Bitcoin’s Lightning Network Gets Boost, Lightning Labs’ Latest App

Bitcoin’s Lightning Network is quickly improving in terms of usability. Lightning Labs released a beta version of “Loop,” settlement software that makes interacting with the network easier.

The new service expands on Lightning’s existing payment settlement functions by acting as a bridge to and from the Bitcoin blockchain, allowing users to transfer funds in and out of Lightning more easily. It also reduces the need for users to open and close Lightning channels—a fairly complex task.

Loop has two components. The first is Loop Out, which allows users who have received funds on Lightning to move their funds to on-chain locations like exchanges and cold storage. The second is Loop In, which allows users to refill their Lightning wallets from those same sources.

Infrastructure lead Alex Bosworth has detailed several improvements in this update, including “batching (for on-chain fee efficiency), time preference-based discounts, volume discounts, authentication tokens, a more…