CoinGate has unveiled sandbox testing for Lightning Network, making the Lithuanian payment processor one of the first businesses to integrate the Bitcoin scaling solution.

After implementing SegWit addresses in December 2017, the move is CoinGate’s second Bitcoin-friendly addition — taking the platform a step closer towards its goal of being the first to integrate Lightning Network support for both Bitcoin and Litecoin.

What is CoinGate?

CoinGate’s primary function is as a cryptocurrency payment gateway for businesses and exchange — accepting payment in more than 50 cryptocurrencies — and paying out in Bitcoin, or fiat currency to avoid BTC’s known volatility.

CoinGate also offers a number of plugins designed to help eCommerce merchants accept cryptocurrency as payment in-site, such as osCommerce, Magneto, or Magneto2.

Where CoinGate may stand in the shadow of larger rivals such as BitPay or Coinbase, 2018 has seen momentous growth for the payment platform. Processing 100,000 payments in the first 4 months of 2018, CoinGate has effectively doubled all transactions handled since its 2014 establishment.

Why Lightning?

A self-declared Bitcoin advocate, CoinGate appears to be eager to propagate BTC’s utility as a means of payment.

In spite of offering an eclectic mix of altcoin support, the company does not appear to shy away from its pro-BTC bias. Announcing the integration, CoinGate explained:

“CoinGate is a payment gateway for cryptocurrencies, and we have always been staunch supporters of Bitcoin. Since 2014, when we started developing our platform, we were driven by the unique community spirit surrounding Bitcoin, and, equally importantly, by Bitcoin’s technological potential.”

A second-layer solution to Bitcoin’s transaction “bottleneck”, Lightning Network offers near-instant transaction, improved privacy, and trust-less atomic swaps — all significant improvements for any processor of Bitcoin.

Handling an average 800 orders per day, CoinGate would certainly be one of the biggest beneficiaries of Lightning Network’s propagation — likely explaining why they describe it as “the most awaited upgrade to the Bitcoin network”.

Try Before You Buy

All promises aside, the fact remains that Lightning Network is in its infancy — the kinks being ironed out in its current beta release. Having been launched in March 2018, CoinGate appears to be aware of the dangers of this immature technology.

Big day for bitcoin, Lightning goes live on mainnet! ⚡ Announcing the first Lightning beta release for the live bitcoin network, lnd 0.4. Read about it here: https://t.co/aaYec7Orsj 👩🏻‍🚀👨🏿‍🚀🚀 — Lightning Labs⚡️ (@lightning) March 15, 2018

In a lengthy post on Reddit, the payments processor invited punters to use Lightning Network to purchase a “virtual cup” of coffee on the platform’s test shop — also welcoming expressions of interest for any merchant wanting to accept BTC via Lightning Network.

While riddled with undertones of excitement, CoinGate’s announcement went on to issue a cautious disclaimer — steering amateurs away from using the advanced technology, and forecasting bugs in the test implementation.

Thunder and Lightning?

The first payment giant to toy with Lightning Network, CoinGate’s instance of Lightning Network is a significant milestone in more ways than one.

Some may view it as a pivotal moment for the payment processor, some a victory for Lightning Network, and many will likely consider its bearing over Bitcoin’s welfare — reviving the possibility of Bitcoin’s utility for the everyday transaction.