The Bitcoin users now have a better ability of sending transactions through outer space.
On Monday, Blockstream, the Blockchain technology firm, made an announcement that the satellite service it offers in the Asia-Pacific region has been expanded. Further, the firm has also added support for lightning network transactions that will allow the users to pay for the services that it provides by the use of “layer 2” scaling solution.
Blockstream Satellite was first launched by the company in August 2017, which allowed the bitcoin users to easily transfer bitcoin through leased satellite. Initially, the users in Europe, Africa and the Americas were able to utilize the system.
Adam Back, the CEO at that time, said that the service was mainly aimed at the individuals who had limited access to internet or who were facing issues in accessing bitcoin.
The months following the launch have seen positive response to the service. The third-party developers are mainly taking interest in building local infrastructure for using the satellite service, for instance, connecting it to mesh networks for making bitcoin more accessible in the emerging markets.
The API addition for integration of lightning network came after the users expressed interest in sending data related to bitcoin. Adam Back said,
Lightning adds privacy due to its use of onion routing, and off-chain netting; and lightning better supports micropayments that are lower transaction cost, faster and more scalable. These are advantages for retail and web API use-cases generally, and help make the satellite data API service efficient and connect in with other bitcoin-related infrastructure.
No user statistics was shared by Back as passive receiver technology is used by the Blockstream Satellite. The users requires a small satellite dish for using the service which must be connected to a personal computer via USB or any piece of dedicated computer hardware like Raspberry Pi. Open source software like GNU Radio may be used for the management of connection.
Source: Coin Desk, Bit News Live
