FastBitcoins, which sells BTC via the Lightning Network, will give users half of the on-chain fees they would have incurred for transactions.
FastBitcoins, which allows users to buy bitcoin directly via their bank accounts or at physical locations quickly through the Lightning Network, will be rewarding its users with 50 percent of the transaction fees that would usually be charged on-chain.
“With this new incentive, FastBitcoins aims to proactively drive customer adoption of the Lightning Network, the payments layer that sits on top of the main Bitcoin blockchain, and make Bitcoin usable for people in real life,” according to an announcement shared with Bitcoin Magazine. “The Lightning Network allows near-instant Bitcoin payments with tiny fees. By sharing the cost savings, FastBitcoins is encouraging users to trial the Lightning Network and discover how it can be as easy and convenient to use as fiat currency.”
On-chain Bitcoin transactions include fees to incentivize miners to validate the blocks in which that transaction data is contained. But the Lightning Network creates channels between individuals on a second layer, allowing them to send BTC payments back and forth and only settle on the base layer once they close these channels. As such, Lightning transactions can be verified much quicker than on-chain transactions, and transaction fees are only required upon channel closures.
While institutions and retail investors continue to divert their treasury assets to BTC as a store of value, the Lightning Network is a compelling solution for micropayments and rapid transactions. This promotion from FastBitcoins is meant to remind or inform users of that potential.
“People all over the world are learning that Bitcoin enables them to keep their wealth safe from inflation,” Danny Brewster, the managing director of FastBitcoins, said in the announcement. “But what is less well known is that it can actually be used in small amounts, too… We want to help people experience Bitcoin’s full potential, and what better way to do this than by incentivizing them to take the leap and see how the Lightning Network transforms bitcoin from a store of value into something even more powerful?”
