The ZAP app seeks to encourage the mass adoption of Bitcoin and Lightning Network by connecting it directly to a bank account or debit card.
Solving Bitcoin's scalability problem is not an easy task. This problem has taken a long time of research and development, however, the solution is among us. Its name is Lightning Network and it is taking Bitcoin to the pinnacle of scalability to deal with the massification of cryptocurrencies.
The Lightning Network protocol is a protocol designed to improve the scalability of Bitcoin. This is possible thanks to the Lightning Network working as a second layer on Bitcoin. One that allows this cryptocurrency to do things that it normally could not and more specifically; instant transactions and with very low commissions.
To understand the potential of this technology a little, we must keep two things in mind. The first is that Bitcoin was created as a digital money solution. The second is that this goal is impossible to achieve in the current state of the Bitcoin network and software. The reason for this is very simple: Bitcoin has trouble climbing.
Currently, Bitcoin can only process 7 to 8 transactions per second. This is a very small capacity and it cannot cope with the massive use of cryptocurrency. As a result, the Bitcoin network becomes slow and very expensive when it comes to paying commissions.
For this reason, a new way to carry out transactions quickly was needed, which was simple to use and compatible with Bitcoin without making major modifications. The answer to these needs and more is Lightning Network, a protocol from which we will learn a little more
ADVANTAGE
Firstly Lightning offers one of the most powerful options to improve Bitcoin's scalability. Lightning can take Bitcoin to levels close to 1 million transactions per second, much more than those handled by payment systems such as VISA or MasterCard.
It offers high levels of security and anonymity. This is because transactions occur off-chain making payments practically impossible to track.
Lightning is compatible with other cryptocurrency projects besides Bitcoin. For example, it is possible to use Lightning with Litecoin.
It is capable of greatly reducing the level of transaction traffic within the Bitcoin network. This would make the network work much more efficiently.
Transactions using Lightning Network are done almost instantly.
It allows micropayments to be made and even enables them to be automated.
Enables the ability to conduct cross-chain atomic exchanges. This allows two blockchains, using the same hash function, to exchange tokens without the need for an intermediary such as an exchange.
DISADVANTAGES
One of the main disadvantages of Lightning is that payments can only be made to users who are connected to a payment channel. This means that the user must be active and connected to the channel. Unlike this, traditional cryptocurrency transactions do not have this limitation.
Lightning Network is a protocol that is still in constant development. Proof of this is that its creators still recommend not using Lightning for operations with high sums of money.
The protocol limits the liquidity of the channel to the total of cryptocurrencies that all the parties hold. This is another situation that threatens high-value operations, since it leads users to divide their funds to have liquidity in the normal blockchain and Lightning channels.
Zap: Bitcoin Lightning Wallet
The ZAP app seeks to encourage the mass adoption of Bitcoin and Lightning Network by connecting it directly to a bank account or debit card. This application has been available since July 2, 2020 for iPhone, Android and Chrome, which allows users to send and receive payments from Bitcoin (BTC) and Lightning Network directly to and from a bank account.
Strike, which has already entered the public beta phase, allows interaction with the Bitcoin and Lightning protocols without the need for a wallet, seed, channels, liquidity or white papers, while the Know your customer (KYC) protocols are kept to a minimum.
Zap, one of the first desktop wallets to make Lightning Network features accessible through a friendly interface.
Although Strike allows you to buy Bitcoin with a debit card or a bank account, it can also be used for transfers and personal payments, micro-payments and purchases both online and offline.
It also comes with a social media profile, strike.me, which allows users to accept free payments from anywhere in the world through an online QR code. Payments received are instantly converted into fiat currency.
One of ZAP's key goals is to comply with regulations while reducing KYC and Anti Money Laundering (AML) procedures.
Jack Mallers, developer of the Zap Lightning Wallet, mentioned that:
"The last thing I want is to introduce a new demographic group of users to Bitcoin, only to have them treated as criminals as soon as they download Strike."
ZAP does not need a massive collection of information and identification. Most users of the application only have to enter a name and a phone number.
Plus there is a Strike Visa debit card in the works, along with a rewards program through partner merchants and referrals for friends and family.
ZAP is also working to provide merchants with tools to process contactless payments, and an improved e-commerce system is also being implemented.
Multiple Wallets: Zap allows users to create and control as many wallets as they wish. Remote nodes, BTCPay server nodes, Nodl nodes, routing nodes, neutrino nodes, all in one place. Zap values privacy. Connecting to your Lightning node through Tor gives the user maximum privacy power.
In addition to that historically, a barrier for users running a full node comes from the technical complexity of doing so. Zap Desktop makes running an entire node as simple as clicking a button.
Zap has no custody. At no time does anyone have access to funds other than you, the user. Your keys, your coins, your node, your rules. Everything on your device.
Lightning fast
Lightning Network offers a new way for users to interact with Bitcoin. Transactions with Zap are inexpensive and instant, unlocking a new native digital economy never seen before.
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