The Bitcoin Lightning Network can settle payments faster than traditional payment networks such as Visa and Mastercard, a video reveals.
For a long time Bitcoin was criticized for being too slow to compete with traditional payment infrastructure. Now, a bitcoin enthusiast is showing the world that bitcoin is in fact faster than Visa & co.
A video shared on Twitter is currently going viral among the Bitcoin community. It shows a payment test comparing fiat and Lightning Network payments.
In the video, uploaded by Cointelegraph reporter Joe Hall (aka as Joe Nakamoto), a young gentleman with British accent can be seen standing in front of two payment terminals.
Live on camera, Joe presents himself in a shop holding up a credit card. The terminal on the left (from the viewer) appears to be capable of processing bitcoin transactions over the Lightning Network, the one on the right is a traditional fiat card terminal.
At the beginning of the short clip, the gentlemen briefly explains:
“Bitcoin vs Fiat pay test in Gibraltar, two pound twenty loaded on both screens, we have bitcoin versus fiat, ready? 3…2…1..”
Then he moves a white master card down to the terminal on the right, while another person’s arm moves a card down on the other terminal in perfect synchronicity.
The card on the left, however is not a traditional Mastercard or Visa card. It’s an NFC card called Bolt, which uses the LNURL feature that comes with the Lightning Network. This allows for the recipient to receive a Lightning payment similar to a faucet.
As the arms move down and both cards are taped on the terminals, the gentleman comments just seconds later:
“Uh, is that? Lightning’s done it” as a green check-mark pops up on the screen.
“Uh, is that? Lightning’s done it”
The video is titled “RACE OF THE RAILS – Bitcoin #Lightning payments vs #fiat contactless payments at the #Gibraltar Bakery. £2.20 loaded up on both PoS. WHO WINS??
It’s an impressive proof that bitcoin can be used to pay merchants with instant settlement thanks to the second layer scaling technologies available.
Lightning Network transactions are faster than payments with Visa or Mastercard payment rails given the Lightning transaction is finding a route.
Lightning payments are still considered experimental by many experts yet users adopt it at a rapid pace. On our last “What’s Up Bitcoin” show, special guest Walton provided deep insights into the plebnet community which is dedicated to increase the number of Lighting nodes around the world.
Running a Lightning node is not an easy task but many hobbyists succeed with the operation and help facilitate trustless transactions without third parties.
Regardless of the fact that the Lightning Network is still in its infancy, users and proponents of the technology are very creative and enthusiastic.
From chicken feeders, beer taps, vending machines and quirky online movements, the Lightning Network community is never sleeping to find new ways to advertise the potential of their beloved payment network.
Though not all is yet working perfectly, Lightning has seen a steep growth in capacity during recent months. At the time of writing of this article, the total capacity of the Lightning Network amounts to 4,270 bitcoin, which is close to $100 million.
Mastercard and Visa can process millions of transactions per minute and card terminals exist in almost every location around the world.
While the Bitcoin network is focused on security and not designed to handle vast volumes of day-to-day payments, the Lightning Network is quasi limitless in its scalability.
Elizabeth Stark, founder and CEO of Lightning Labs has presented the chicken feeding capabilities of the Lightning Network on live TV during a Yahoo Finance interview.
