Bitcoin’s Use Case for Payments Strengthens with Lightning-Powered App
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell believes that bitcoin’s primary use case is as a store of value, not payments. He said yesterday, “almost no one uses bitcoin for payments.” That could be about to change.
The Chairman of United States central bank when asked about Bitcoin:
"They use it as a store of value…like Gold….that's not to say we won't see it & if we do see it yes you could see a return to an era in the US when we had many different currencies…"
h/t @APompliano 🐂 pic.twitter.com/sgI7b1vDJg
— Luke Martin (@VentureCoinist) July 11, 2019
Doubt as they may, the old guard cannot stop the spread of crypto mass adoption. While companies such as Facebook steal headlines with its controversial new digital currency, smaller companies continue to make inroads to crypto mass adoption.
Take Fold, for example. The payment company announced that it has integrated the Lightning Network into its platform. The integration will allow users to spend bitcoin at retail giants such as Amazon, Whole Foods, Southwest Airlines, and Uber.
We’re thrilled to announce Lightning payments within Fold. Shop instantly, cheaply and privately at Amazon, Uber, Starbucks, REI and more. Check it out at https://t.co/R44yPB5Fa6 #reckless pic.twitter.com/m2SSQK0wlH
— Fold (@fold_app) July 10, 2019
Although they have not directly partnered with these companies, the app converts bitcoin into accessible forms of payment for merchants. Fold CEO Will Reeves says the app communicates with the companies’ pre-existing POS systems to function like “prepaid access programs like gift cards, store credit, rails or other options merchants are used to accepting.”
Is Mainstream Adoption Worth Sacrificing Integrity?
Fold’s announcement comes on the heels of the release of Spedn, an app that allows crypto purchases at stores like Nordstrom, Lowes, and Whole Foods. Backed by Gemini, the coin exchange owned by the Winklevoss twins, the platform has received some blowback from crypto diehards. OpenBazaar’s Sam Patterson claims the platform strays from bitcoin’s decentralized philosophies.
