Enhancing User Experience with Lightning through BOLT12 Technology
The Lightning Network, a second-layer solution designed to simplify Bitcoin payments, has seen a significant development with the introduction of BOLT12. Proposed for the first time in 2020, BOLT12 offers a more flexible and versatile approach to transactions, aiming to make Lightning payments simpler, more private, and more adaptable.
One of the key features of BOLT12 is the use of Offers, which replace traditional Invoices. Offers are much more flexible, as they can be reused for payments, being paid, and even for setting up recurring payments like subscriptions. This flexibility makes the user experience smoother, as codes can be reused in many cases, reducing the need for repeated setup.
BOLT12 also addresses the challenge of simultaneous online presence that persists with Lightning payments. Both parties must be online simultaneously for a Bitcoin price to go through, which can be inconvenient. However, BOLT12's Blind Routing feature allows receiving Bitcoin without publishing the PubKey of your node, enabling transactions to proceed even when one party is offline.
Another advantage of BOLT12 is its support for direct debit-like transactions, expanding the range of payment methods available on the Lightning Network. This feature, along with the ability to facilitate refunds without requiring an Invoice beforehand, makes BOLT12 a promising standard for the future of the Lightning Network.
However, the development and implementation of BOLT12 have been slow, much like Bitcoin and the Lightning Network itself. Only two wallets, Phoenix and Coinos, have currently implemented BOLT12, with both only using a part of its functions. Whether BOLT12 will replace LNURL, another popular standard, is still an open question.
The first wallet to implement BOLT12 was the Breez Wallet. As more wallets adopt this standard, we can expect to see a more seamless and private Lightning Network experience. With its potential to revolutionise the way we make Bitcoin payments, BOLT12 is definitely a development to watch.
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