Bitfury Uses Lightning Network To Connect Coffee Vending Machine For Bitcoin Payments

A recent press release unveiled that full-service blockchain firm, Bitfury created a product that would accept bitcoin (BTC) payments for basic goods. What makes Bitfury’s endeavor noteworthy is mainly the fact that BTC is known for its high transaction fees and long wait times. Both problems seem to have been resolved by Bitfury, as the firm turned to Lightning Network to make this possible.

A little background on Lightning Network is needed to understand its usefulness in both payment solutions and society. Lightning Network is a decentralized network that is founded on smart contracts to induce instant payments. It transacts and settles off-blockchain, which simply means reduced costs for those sending or using BTC as a payment. Another facet that makes this respective network important involves scalability, which has become a growing problem, as the number of transactions and wait times continue to explode.

Getting back to Bitfury’s accomplishment, the firm created a coffee vending machine which now accepts BTC without the problems it is known for. Coin Desk noted that the team behind vending machine is one of Bitfury’s departments dubbed “LightningPeach”. Since the vending machine already combined smart components, it made sense to them to add an extra device that would force the Lightning Network to the coffee machine.

When the Head of Community for LightningPeach, Vasyl Grygorovych spoke of this matter with Coin Desk, it was noted that the additional device was nothing more than a small computer-like piece with a chip.

Another major player in this project, Pavel Prikhodko shared the technical aspects of the chip, emphasizing that it can easily be incorporated into any type of device. He also shared that the communication done both on and offline is essential, considering the coffee machine as being one simple example. Moving forward, he trusts this endeavor would “open the road to other businesses who want to try crypto […] a way to do this easily.”

As for how it works, it is as simple as scanning a QR code on the machine with a mobile, which connects itself to a bitcoin wallet. Users will then be charged an amount, presumably in USD, prior to it being converted to fractions of Bitcoin.

Whether the team plans to increase production and distribute the machine to the general public seems questionable, however, Grygorovych did underline the fact that they will continue to help businesses understand real life use-cases of lightning.