Bitcoin users can spend cryptocurrency through a wallet with support for Lightning Network and a browser extension to make purchases on Amazon.
The operator of cryptocurrency payments Moon announced this week that any wallet with Lightning support can now be used through the Moon extension for the Chrome browser. Moon CEO Ken Kruger said:
“Moon’s extension will generate a QR code with an account with Lightning network support and pay for the order in Bitcoins.”
At the same time, Amazon is not related to the initiative, and Kruger declined to name traditional financial institutions that help convert BTC to fiat currencies on the domestic market so that Amazon merchants actually receive fiat currency for their goods. However, Kruger added that by 2020, the Lightning-enabled feature should work on virtually any e-commerce site, regardless of whether this platform accepts Bitcoins directly.
“There is no direct integration with merchants,” said Kruger, explaining that Moon also manages payment channels and simply offers a simple interface to send payments. “We integrate with the networks of Visa and Mastercard, and get a share from interbank commissions that sellers pay every time they receive a credit card transaction,” he said.
Kruger said that his startup plans to raise funds through a round of A-series funding in 2019 and continue to study user behavior.
“There are many opportunities to help solve some of the issues with usability and attract people to the Lightning Network, thus increasing its distribution”, said Kruger. “We are going to chat with other developers in the Lightning community to understand what they are working on and if there are any significant gaps. We would like to participate in such work and help whenever possible. ”
As noted in the Moon, the Chrome extensions online store is still testing the functionality of the extension, and its official release is expected this week.
Recently, Lightning Labs has released a solution to simplify the acceptance of payments in Bitcoin. In addition, in March, the American retailer Kroger will test the payments of the Lightning Network instead of Visa, and in February, a new feature called Tippin became available to users of the social network Twitter, which allows sending and receiving micro payments in Bitcoins.