Checking Out Bitcoin’s Lightning Network Part 2

Yesterday I wrote about the Lightning Network, what it is, the benefits, and its recent beta release.

Today I’ll look at another exciting feature of the Lightning Network and a potential use case.

 

Lightning Labs CEO Elizabeth Stark recently told Bitcoin Magazine, “Lightning is not just about scalability, it’s also an app development platform. I think a lot of people don't get that yet.”

I know I didn’t realize that so I checked out the Lightning App Directory. Already there’s over 30.

For example, there’s a couple wallets, the Lightning Desktop App by Lightning Labs and the Zap Wallet by Jack Mallers.

There’s services like Bitrefill, where you can recharge phone cards with BTC and LTC.

Another cool service is Y’alls, where you can read and write articles, with Lightning Network micropayments.

There’s also a few games and some developer tools. Check it out.

As far as use cases it was recently reported that Chubu Electric Power Company, Japan's third-largest electricity provider, is doing a pilot test using the Lightning Network.

The project is being done in conjunction with a local IoT startup called Nayuta and software company Infoteria. They are testing to see if payments can be made using the Lightning Network.

So far the companies did a successful demo showing a Lightning Network payment being sent to an electric vehicle to activate its charging.

The successful demonstration shows how Lightning Network can be used for small, instant transactions. And that opens the door for lots of use cases.

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