Nigerian innovator launches first active Bitcoin Lightning node in the country

A Bitcoin Lightning Network node (BTC) has struck the world successful 1 of the astir challenging operating environments. Lagos, the superior of Africa’s astir populous country, Nigeria, welcomed a caller Bitcoin Lightning node this week, a captious measurement to amended link the continent to the layer-2 payments web atop Bitcoin, the Lightning Network (LN). 

The node runs connected an aged laptop powered by a diesel generator arsenic Lagos regularly experiences vigor and energy blackouts.

Megasley's diesel generator and laptop moving the node. Source: Megasley 

In a treatment with Cointelegraph, Megasley, who is the archetypal Nigerian Lightning node of 2023 and the archetypal progressive Lightning node successful the state (as different nodes are dormant), Megasley shared his imaginativeness for bringing instant and low-cost payments to Africa acknowledgment to the LN.

"Light takes 50ms to transverse the earth. This is quick, but with galore hops this milliseconds tin adhd up and erstwhile you're lasting astatine a constituent of merchantability waiting for your outgo to wide it tin beryllium frustrating.”

Megasley explained his privation for Africans to person instant and arsenic adjacent to escaped arsenic imaginable payments. “If a Nigerian Bitcoiner and a Nigerian retailer are some connected to a node successful Nigeria, it volition springiness them the champion lightning experience," Megasley added.

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According to the explorer services Mempool and Amboss, the relation is presently the lone progressive node connected the representation successful Nigeria. By spinning up an progressive node successful Nigeria, the relation aims to marque lightning payments arsenic accessible arsenic imaginable to Africans.

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When asked astir the value of gathering retired an extended web of nodes crossed the globe to facilitate Bitcoin payments, the node runner explained, "If Bitcoin is to win it indispensable go a better, easier, faster mean of speech than the incumbents. To get determination we request to physique retired an extended web of nodes crossed the globe to facilitate these payments."

Megasley besides touched connected Bitcoin terms volatility and its cognition successful Africa: "People speech astir the occupation of volatility but this is thing erstwhile you unrecorded successful a spot wherever your wealth could easy suffer fractional its worth successful a year.”

“Africa has rotten wealth controlled by rotten radical and this is wherefore we request Bitcoin. We volition instrumentality the powerfulness of wealth distant from them truthful that the tremendous imaginable of the African radical tin thrive."

Indeed, determination has been a surge successful Bitcoin adoption among the countries that usage the Central African Franc, bolstered by Bitcoin conferences and forums successful Senegal and Ghana. Although Nigeria has shown promising signs of Bitcoin adoption, specified arsenic legal tender discussion, the bequest fiscal strategy has imposed further restrictions successful 2023.

For example, Nigerians volition lone beryllium allowed to retreat $44 dollars per week per idiosyncratic and a maximum of $11,000 for businesses successful 2023, arsenic per the government’s efforts to signifier retired cash. As a reminder, Bitcoin has nary limits oregon restrictions for its use. To transact freely connected the Bitcoin network, users necessitate a telephone and an net connection; determination are nary limits.

Related: Bitcoin, Sango Coin and the Central African Republic

The constitution of a Bitcoin lightning node successful Nigeria is simply a important measurement towards expanding accessibility and adoption of the cryptocurrency successful the state and the continent arsenic a whole. Ultimately, Megasley hopes to empower individuals and businesses successful Africa to instrumentality power of their fiscal future.