Cash App Adds Option To Make Payments Through Lightning Network
Block’s payment service, Cash App, has added the option of making payments through the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
While Cash App did not make a public announcement of the development, some users have reported an in-app message revealing the update. It reads:
“We’ve just added Lightning Network. Use the fastest, free way to pay anyone in Bitcoin—just scan or send to a Lightning address.”
While some have reported that the feature is initially being made available to iOS users and that Android users have not seen the update, it’s not clear if the new feature is available to all users as of today.
Lightning Network is a second-layer network for Bitcoin that enables transaction settling off-chain on P2P payment channels. Its biggest benefits include reduced fees and improved transaction times.
Back in February 2019, the CEO of Block, Jack Dorsey suggested the feature during an interview alongside Lightning Labs CEO Elizabeth Stark. At that time, Dorsey said Lightning would likely be integrated with Cash App when the company could find a way to make maximal use of its speed, saying that it was “not an ‘if,’ but more of a ‘when.’
Many have been expecting the feature being added since November 2021, when TheTapeDrive editor-in-chief Steve Moser found data for the feature hidden in Cash App’s code.
In 2018 Cash App introduced Bitcoin buying and selling, and has since become increasingly involved with crypto since then.
Block’s crypto development division, Spiral, released a Lightning Development Kit in December, allowing other developers’ easy integration to Lightning payments.
Square has also invested in Bitcoin directly. It has bought a total 8,027 BTC in two separate purchases: 4,709 BTC in October 2020, followed by another 3,318 BTC in February 2021. The company’s total Bitcoin investment is currently worth $343 million.
Twitter, where Dorsey served as CEO before stepping down in November 2021, also introduced Lightning support in September last year. Its Bitcoin tipping system is powered by the Lightning-based app Strike.
