Former payments chief David Marcus said Bitcoin will become the most critical network to bring payments into a new era. Marcus believes that the global payments infrastructure is absolute and will benefit from integration with cryptocurrencies.
Is Bitcoin Lightning Network the solution to today’s payment problems?
in a interview The former Facebook and PayPal executive discussed his new project, Lightspak, on CNBC’s Squawk Box. The company was founded to provide payment settlement based on Bitcoin’s second layer solution, the Lightning Network.
The payment solution allows users to send money “off-chain,” thereby increasing the scalability of the Bitcoin network. In this sense, Marcus and his company hope to turn cryptocurrencies into a “truly global payments network.”
The goal is to financially connect all individuals regardless of their nationality, usage of traditional payment channels, and other factors. Former Facebook executives claim this is the final frontier for allowing people to connect in the same way they use email, text and other forms of communication supported by the internet.
Marcus had the following to say about the problems the company is solving and why it is building on top of the Bitcoin network:
If you want to block one of these people (tourists visiting the United States) and want to communicate with them, you can ask them for their email address and the next minute you can easily send them an email. You can text them, you can hangout with them, but if you want to send them money (…) then you can’t do that. So we’re still in the age of fax payments, and that’s what we’re trying to solve.
Marcus believes that the world lacks a universal currency protocol and that Bitcoin and the Lightning Network are the solution. The current payments track is complex and people have to overcome a number of hurdles to move money between or between countries.
What if Lightspark and other companies building on the Lightning Network could provide a simple solution to the public. In this case, Marcus believes they can enter the trillion-dollar space and take market share from SWIFT and other international payment networks.
The Bitcoin Lightning Network is on the rise
While Bitcoin’s value has been on a downward trend since reaching an all-time high of $69,000 in 2021, the Lightning Network has been growing. Data from crypto analytics platform mempool.space indicates that the payment capacity of second-tier solutions has increased to over 4,700 BTC.
The chart below shows that the metric has been rising since October 2020, when affordability was well below 1,000 BTC. If this trend continues, the Lightning Network’s payment power could double in the next two years.
Cover image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview
