Members of Xapo Bank will now be able to make minor purchases of up to $100 instantly from any retailer accepting Lightning payments.
The Lightning Network has been integrated by Gibraltar-based international private bank Xapo Bank to enhance its capabilities for Bitcoin (BTC $23,297).
On March 2, Xapo formally announced a relationship with Lightspark, a provider of the infrastructure for the Lightning Network, enabling the company to integrate Lightning on its platform.
By reducing blockchain confirmation wait times and transaction costs on the original Bitcoin network, the integration makes transactions on Xapo faster and less expensive.
The business claims that Xapo Bank customers will now be able to instantaneously pay up to $100 for modest transactions at any merchant who accepts Lightning payments.
The integration does not currently enable high-volume transactions. The updated Xapo bank apps on the Apple Store and Google Play came out on February 27 and included the new integration.
Bitcoin’s transaction confirmation might take up to an hour during times of high usage, making BTC unsuitable for small, everyday payments like groceries, claims Seamus Rocca, CEO of Xapo Bank.
According to him, by incorporating the Lightning Network, Xapo enables its customers to make payments using Bitcoin without first having to exchange it for dollars.
With the mempool size hitting levels observed in November 2022, the average confirmation time for bitcoin saw a sharp increase in the middle of February.
Data from Ycharts shows that on February 19, BTC confirmation time reached almost 600 minutes. Rocca also mentioned the importance of Bitcoin payments amid periods of economic uncertainty, political unrest, and hyperinflation.
Xapo, a company founded in 2013, runs a private bank, a Bitcoin custodian, and a wallet that are all governed by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission.
By providing USD and BTC accounts in one location, the organization is renowned for fusing traditional banking with cryptocurrency. At its peak, Xapo claimed to have held more than 800,000 BTC ($18.7 billion) in custody for family offices, funds, and high-net-worth people. This much Bitcoin represents more than 4% of all BTC currently in circulation.
