Node infrastructure provider BlockSpaces adds Lightning Network support for bitcoin

Thu, 07 Apr 2022 18:18:11 +0000

BlockSpaces, a blockchain node infrastructure provider, has announced that it will soon launch its Lightning Connect; a simplified, non-custodial Lightning Network node management solution designed to enable fast, low-fee bitcoin (BTC)-based payment processing.

The Lightning Network is a layer two protocol that locks transactions in off-chain smart contracts via a mechanism called “channels” which are tied to on-chain bitcoin transactions.

As such, the protocol upholds the security of Bitcoin while enabling faster transactions.

With this addition, BlockSpaces continues to expand its infrastructure which currently supports over 10,000 blockchain nodes across the world.

Management with the BlockSpaces Platform

Lightning Connect will add auto-provisioning and management of Lightning nodes for businesses to simplify using the network while retaining full ownership and control of their funds.

Users can manage their node via the BlockSpaces interface where balances of bitcoin, recent invoices (through the integration of a BTCPay app), and an overview of channels and liquidity will be displayed.

**A wide variety of apps are available through the Lightning Connect app directory**

“We’re very excited to announce our enterprise-grade Lightning nodes. This has been a long time coming, as I have been interested in and watching the development of the Lightning Network progress for years.”
– Gabe Higgins, Co-Founder & Chief Blockchain Officer of BlockSpaces

BlockSpaces will be a premier Lightning Service Provider (LSP), offering “Super Channels.”

Those looking to use Lightning no longer have to manually manage nodes or channels and can now take advantage of auto-balance, receive, and send specified amounts that scale with channel activity.

Lightning Connect brings users fully managed infrastructure and operations to manage liquidity while reducing capital and resource requirements to run Lightning nodes.

**Lightning Connect is an onramp to the Lightning Network**

The Lightning Network improves Bitcoin’s scalability in key areas:

Fast transactions – Transactions can be settled instantaneously. Speeds native to the internet.
Low transaction fees – Fees are minuscule over Lightning. Less than a penny.
High throughput – Lightning can handle tens of millions of transactions per second.
Security & Privacy – Since transactions are off-chain, it is hard to trace payments over the network.

Recently, BlockSpaces closed a $6M funding round to ramp up development and accelerate growth.

Source: lightning.blockspaces.com