Jack Dorsey’s Block (formerly called Square) has announced the integration of Lightning Network into its popular Cash App. 

According to a report by TechCrunch, Block’s Cash App has integrated with Lightning Network in order to allow US-based users to send Bitcoin for free to anyone in the world. The report claims the Cash App has been quietly rolling out the feature for certain customers prior to the official announcement. The company said the new feature is expected to be completed over the “coming weeks,” and will allow for all US Cash App customers to access Lightning Network. 

With Lightning, Cash App users will have the ability to send Bitcoin internationally to any compatible wallet or merchant with zero fees. While Lightning adoption has yet to reach mainstream, some merchants have begun using the network in a bid to reduce transaction fees for their customers.

TechCrunch’s report had this to say about the new approach by Cash App:

“Cash App explains the advantages of this system, noting that typical Bitcoin network transactions can take some time to process and see higher fees, compared with Lightning Network — whose name is meant to convey its speedier capabilities.

“Its transactions also take place independently of the blockchain (off-chain), which helps to reduce the fees, time and energy usage that would otherwise be involved.

“But the Lightning Network will still benefit from the blockchain’s technology and decentralization, as the transactions taking place on the network are later consolidated and recorded to the main Bitcoin blockchain.“

As noted by TechCrunch, Dorsey has been a proponent of Lightning Network as far back as 2019, when he tweeted that the technology was a “cool example” of experimentation taking place with Bitcoin. 

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