Key Takeaways
- Xapo Bank has partnered with Lightspark and integrated with the Lightning Network to offer near-instant Bitcoin payments for its customers.
- This integration aims to reduce the time-consuming and costly experiences that often plague users who pay for small transactions in Bitcoin.
- The Lightning Network enables scalable payments at millions of transactions per second across the network, allowing Xapo Bank to become the first fully licensed private bank to offer near-instant Bitcoin payments.
- The bank’s goal is to become the largest Lightning node, expanding the network’s use across a host of new users.
- Xapo Bank offers an annual interest rate of 4.1% on US dollars and will soon be offering up to 1% on Bitcoin, divided over the year and paid out daily. This makes it a viable option for users looking to store their cryptocurrency while earning interest.
- Xapo Bank members can now instantly pay for small purchases of up to $100 at any vendor that accepts Lightning payments without suffering high transaction fees and long blockchain confirmation waiting times.
- This move helps to streamline the process of paying with Bitcoin and helps to bring the benefits of fast, cost-efficient, and global Bitcoin payments with the security, privacy, and flexibility unmatched in the traditional banking industry.
Xapo Bank has partnered with Lightspark and integrated with the Lightning Network to enable fast and affordable Bitcoin payments for its customers. Xapo Bank members can now instantly pay for small purchases of up to $100 at any vendor that accepts Lightning payments without high transaction fees and long confirmation waiting times.
Seamus Rocca, CEO of Xapo Bank, noted that the average transaction confirmation time of one hour combined with potentially large fees make the Bitcoin network unsuitable for small daily payments such as groceries.
“By integrating with the hyper-efficient Lightning Network, we are the first bank in the world to streamline this process and allow our members to pay for small purchases with Bitcoin without having to convert to USD first,” Seamus said.
According to Seamus Rocca, Against a backdrop of hyperinflation, economic uncertainty and political turmoil, we are entering a world where digital money is ubiquitous, and we need integrations like this that open up access to Bitcoin payments.
“We are bringing together the benefits of fast, cost-efficient, and global Bitcoin payments with the security, privacy, and flexibility unmatched in the traditional banking industry,” Seamus Rocca added.
Xapo Bank will be the first fully licensed private bank to offer near-instant Bitcoin payments, and its goal is to be the largest Lightning node.
The Lightning Network enables scalable payments at millions of transactions per second across the network, which will reduce the time-consuming and costly experiences that often plague users who pay for small transactions in Bitcoin.
Lightspark is building infrastructure for the Lightning Network, and services and tools will be available soon.
Founded in 2013, Xapo was the first institutional holder of Bitcoin and is one of the most trusted custodians in the industry, providing users with a secure platform to store and transact with their Bitcoin. It was the first crypto company in the world to obtain a banking licence, evolving into Xapo Bank, and has since expanded its offerings to include interest-bearing accounts for both USD and BTC.
David Marcus, CEO and Co-Founder of Lightspark, stated that they are thrilled to enable the first bank on the Lightning Network to offer instant and cheap Bitcoin payments to its customers.
To pay via the Lightning Network, Xapo Bank members will need to hold Bitcoin in the Xapo Bank App. After that, they can simply scan and pay an invoice at any merchant that accepts Lightning Network payments. The network charges a very small fee for each transaction, usually a few Satoshis, and Xapo Bank has set a fixed payment fee for SAT 15 (less than $0.01 as of Feb 24th) in order to protect members from executing transactions with high fees.
Xapo Bank is committed to helping its members navigate the new financial landscape of Bitcoin, and its expansion to include instant Bitcoin transfers can offer its members better usability and ultimately grow the cryptocurrency that many of its members rely on. With this expansion, Xapo is poised to become one of the leading private banks in the world, offering clients a level of security, privacy, and flexibility that is unmatched in the traditional banking industry.
Read Also: OpenNode Bags $20M Funding To Advance Bitcoin And Lightning Payments Infrastructure