Earlier this year, Blockstream introduced Lightning Charge, a micropayment processing system for the Lightning Network that utilizes Blockstream’s c-lightning implementation. Using a REST API that is accessible through JavaScript and PHP libraries, Lightning Charge makes it easy for web developers to accept Lightning payments for their content, goods, and services.
How easy?
For the last week Blockstream has been releasing a Lightning App (LApp) a day, all built by independent developer Nadav Ivgi using Lightning Charge. They cover a wide variety of commerce use cases, and are usable by web developers with a wide variety of experience. The breadth of these LApps just hints at the endless possibilities made available by the Lightning Network as it moves toward full production release.
Here’s a look back at our eight LApps to date:
Vendor Shopping LApps
- Nanopos — A simple point-of-sale system for fixed-price goods
- WooCommerce Lightning Gateway — A comprehensive e-commerce application that integrates with stock-management and order-tracking systems
Content Creator LApps
- FileBazaar — A system for selling files such as documents, images, and videos
- Lightning Publisher for WordPress — A patronage model for unlocking WordPress blog entries
Service Micropayment LApps
- Paypercall — A programmer’s toolkit for Lightning that enables micropayments for individual API calls
- Ifpaytt — An extension of paypercall that allows web developers using IFTTT to request payments for service usage
Reimagined Technology LApps
- Lightning Jukebox — A fun demo that reimagines a classic technology for the Lightning Network
- Nanotip — The simple tip jar, rebuilt to issue Lightning Network invoices
As these eight LApps demonstrate, Lightning Charge offers boundless possibilities. If you can imagine an application for the Lightning Network, you can easily develop it with Lightning Charge. Perhaps one of these LApps is exactly what you need, and if so, we encourage you to download it and start testing on testnet. These LApps are great demonstrations of how to use Lightning to create the e-commerce solution of your dreams.