Crowdfunding gets leg up from Lightning Addresses on Bitcoin
The Lightning Network strikes again. In a small yet significant development for Bitcoin (BTC), a new type of BTC address has been introduced: the “Lightning Address.” These unique identifiers are specifically designed for use on the Lightning Network, a layer-2 payment protocol that operates on top of the Bitcoin blockchain.
A user-friendly addition to ways in which Bitcoin users can send, receive and even raise money, Lightning addresses can be custodial, or users can connect to their own nodes. Crowdfunding is among the most popular real-world use for Lightning Addresses.
Cointelegraph spoke to MetaMick, the chief executive officer of Geyser Fund, and Stelios Rammos, CTO, to better understand how to use Lighting Addresses and why crowdfunding is a low-hanging fruit for this technology. Geyser Fund is a crowdfunding platform similar to GoFundme but using Bitcoin and Lightning.
Lightning Addresses are “Email-like identifiers that make it possible for users to send value to each other via lightning. They are easy to memorize and are reusable (unlike bolt11 lightning addresses),” explained MetaMick, the chief technology officer of Geyser Fund. Cointelegraph tried out the service and managed to raise money in no time:
Creators can now receive their project contributions into their lightning addresses. ⚡️Launching a crowdfunding project has never been easier! "That's it? This is too quick, Mick!" @JoeNakamoto pic.twitter.com/hUFZapyUqj
First developed by Andre Neves and Fiatjaf (the developer behind Nostr), Lightning wallet addresses can be created on custodial solutions such as Wallet of Satoshi, CoinCorner or BitRefill, and quickly synced to Geyser Fund:
Crowdfunding has long been an area of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency interest.
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