PayPal co-founder David Marcus suggests that with the lightning network, Bitcoin will become a universal protocol for transacting in multiple currencies.
David Marcus, a Bitcoin proponent striving to move the world out of the “fax age of global payments”, said he does not believe BTC will be widely used as a payment method.
In an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Marcus stated, “We actually don’t think Bitcoin is a currency that people will use for shopping.” This comment was surprising coming from Marcus, who is the CEO of Lightspark, a company operating on Bitcoin’s lightning network, and also a co-founder of PayPal.
About Lighning Network
The Lightning network aims to make Bitcoin transactions faster, cheaper, and more practical for small payments. It processes transactions separately before placing them on the main Bitcoin blockchain.
According to Marcus, the company’s goal is to make the lightning network a “universal protocol” for money on the internet, similar to the universal protocol of text messaging for communication. However, the currencies transferred over the network will continue to be the fiat currencies we know and use today.
Marcus said, “A piece of Bitcoin on Lightning looks like a small data packet on the internet just for value.” Users can send any currency they want, such as dollars, yen, or euros, and in return, can receive any currency they prefer. Marcus also pointed out that Lightning will act as the “real-time”, “low-cost”, and “cash final” settlement layer in this transaction.
