World’s biggest Bitcoin holder MicroStrategy [MSTR] has integrated the Bitcoin Lightning Network [LN] into its CEO’s email address. Built on top of Bitcoin, the LN is BTC’s layer 2 scaling solution designed to make payments cheaper and faster.
With the help of this Lightning Address protocol integration, developers can easily swap out an email address for a regular Lightning invoice or payment request.
Announcing the same, Michael Saylor, the co-founder of the firm said infusing the technology into his official email ID saylor@microstrategy.com will allow anyone to send BTC. So far, the 58-year-old billionaire received 20 Satoshi [Stats].
Saylor, a big-time BTC proponent who is reportedly worth over $1 billion and has amassed roughly 140,000 BTC [about $4 billion at current prices] through his software firm.
Moreover, Saylor-led MicroStrategy has always hogged the limelight for its massive Bitcoin bet since it became one of the first publicly traded entities in the U.S. to integrate BTC into its financial strategy three years ago.
Recent data from Bitcoin Treasuries showed that MicroStrategy holds the largest BTC supply for any publicly traded company with $3,9 billion or 140,000 BTC. This represents 0.66% of the entire Bitcoin supply.
In addition to MicroStrategy, Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, declared in a tweet on April 8 that the cryptocurrency exchange would include the BTC Lightning network into its platform. However, he did not specify when the integration will take place.
Bitcoin LN In Coinbase
Notably, Armstrong’s statement came in reaction to a tweet from Bitcoin supporter Wicked, who criticized him for never having spoken out in public about the Lightning network.
The Coinbase executive defended himself by claiming that his tweets automatically erase after a certain period of time, which is why there is no record of his views on the scaling solution.
He continued by saying that he thought “Lightning is great” and that it was “something we’ll integrate.”
In Feb, Bitcoin’s Lightning Network tapped an all-time high capacity of 5,000 BTC, marking a significant milestone for the network.
This layer-2 protocol has been gaining traction in emerging markets like South America and Africa, largely due to the efforts of the LN mobile payment application Strike.