Blockchain development company Lightning Labs announced that it released the first alpha version of its Lightning Network (LN) client for the main bitcoin (BTC) network, according to a blog post published on April 23.

The announcement specifies that this is still an early version aimed at testers and developers willing to start experimenting with the software. The developers also warn that the users should not put more funds into the app than they are willing to lose.

Furthermore, while the release supports macOS, Windows and Linux, the post also specifies that it is an important stepping stone in the development of a mobile version. The team notes:

“We’re working as quickly as we can to get our mainnet iOS and Android apps out soon.”

Lightning Labs also claims to be committed to privacy, security and self-determination, the principles that it believes bitcoin was built on. The announcement explains that, to deliver a system in line with those principles, the company needs to release an easy to use non-custodial client solution. The post notes:

“Scaling Bitcoin and Lightning to everyone means not requiring people to follow complex setup processes or hand over control of their funds to trusted counterparties.”

The newly-released solution uses the Neutrino bitcoin light client, which reportedly allows for the use of the LN scalability solution without downloading the entire blockchain first or handing over control over funds. Per the announcement, Neutrino only needs to download and verify tens of megabytes, which can be done in minutes, enabling practical use on smartphones and other low-power devices.

As Cointelegraph reported yesterday, crypto payments processing startup Moon is launching a web browser extension that allows e-commerce shoppers to use their LN bitcoin wallets for purchases on sites like Amazon.

Also, at the beginning of the current month, news broke that the United States-based startup Sparkswap has completed a successful seed funding round to create a decentralized exchange based on the bitcoin LN.