Cash App Adds Bitcoin Lightning Network Support: Send BTC Instantly And For Free

Block Inc.-owned SQ crypto-friendly financial services app Cash App led by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey just rolled out support for the Bitcoin BTC/USD lightning network, enabling free and near-instant BTC transfers.
What Happened: In an announcement published on Monday on Twitter, Cash App writes that the Lightning Network "is now available" and describes it as "the fastest, free way to pay anyone in Bitcoin."

Lightning Network is a Bitcoin scalability solution that aims to scale the coin from about 7 transactions per second to possibly millions and drastically reduce transaction costs, making it an attractive option for most applications.

The solution creates bi-directional payment channels between themselves and a second party, each with their own wallet that enables them to exchange Bitcoin nearly for free — but admittedly in limited quantities.

When the users create payment channels, they are forced to lock a certain amount of Bitcoin into the Lightning Network and this is the Bitcoin that can be transferred independently of the blockchain — which is why Bitcoin blockchain's limitations do not apply.

See Also: WHAT IS THE BITCOIN LIGHTNING NETWORK?

BTC Price Action: As of press time, Bitcoin is trading at nearly $44,200 after seeing its price increase by about 5.9% over the last 24 hours.