owned any of it themselves. It would be akin to sending cash on the app and just as easy. The feature was to enable users to help their loved ones start their investing journey by gifting them their first stock or bitcoin.

Related Reading | Millennial Millionaires Are The Most Bullish On Crypto, Survey Finds

“With Cash App, you can now send as little as $1 in stock or bitcoin. It’s as easy as sending cash, and you don’t need to own stock or bitcoin to gift it. So this holiday season, forget the scented candles or novelty beach towel, and help your cousin start investing.”

Cash App’s new gifting feature will only be available to users in the United States. The payments app is owned by Block, formerly known as Square, which is run by ex-CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey. With the announcement of the rebrand, Dorsey had explained that the brand’s mission was to help the seller community, by building tools that give access to the economy.

BTC continues downtrend | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
Other Companies Jumping In

Cash App is not the first to announce a bitcoin and stock gifting option to its users. Crypto exchange Coinbase had rolled out a similar feature which is currently live where users are able to gift cryptocurrencies to their family and friends. The crypto is gifted using a digital card picked out by the user that is inspired by NFT art.

Related Reading | Struggling Prices Beats Bitcoin Expectations Down From $100K To $50K

Trading app Robinhood had also recently rolled out a gifting feature. Users of the app are able to gift up to seven cryptocurrencies to their loved ones including bitcoin and ethereum, of as low as $1. This is to tap into its younger demographic of users who are more likely to gift crypto to their friends and family instead of conventional holiday gifts.

Cash App is however the first peer-to-peer payments service to offer crypto and stock gifting service to its customers. All other brands are trading platforms where users are able to trade cryptocurrencies and stocks directly. Users can choose to send crypto or bitcoin using their existing Cash App balances or using a debit card.

Featured image from Yahoo Finance, chart from TradingView.com