Bitcoin Lightning payments soon also available in local shops

Payments on the Bitcoin blockchain are usually processed quickly and at low cost, but at peak times transaction congestion and rising fees can occur. The Lightning Network (LN) solves exactly this problem. Bitfury wants to take the LN to local stores around the world.

Bitfury has entered into a cooperation with the blockchain-based payment processing system Paytomat, which gives it access to payments in the Lightning network. Paytomat users can now process Bitcoin transactions over the LN in near real time. All players benefit not only from the speed, but also from the safety of the blockchain.

The LN is an off-chain scaling solution for Bitcoin that allows a large number of transactions to be processed without burdening the main chain. The payments are written into an open payment channel that can be left open over a specific period of time. Only when both parties signal that the transaction has been completed is the total amount or balance written to the block chain and the channel closed.

The platform uses a merchant’s existing POS system to make all payments via the shop via it. Hundreds of retailers in Italy, Ukraine, Spain and the Netherlands are currently being equipped with it, from espresso bars and restaurants to sports clubs. Once integration is complete, payments can be processed in real time.

The step-by-step migration is performed by Bitfury’s LN developer team called LightningPeach. Pavel Prikhodko, technical director of the team, explains that the benefits of the LN will soon be available to many end users around the world (freely translated):

With the introduction of the Lightning network, consumers all over the world can use crypto currencies for their daily shopping. Partnerships like Paytomat have brought us one step closer to making every endpoint of the service terminal crypto currency friendly and lightning-network enabled.

Paytomat CEO Yurii Olentir also adds that companies have long been willing to introduce Bitcoin as a legitimate means of payment, but adaptation must continue before it can be made widely available:

companies are willing to accept Bitcoin as a payment method, and crypto enthusiasts are willing to pay for it. We give you the opportunity to do both. However, with the Bitfury partnership and the implementation of the Lightning Network in our ecosystem, this opportunity becomes very fast and efficient. We are pleased to jointly develop the future of the crypto market and to realize fast crypto payments.