2 years ago
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong owes maine $100. That’s due to the fact that helium mightiness not cognize however to usage the Lightning Network, the instant outgo solution built connected apical of Bitcoin.
Armstrong, who’s been gathering successful the Bitcoin (BTC) abstraction since 2012, precocious tweeted that helium would wage radical who provided the “best examples” of radical utilizing cryptocurrency successful Africa. “If you’re utilizing crypto successful Africa, reply with a abbreviated video (<30 seconds) oregon photograph of however you’re utilizing it,” Armstrong wrote. “Best fewer examples get $100 successful crypto.”
If you're utilizing crypto successful Africa, reply with a abbreviated video (<30 seconds) oregon photograph of however you're utilizing it. Best fewer examples get $100 successful crypto. Use hashtag #CryptoAfrica
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This is the CEO of Coinbase, aft all, truthful I shared a video of myself utilizing Bitcoin successful Africa, which was portion of a 30-second conception of a caller Cointelegraph documentary covering Bitcoin successful Senegal.
The tweet rapidly became the most-liked and most-shared effect to Armstrong’s query. (Crucially, the tweet referred to Bitcoin successful Africa, not crypto successful Africa, and it demonstrated the easiness and velocity of the Lightning Network.)
However, Armstrong appears to person ignored my submission, contempt much than 600 likes and 100 retweets. The adjacent astir fashionable submission had conscionable 50 likes. So, I reached retired to immoderate cardinal sentiment leaders, creators and influencers wrong the Bitcoin assemblage to amplify the tweet. Wicked, an anonymous Bitcoin pedagogue and information analyst, tagged Armstrong successful a post, accusing him of “actively ignoring the #Bitcoin Lightning Network.”
My tweets auto-delete aft immoderate fig of months, truthful determination is nary hunt history.
Lightning is large and thing we’ll integrate.
Wicked precise kindly drew Brian’s attraction to my tweet video astir Bitcoin successful Africa. The tweet, and Armstrong's affirmation that "Lightning is large and thing we'll integrate," led to quality outlets astir the world reporting connected Coinbase's adjacent development. He past besides tweeted that helium had sent maine the money.
Awesome! sent $100 to [email protected]
cheers
Here’s wherever things get weird. Armstrong said helium paid maine the $100. He said helium sent $100 to the Lightning code shown successful my Twitter illustration bio: [email protected]
Now, if you’ve ne'er utilized the Lightning Network before, you’d beryllium forgiven for confusing this code with an email address. But would the CEO of Coinbase marque that mistake? Could the Bitcoin OG person failed to admit that the petition successful my bio — which says “Send BTC to [email protected],” surrounded by lightning bolt emojis — could beryllium my Lightning address?
Side note: Running a Bitcoin node is mildly technical, and sending wealth connected the Bitcoin blockchain for the archetypal clip is simply a small nerve-wracking, arsenic the transaction takes astir 10 minutes to corroborate and we unrecorded successful an instant world. But utilizing the Lightning Network successful 2023? It’s brain-dead easy. A locomotion successful the park. Seriously.
“That’s a large call, Joe,” I perceive you say.
Yep, it is. And I’ve got the receipts to beryllium it. It’s truthful casual to usage the Lightning Network that I basal successful the thoroughfare successful locations worldwide giving retired Bitcoin to radical connected their brand-new Lightning wallets — and I movie their reactions.
The astir communal remarks are “I didn’t cognize it’s truthful easy” and “Wow, it’s truthful fast.” The videos are connected my YouTube channel. Here’s a video changeable successful France for the Cointelegraph YouTube transmission wherever I springiness retired Bitcoin:
So, delight — let’s not unreal that Armstrong is overwhelmed by the complexity of sending wealth to my Lightning address. Moreover, funnily enough, Bitcoin advocates worldwide saw my tweet and took pleasance successful sending maine sats to amusement that my Lightning code is live and well.
My telephone blowing up with outgo notifications.Back to the story. Danny Scott, CEO of CoinCorner — a Bitcoin and Lightning institution — was speedy to constituent retired to Armstrong on Twitter that helium mightiness person made a mistake successful confusing Bitcoin and email, arsenic Coinbase provides a “send to email” function.
Related: Ethereum's Shanghai fork is coming, but it doesn’t mean investors should dump ETH
Scott told Cointelegraph successful an email, “Obviously, we cognize the code [that Joe shared] is simply a Lightning address, but intelligibly not everybody does.”
“So my conjecture is Brian knows precise small astir Lightning close now, successful peculiar LNURL, Lightning addresses and different innovations being built out, which is perfectly fine, he's distracted, it happens, present we conscionable anticipation helium helps himself and the manufacture by turning their attraction to what truly has substance and agelong word value, Bitcoin and Lightning.”It’s true: Coinbase offers trading for much than 250 antithetic cryptocurrencies — that’s a batch of tokens to support one’s oculus on. And arsenic Scott adds, “I tin admit however engaged helium volition beryllium — this manufacture doesn’t sleep, and moving a Bitcoin institution myself, I cognize that feeling adjacent astatine a smaller scale.”
To springiness Brian and yet Coinbase the payment of the doubt, I waited a fewer days earlier penning this article. I person tweeted repeatedly astatine Brian (no reply) and I besides reached retired to the Coinbase Press Team. They told maine that they would get to the bottommost of it, but “My conjecture is that Brian is apt batching the sends astatine definite times." A time has passed since this connection (more doubt-benefit-giving) and they’ve not sent an explanation.
Related: Coinbase wins $470K restitution successful insider trading case
The property squad email was peculiarly left-field arsenic it referred to “batching.” Batching is consolidating aggregate payments into a azygous transaction connected the Bitcoin blockchain, not the layer-2 Lightning Network. Again, they’re not acquainted with Lightning. This adds further insult to injury: Could it beryllium that the Lightning Network simply isn’t connected Coinbase’s radar?
It’s been 3 days since Armstrong said helium would nonstop the money, and determination person been immoderate simply fantastic memes from the Bitcoin and wider crypto community.
Brian the "LN Maxi" trying to blend in. Source: @CorndalorianArmstrong has been progressive connected Twitter, portion his institution is busy launching caller projects and winning insider trading cases for the implicit 250-plus crypto projects Coinbase hosts.
Meanwhile, I’m inactive waiting for my $100. But I’m besides progressively alarmed that the billionaire, crypto OG and Coinbase CEO Armstrong struggled to spot a Lightning address.
Joe Hall joined Cointelegraph arsenic a newsman successful 2021. He holds an MA successful French and Spanish from the University of Edinburgh and a BA successful languages from Sceinces Po Lyon.
This nonfiction is for wide accusation purposes and is not intended to beryllium and should not beryllium taken arsenic ineligible oregon concern advice. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed present are the author’s unsocial and bash not needfully bespeak oregon correspond the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
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