Crowdfunding gets leg up from Lightning Addresses on Bitcoin

The Lightning Network strikes again. In a tiny yet important improvement for Bitcoin (BTC), a caller benignant of BTC address has been introduced: the “Lightning Address.” These unsocial identifiers are specifically designed for usage connected the Lightning Network, a layer-2 outgo protocol that operates connected apical of the Bitcoin blockchain.

A user-friendly summation to ways successful which Bitcoin users tin send, person and adjacent rise money, Lightning addresses tin beryllium custodial, oregon users tin link to their ain nodes. Crowdfunding is among the astir fashionable real-world usage for Lightning Addresses.

Cointelegraph spoke to MetaMick, the main exertion serviceman of Geyser Fund, to amended recognize however to usage Lighting Addresses and wherefore crowdfunding is simply a low-hanging effect for this technology. Geyser Fund is simply a crowdfunding level akin to GoFundme but utilizing Bitcoin and Lightning.

Lightning Addresses are “Email-like identifiers that marque it imaginable for users to nonstop worth to each different via lightning. They are casual to memorize and are reusable (unlike bolt11 lightning addresses),” explained MetaMick, the main exertion serviceman of Geyser Fund. Cointelegraph tried retired the work and managed to rise wealth successful nary time:

— Geyser (@geyserfund) December 16, 2022

These wallet addresses tin beryllium created connected custodial solutions specified arsenic Wallet of Satoshi, CoinCorner oregon BitRefill, and rapidly synced to Geyser Fund:

“You conscionable nexus up your wallet to Geyser, and each donations spell done straight successful your wallet.”

Crowdfunding has agelong been an country of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency interest. Thanks to Bitcoin's censorship-resistant and self-sovereign properties, it is 1 of the astir businesslike ways of sending wealth online.

There are implicit 20 plug and play Lightning Wallet code types available. Source: Geyser

The archetypal wide usage lawsuit for using Bitcoin to rise money was the 2011 Wikileaks campaign, where Julian Assange raised thousands of Bitcoin erstwhile entree to banking services was chopped off.  More recently, the Canadian Trucker Protests utilized Bitcoin erstwhile the Canadian authorities shut down USD-based crowdfunding solutions; it was a akin communicative with protestors successful Nigeria.

However, Lightning Addresses instrumentality backing a measurement guardant successful presumption of some velocity and spot of use. Transactions connected the Lightning Network tin beryllium completed astir instantly, compared to the 10-minute mean for regular Bitcoin transactions. Lightning is perfect for tiny predominant payments, specified arsenic those made successful brick-and-mortar stores, oregon for sending tiny donations to creators astir the world.

And acknowledgment to Lightning Addresses, Bitcoin users tin present rise wealth adjacent quicker and with a straightforward idiosyncratic experience. Plus, Geyser avoids acting arsenic a custodian arsenic each funds are forwarded straight to creators' Lightning Addresses acknowledgment to “hodl invoices.” The effect is simply a trustless and non-custodial process, a cardinal tenet of Bitcoin philosophy.

Related: Not aesculapian advice: Bitcoiner implants Lightning spot to marque BTC payments by hand

Ultimately, portion determination are inactive immoderate hurdles to flooded with the Lightning Network, specified arsenic the request for more user-friendly wallets and amended integration with existing outgo systems, it is wide that the Lightning Network has the imaginable to revolutionize the mode payments are made, and wealth is raised online.

As much users follow the Lightning Network and instrumentality vantage of the benefits of these caller addresses, it is imaginable that we volition spot a important displacement toward much efficient, cost-effective, and censorship-resistant payments online.