The future is now. Both Stripe and Primer joined forces with OpenNode for separate payment solutions. The Stripe App will allow companies to “instantly convert any amount of their balance in Bitcoin or automatically convert incoming payments in part or full.” For their part, online and meatspace merchants across the UK will have the option to accept bitcoin payments through OpenNode and Primer. All of those transactions will be powered by the Lightning Network.
First, Jack Mallers announced Lightning payments in half of the POS terminals across the US. Last week, CoinCorner unleashed the Bolt Card on the Isle Of Man. And now, separate announcements by Primer and Stripe seem to point at a future charged with Lightning Network payments. Are we witnessing bitcoin evolving from store of value to medium of exchange?
Primer And OpenNode’s Lightning Payment Solution
First of all, Primer is “a U.K. startup that has built a drag-and-drop framework to help merchants easily build payment stacks to sell online .” It’s obvious that they needed bitcoin. And by “they” we mean all of Primer’s customers. According to the press release, “merchants using Primer can now use an easy 1-click connection to add Bitcoin payment acceptance to their checkout experiences.”
How many people will the partnership between Primer and OpenNode expose to bitcoin? Payment processes, in general, are consistently getting more complex. Bitcoin fixes this. However, it has to be part of the payment stack first.
BTC price chart for 05/25/2022 on Kraken | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
Dollars Into Bitcoin With Stripe And OpenNode
According to the press release, the app will provide “a simple and secure way to convert incoming payments to Bitcoin in real time, automatically or on demand.” In other words, companies will be able to “gain Bitcoin exposure directly from the Stripe Dashboard.” Apparently, Stripe will present the new developments in “Sessions,” their annual user conference.
Extra details from the press release:
“Millions of companies around the world accept payments through Stripe, a leading financial infrastructure platform, which will be launching Stripe Apps and the Stripe App Marketplace in the coming weeks. The OpenNode app will be part of the public beta launch.”
Stripe, Primer, And OpenNode Quotes
One good thing about press releases is that they contain solid quotes from the main characters involved in the story. If they do their job right, these comments provide extra insight into the topic at hand. Let’s see what we got today:
Josh Held, Head of Strategy at OpenNode, said:
“OpenNode has believed in the promise of Bitcoin and Lightning-powered payments for a long time, and demand is now growing exponentially. Our partnership with Primer will enable diverse businesses, from large multinationals to sole proprietors, to integrate bitcoin payments for their customers.”
About Stripe, he also said:
“Bitcoin is the world’s most widely adopted digital currency, and we’re excited to work with Stripe on making the currency available to the many businesses on the platform.”
For his part Gabriel Le Roux, Co-Founder at Primer, said:
“We’re thrilled about partnering with OpenNode. For the first time, merchants across the globe have the opportunity to accept Bitcoin payments at checkout—with just a few clicks, not code. Primer and OpenNode are passionate about making Bitcoin an easily accessible payment option for merchants, through the best-in-class checkout experience available on the market.”
These two very different solutions will expose many people who might not be familiar with bitcoin to the Lightning Network. How will they impact the world of payments? Plus, how will they impact the bitcoin network as a whole? We’ll have to wait a few years for clear results. However, considering these are the third and fourth Lightning Network payment solutions that Bitcoinist has reported on in a month, an unstoppable trend might be emerging.
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