Lightspark, led by CEO David Marcus, the former head of PayPal, has been selected by Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, to integrate the Bitcoin Lightning Network into its platform. This integration is set up to enable Coinbase customers to make instant and cost-effective Bitcoin transactions.
Thrilled to announce this @coinbase He was chosen @lightspark To enable #Bitcoin Lightning Network through its platform and services. Another important milestone for Lightning! ⚡To millions of new people and over 100 countries coming soon! https://t.co/Dj5JDqdmOl
— David Marcus (@davidmarcus) April 3, 2024
“Coinbase is committed to making the global financial system faster and more efficient,” said Shan Agarwal, Vice President of Corporate and Business Development. “We are excited to partner with Lightspark to remove payment barriers and enable faster and cheaper Bitcoin transactions by powering the Bitcoin Lightning Network.”
Lightspark has dedicated nearly two years to developing its platform as a key entry point into the Lightning Network, meeting the needs of institutional customers looking for reliable and efficient solutions for Bitcoin transactions. The integration with Coinbase includes Lightspark's cutting-edge tools and services, such as SDKs, APIs, and developer tools, which simplify the process of implementing and managing Lightning nodes.
A key aspect of the integration is the implementation of Lightspark's remote signing, where Coinbase holds the Lightning signing keys while Lightspark hosts the Lightning node. This setup aims to ensure scalability, reliability, and optimize the node infrastructure, allowing Coinbase to focus on delivering exceptional user experiences without the complexities of managing a large-scale Lightning application.
“It's been a pleasure getting to know David and the entire team at Lightspark,” said Victor Bonin, Coinbase Protocol Specialist. “They've built great technology, are great to work with, and we're excited to partner with them to launch Lightning™ support soon.”
Today's official announcement comes almost a full year after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong committed to integrating the Lightning Network into the exchange. The integration now comes at a critical time, considering the growing demand for efficient Bitcoin transactions amid rising Bitcoin prices and transaction fees. Coinbase facilitates a whopping $154 billion in quarterly trading through its platform, and will now give its customers access to cheap and efficient Bitcoin transactions to help improve scalability.
