LQwD FinTech Corp. (TSX-V:LQWD, OTCQB:LQWDF) said it has established routing nodes and has deployed Bitcoin into payment channels on the Lightning Network, providing essential liquidity to support the significant growth of the network over the past year.
The company said this milestone is the first stage in its Lightning Network platform becoming operational, providing infrastructure, solutions, and liquidity to support the development of the network and earning fees in the process.
The Lightning Network, a layer 2 payment protocol built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain, is composed of nodes (computers) running the Lightning Network software, connected to other nodes via payment channels allowing them to forward payments on the way to their final destination (payment recipient).
READ: LQwD Fintech well on its way to growing Lightning Network to allow Bitcoin to be used for microtransactions globally
Every payment channel needs enough Bitcoin on them for a payment to go through. LQwD, as a Lightning Network Services Provider (LSP), stakes its Bitcoin on routing nodes to help ensure the functioning of the network where fees can be earned for forwarding transactions.
The company believes this growth, shown through the increased number of nodes, payment channels and overall network capacity, will continue. It intends to establish as large of a footprint as possible in order to capture transaction fees as network volume grows.
Recent use cases of the utility of the Lightning Network have been demonstrated in El Salvador through mainstream merchants such as McDonalds and Starbucks using it for payment, as well as Twitter enabling it for tipping on their global social media platform with 200 million daily active users.
LQwD's mission is to develop institutional-grade services that support the Lightning Network and drive improved functionality, transaction capability, user adoption and utility and scaling Bitcoin. LQwD also holds Bitcoin as an operating asset establishing nodes and payment channels across the Lightning Network.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com