CoinGate, together with Surfshark, is testing Lightning Network for Litecoin.
In July 2018, CoinGate tested the Lightning Network on bitcoin and since then more than 30,000 transactions have already been made on the Lightning Network.
Thanks to this success, Coingate has decided to develop this feature also for Litecoin, with the support of the Litecoin Foundation and Litecoin’s founder Charlie Lee himself.
Like in the case of Bitcoin, Lightning Network for Litecoin allows for network scalability, with significantly faster and cheaper transactions, regardless of transaction volume. In addition, Coingate will also allow atomic swaps, for example from LTC to BTC.
The first field tests start today, January 17th, 2019. If all goes well, in theory, it will already be possible to purchase goods and services with Litecoin using the Lightning Network, although it will probably take some time before the network can function without any problems. Only then will it be made available to all of CoinGate’s 4,500 merchants.
The tests will be carried out by the VPN provider Surfshark.
VPN services are one of the most common areas for cryptocurrency payments, and since transactions are often small, it is generally not very convenient to use cryptocurrency to pay. Lightning Network intends to solve exactly this kind of problem, so Surfshark could be an excellent tester.
The CoinGate team chose Surfshark for the first tests also for its commitment to security and privacy. If no errors occur during the test and everything goes smoothly, the pilot test will be declared completed and the function will be made available to all, probably by the end of February.
