SoFi to become first US bank to integrate Bitcoin Lightning, UMA

Digital slope SoFi Technologies is acceptable to go the archetypal US slope to leverage the Bitcoin web and Universal Money Address — allowing Americans, Mexicans, and others to nonstop wealth done the Lightning Network. 

SoFi partnered with Bitcoin (BTC) payments infrastructure Lightspark to motorboat its blockchain-powered planetary wealth transportation service, which volition spell unrecorded aboriginal this year, starting successful Mexico, SoFi said successful an announcement connected Tuesday.

“For galore SoFi members who regularly nonstop wealth to loved ones internationally, the quality to rapidly transportation wealth astatine debased outgo isn’t conscionable a convenience, it’s a meaningful betterment to their mundane fiscal lives,” SoFi CEO Anthony Noto said connected X. 

According to Noto, users volition beryllium capable to nonstop wealth internationally straight from the SoFi app. It competes successful a crowded planetary remittance market, which was valued astatine astir $740.5 cardinal successful 2024.

SoFi unveils however the Bitcoin UMA solution volition work

SoFi’s new, UMA-powered planetary wealth transportation work volition let customers to person US dollars into Bitcoin successful real-time and way the funds crossed borders via the Bitcoin Lightning network, wherever funds are delivered straight to the recipient’s slope relationship successful their country’s currency.

Lightspark’s UMA allows users to transportation wealth with an email-like code portion leveraging Bitcoin Lightning. The steadfast was founded successful 2022 by David Marcus, the erstwhile president of PayPal.

SoFi said costs volition beryllium “below the existent nationalist average” and that speech rates and fees volition beryllium shown to members earlier hitting nonstop to “ensure afloat transparency.” 

The work volition beryllium disposable astatine each times of the day, each day, for SoFi’s 11.7 cardinal members.

Source: David Marcus

Coinbase integrated Lightspark’s Bitcoin infrastructure past year

It comes a twelvemonth aft Coinbase rolled retired support for Lightspark’s Bitcoin Lightning solution to alteration instant, low-cost transfers successful April 2024.

It saw beardown adoption crossed the archetypal 12 months, with 15% of Bitcoin transactions connected Coinbase moving connected Lightning rails via Lightspark, the Bitcoin infrastructure steadfast said successful April this year.

Related: Thailand to motorboat crypto outgo sandbox for tourists

Brazilian slope dilatory to rotation retired Lightspark’s Bitcoin solutions

Brazilian neobank Nubank partnered with Lightspark successful June 2024 to connection Bitcoin Lightning payments to its 100 cardinal customers successful Latin America.

However, Nubank hasn’t confirmed that the Bitcoin-powered payments person been integrated for afloat usage yet.

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