Users Can Use Bitcoin’s Lightning Network To Shop On Amazon And e-Commerce Sites

Bitcoin ($BTC) users can now start using the Lightning Network (LN) in order to purchase goods on Amazon. The cryptocurrency firm Moon announced on April 22nd that with their LN-enabled wallet and extension, they can pay in e-commerce sites such as Amazon. This is very positive for the development and adoption of the Lightning Network.

Bitcoin’s LN Can Be Used To Purchase Goods at e-Commerce Sites

During a conversation with CoinDesk, the CEO of the platform, Ken Kruger, explained how the system has been developed and how it works.

“[The extension] will pop up a QR code and it will have the lightning invoice, which you could also copy and paste if you can’t use the QR code for some reason, and you’ll be able to pay with your favourite lightning wallet.”

Nonetheless, this does not mean that Amazon is working with Bitcoin. Indeed, the e-Commerce sites do not have to handle any virtual currency. There is a company that processes the payment in Bitcoin and converts them to USD so the merchants can receive their dollars for the products they sell.

Indeed, Kruger himself explains that Amazon itself never touches Bitcoin. Moreover, he declined to reveal which are the companies that are helping them convert the Bitcoin to fiat on the backend. At the same time, Kruger commented that by 2020, the Lightning-enabled feature should work on almost any e-commerce site.

Kruger mentioned that there is no direct merchant integration and that Moon manages payment channels. The firm is only offering a simple interface for sending payments with the Lightning Network.

The LN is the ultimate scaling solution that would allow Bitcoin to process a large number of transactions without congesting the main Bitcoin network. Until now, the LN has been improved and enhanced but the main network was not launched to the market yet. Currently, the Lightning Network has a capacity of 1,060 $BTC and it has 8,111 nodes and 38,293 channels.

According to Moon, they are also working with the Visa and Mastercard networks. They also get a cut of the interchange fees that merchants pay every single time that they receive a credit card transaction.

The company explains that the extension’s lightning network functionality is still being reviewed by the Chrome Web Store. As they mentioned, the launch is expected for Wednesday.