Firm that offers digital payments Strike In an effort to tap into the country’s potential, the company is expanding its international money transfer service, which runs on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, to the Philippines. $12 billion One of the largest remittance markets in the world.
According to a press release, Send Globally will be available in the Philippines from Tuesday. It uses the Lightning Network, which is a layer 2 scaling solution that allows for faster and cheaper Bitcoin transactions. According to the release, funds sent from abroad can be received in local currency at the recipient’s bank account or mobile money account.
Strike made waves with El Salvador’s support for bitcoin as legal tender in Central America through its collaboration with Strike country. NowIts goal is to end the multi-billion dollar remittance industry.
In an interview with CoinDesk, Strike CEO Jack Mallers stated that cross-border thinking is not something you can do quickly, cheaply, and with a lot of experience. “We are using Bitcoin’s Lightning Network underneath the hood to accomplish some things that have never been possible before.”
Lightning Network growth
Lightning analytics site, 1ML The network is becoming more vibrant with over 16,000 nodes and 76,000 channels (connections between Lightning Nodes) and close to 5,300 BTC (roughly $122 Million at the time it was published).
Mallers said that Lightning was not as advanced even a few years ago. “A network can only be as strong as its members. Network growth can create economies of scale and network effects like we have never seen before.
The Strike app can convert dollars into bitcoin, and send a Lightning payment to a partner in the recipient’s nation. (Strike has partnered up with Bitcoin payments firm Pouch.ph In the Philippines The partner converts the bitcoin into local fiat currency, and then forwards the money directly to the recipient’s bank account or mobile money account.
Mallers claims that all this happens behind the users’ eyes, shielding them against the complexity of bitcoin payments.
“There are all kinds of tax consequences – if you want to send money to the Philippines from here, you must tell the IRS. Maller stated that this is absurd. “We use Lightning’s properties under the hood. Our users don’t know that we use it. They are sending dollars and receiving pesos.
Send Globally launched last month in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana.
Mallers stated that there are partners around the globe because Lightning is an open payment network.
UPDATE: Tuesday January 31, 2022 at 15:34 UTC Adds Lightning Network growth chart.