Athena Bitcoin, the operator of a state-owned network of cryptocurrency ATMs in El Salvador, is gearing up to integrate the Lightning Network into 100 of its machines in the coming months. This move signifies the growing adoption of second-layer payment protocols and marks an important development in El Salvador’s crypto landscape.
Athena Bitcoin Global, in collaboration with Genesis Coin, has already laid the foundation for the implementation of Lightning Network technology across their infrastructure. Their plan is to introduce this technology initially in El Salvador and then expand it throughout Latin America, providing faster, more cost-effective transactions to users.
The Lightning Network is a layer-2 payment protocol that offers several advantages, including accelerated withdrawal times and reduced transaction fees. Moreover, it avoids the need to record transaction data on the primary network, enhancing efficiency and scalability. It’s important to note that, according to Coin ATM Radar, only a small fraction of the world’s cryptocurrency ATMs (3.7%) currently support the Lightning Network, highlighting the novelty of this integration.
Athena Bitcoin aims to implement Lightning support in 100 of the state-owned Chivo ATMs that it operates in El Salvador by December 2023. Subsequently, the company plans to extend this feature to the remaining ATMs, including those under the Athena Bitcoin brand, in the first quarter of 2024. El Salvador already boasts a network of 215 cryptocurrency teller machines, making it a significant market for digital currency transactions.
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El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, who made Bitcoin legal tender in the country in 2021, recently announced his candidacy for reelection in 2024. He declared, “Five more [years] , five more and not one step back,” during a speech in front of thousands of Salvadorans. Bukele’s administration has been making strides to attract innovation and foreign investment by eliminating taxes on technology advancements in April 2023, a move that has the potential to further stimulate the country’s economy.
Some experts, including Gabor Gurbacs, a strategy adviser at investment management firm VanEck, believe that El Salvador could follow in the footsteps of financial centers like Singapore and emerge as a prominent financial hub in the Americas. The integration of the Lightning Network into its crypto ATM network is one more step towards solidifying its position in the global cryptocurrency ecosystem.
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