Revolut revolutionises the use of bitcoin by integrating SegWit wallet for its users

Breaking news: Revolut, the fintech bank with a user base of 15 million, is introducing compatibility with bitcoin SegWit addresses and new on-chain withdrawal and receipt options.

The news is also reported on X (Twitter), as you can read: 

Let’s have a look at the details below. 

How SegWit addresses change the bitcoin wallet on Revolut 

As expected, popular fintech bank Revolut has taken a significant step into the cryptocurrency world by announcing the integration of Segregated Witness (SegWit) addresses for bitcoin transactions. 

The move has been warmly welcomed by its 15 million users worldwide and is an important step towards making Bitcoin transactions more efficient and convenient.

By integrating SegWit addresses, Revolut is enabling its users to benefit from lower transaction fees and faster confirmation times. 

As we know, this technology, which was first implemented in 2017, has significantly improved the scalability and efficiency of the Bitcoin network. 

In addition to SegWit addresses, Revolut has also introduced on-chain withdrawals and receipts, allowing users to manage their bitcoin funds directly within the app.

The move underlines Revolut’s commitment to providing a better cryptocurrency experience for its users. The integration of SegWit will make Bitcoin transactions more convenient and accessible, encouraging the widespread adoption and use of this cryptocurrency.

The announcement also comes at a time when cryptocurrencies are becoming increasingly important in global financial markets. Revolut, with its large user base, is proving to be at the forefront of offering cutting-edge cryptocurrency services.

In conclusion, the integration of SegWit addresses and on-chain functionality is an important step for Revolut and the entire cryptocurrency community. 

Users can now enjoy greater efficiency and convenience when using bitcoin, helping to further drive its adoption.

LNMesh: the new solution for Bitcoin payments via the Lightning Network

Beyond Revolut, we also see that a team of tech-savvy researchers at Florida International University have come up with an innovative solution to facilitate bitcoin transactions offline. 

Specifically, they have harnessed the power of the Lightning Network, a ‘layer’ on top of the bitcoin blockchain known for its speed and cost-effectiveness. This approach, called LNMesh, makes use of local mesh networks where nodes are connected directly via Bluetooth and WiFi, bypassing the need for an internet connection.

The key finding of this research is that the existing code and protocols on the Lightning Network do not need to be modified to enable offline transactions. 

During the experimental process, the researchers placed eight Raspberry Pi computers, each costing less than $100, around the university campus. Instead of connecting them via the Internet, they created a local mesh network using WiFi and Bluetooth technologies. 

This experiment successfully demonstrated the possibility of offline Lightning payments between these nodes. Specifically, the paper explains: 

“The Lightning Network protocol allows for the settlement of such payments offline as the payments are off-chain and not recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain. Therefore, as long as nodes can communicate with each other via wireless technologies such as WiFi or Bluetooth, they can perform offline LN payments.”

However, for LNMesh to work efficiently, it is essential to have a coordination mechanism to open channels between users. The research therefore explores the use of “mobility models” to determine optimal channel outcomes, a process that could be automated in the future.

The LNMesh model differs from existing asynchronous payment methods, where an online node can send payments to an offline node. LNMesh goes further by demonstrating the ability to make payments even when all nodes are offline. It is therefore possible that this innovation could revolutionise the accessibility of cryptocurrencies.