Latest news with #Lightspark
Associated Press
4 hours ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Bitcoin Tipping Is Now Live on X, Powered by BitBit and Spark
LOS ANGELES (CA), 8/18/2025 - BitBit, the self-custodial social wallet that lets users instantly send and receive Bitcoin directly in their browser, today announced the launch of its X (formerly Twitter) integration, enabling users worldwide to exchange Bitcoin tips on the platform seamlessly. The payments will be associated with X usernames, allowing anyone to receive them, even without a wallet. The integration leverages Spark,the fastest, cheapest, most UX-friendly way to build financial apps and launch assets on Bitcoin. Spark is built by Lightspark, providing open, always-on payments solutions for the Internet powered by Bitcoin: the only open, neutral network for moving value. Lightspark powers integrations with partners such as Coinbase, NuBank, Bitso, and many more to enable payments on Bitcoin. 'At Lightspark, we're working tirelessly to ensure the future of money looks like the open Internet,' said David Marcus, Lightspark's co-founder and CEO. 'Spark is built on Bitcoin because it's the only open, neutral network for moving value. By choosing Spark, the BitBit wallet builds on this openness and proves Bitcoin's potential to empower creators and the global X community.' While tips have been available on X since 2021, this is the first self-custodial tipping solution available to the public. By leveraging Spark, the fastest, cheapest, and most UX-friendly way to build financial apps and launch assets on Bitcoin, the solution eliminates the technical friction and complexity associated with scaling solutions like the Lightning Network, providing users with a seamless and intuitive wallet experience. Tip receivers will have 21 days to create a wallet to receive the money; otherwise, a refund transaction will automatically be sent back to the sender. 'It's very important to meet people where they are rather than assume they will learn how to use new technologies,' said Felipe Servin, Founder and CEO of BitBit. 'With over 500 million people already using X and most of the Bitcoin-focused conversations happening there, this is the ideal place to integrate Bitcoin payments for the general public.' The extension is now live for all Chrome-compatible browsers, with mobile support and stablecoin integrations coming very soon. Install it here: About Spark Spark is the fastest, cheapest, most UX-friendly way to build financial apps and launch assets on Bitcoin. We're building the Bitcoin internet. Follow on X @spark About BitBit BitBit is a self-custodial social Bitcoin wallet that lets users send and receive Bitcoin and stablecoins right directly in their browser. Powered by Spark, a next-gen Bitcoin Layer 2, BitBit integrates directly with X usernames for frictionless tipping, payments, and community engagement, all without sacrificing privacy or control of funds. To learn more about BitBit, visit Press Contact [email protected]
CNBC
29-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Bitcoin is becoming the true digital gold we've been talking about: Lightspark CEO David Marcus
David Marcus, Lightspark co-founder and CEO, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss key takeaways from the Bitcoin 2025 conference, future of bitcoin, Trump family's involvement in crypto, and more.
Business Mayor
08-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Revolut to Enhance Bitcoin Lightning Infrastructure in Europe via Lightspark
Lightspark has announced a new partnership with Revolut to enhance payment infrastructure using the bitcoin network in the UK and select European countries. This collaboration aims to eliminate delays and high network fees associated with traditional payment systems, enabling seamless transactions powered by advanced open technology. Revolut will connect to the open Money Grid, joining […] READ SOURCE
CNBC
02-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Real use case for Bitcoin in self custody wallets: Lightspark CEO
'We need real time money movement that's global, truly available to everyone and truly end to end,' David Marcus, Lightspark co-founder and CEO and former PayPal president, tells CNBC's Dan Murphy at TOKEN2049 in Dubai.
Axios
29-04-2025
- Business
- Axios
Bitcoin offers a politics-free medium for payments
Stablecoins are the biggest success in the world of cryptocurrency, with one exception: the original cryptocurrency, bitcoin, is bigger than all the rest of the crypto market, including stablecoins, combined. Why it matters: There are companies that believe the Bitcoin blockchain should also secure stablecoins — the tokens pegged to real-world money — which are being called the industry's killer app. The big picture: The market has made it very clear what it likes about stablecoins: speed, transparency and, most importantly, very close to zero volatility. Bitcoiners have an alternative thesis, that what the world really needs is money without politics. Bitcoin is really the only large, highly liquid and credibly neutral layer of transaction in the world. State of play: Bitcoin's blockchain is pricey to use, but its sister network, Lightning, is not. Credibly neutral it may be, but there's not a popular low-volatility instrument on Bitcoin or Lightning, yet. Driving the news: Lightspark announced Tuesday that it's created Spark, which enables issuing tokens and building apps in a trust-minimized way, one that relies on Bitcoin for security guarantees, in order to create a substrate that thousands of stablecoins could transact over. Lightspark previously released an easy-to-understand payments addressing system that looks like email, that international banks like Xapo and Nubank use today. It just announced a partnership with a platform for issuing stablecoins. What they're saying: Lightspark CEO David Marcus (an alum of PayPal and Meta, when it was still Facebook) tells Axios that it wants to make the Bitcoin blockchain the transaction medium for all kinds of stablecoins — thousands of them. "The way that the market currently is configured for stablecoins is not going to be the way that the market will look like two years from now," Marcus said. Between the lines: Stablecoins are attractive to banks and fintechs because issuers get to keep the yield earned off the principle, making for a very easy and sweet profit margin, at least at times with high interest rates. But if dropping interest rates don't kill that margin, competition will. Stablecoin issuers are already finding ways to share their yield with holders as a way to increase market share. But Lightspark has a plan for issuers to make money even after market forces push them turn over all their yields to users, which is only a matter of time. Zoom out: Lightspark isn't the only company out there looking to move global transactions onto Bitcoin. Strike is another Bitcoin-powered company that reaches 100 countries. Its founder managed to sell El Salvador on Bitcoin. It already enables stablecoin withdrawals in several companies. And it allows the most dedicated Bitcoiners to pay bills through the Strike app, with either bitcoins or money. What we're watching: Block Inc.'s Square point-of-sale network. Block has leaned into crypto, but mostly into bitcoin as an investment. It could, however, tap into stablecoins as a new payment option. It has a team working on it, based on LinkedIn posts. Block declined to comment for Axios. The intrigue: In a world that's becoming increasingly polarized, the U.S. weaponization of the dollar could drive more nations away from payment rails powered by U.S. money. If they have a hard time agreeing on an alternative state-backed medium, Bitcoin is right there. A convenient non-political meeting place for nations looking for an alternative. All it needs is for someone to build a system that could handle that kind of load.
