Bitcoin App: LN.Cash

btc app ln cash

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Bitcoin is programmable money and despite the hard rules in the supply, verification and governance of the network, what you can do with the funds is pretty malleable once they are under your control. Not only that, but there are always new and interesting ways to broadcast to the bitcoin blockchain or its second layer solutions that have brought interesting use cases to the surface.

You can create payment links that request payments, or you can create payment links that have already hold funds ready to be claimed. You could create prepaid Lightning invoices and hand them out as gifts to friends and family, create reward options for your customers, encourage engagement on social media, or even create your own treasure hunt or a lightning-based airdrop.

The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. If you’d like to try creating prepaid lightning invoices, one of the simplest ways is to use Ln.Cash.

What is ln.cash?

Ln.cash allows you to create secret links containing bitcoin on the Lightning network. You will fund the link with bitcoin first and receive a special LN-URL or QR code. Once a cash link has been created and paid for, a unique url is generated which can be shared with anyone who may claim it and receive bitcoin.

Claims can only be made once for the full amount, so whoever gets to it first gets to keep the funds.

Creating prepaid invoices

  1. Head over to the LN cash site
  2. Set the number of satoshis you want to store in the link
  3. Add a special message for the person who receives the funds
  4. Click create
  5. You will then receive a QR code and an LN-URL link; you can save either one or both and use them as you please

Note: It’s important to note that once you transfer these funds to this secret link, if you lose the link or QR code, you will no longer have access to those funds, so create these invoices with care and ensure you copy them down correctly and don’t place too much money in them.

Optional extras:

When you’re creating your LN-URL Withdrawl claims, you can include additional parameters for users to claim funds, like verifying their Twitter account and even asking users to follow a certain Twitter account as a condition.

How are links paid for or claimed?

Once you’ve created the funded Ln.cash invoice, you can claim immediately; there is no time delay. You can send it to a friend or family member, post it on social media and anyone who sees it first and claims the funds will receive it in their wallet.

To claim the funds, the user will need a Lightning-enabled bitcoin wallet to scan the QR code or paste the LN-URL presented on ln.cash into their wallet of choice.

You can also write the LN-URL to an NFC device like a Bolt Card and transfer the funds to a bitcoin wallet that supports lightning and NFC; oh, and your device needs to support NFC too. So no sense in trying to claim using your desktop wallet unless you have an NFC reader connected.


Get the app

There you have it, another tool you can use to improve your Lightning experience and make your life a little easier and have fun with the Lightning network. If you’re new to the Lightning Network and you’re only getting started with your node and all the things you can and should do, it can be overwhelming but take your time to learn more about each app and why you would want it added to your Lightning stack.

Applications like Ln.Cash.it gives you a reason to try out Lightning, spend your sats, distribute the coins, support bitcoin adoption and promote bitcoin.

Sources:

If you would like to learn more about LN.Cash and dive down the rabbit hole, we recommend checking out the following resources.

Are you a bitcoin and lightning fan?

Have you been using Lightning to make micro-payments? Stream sats or engage with apps? Which app is your favourite? Have you tried all the forms of Lightning payments? Which one do you prefer? Let us know in the comments down below.

Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide any investment advice. It is for educational and entertainment purposes only. As of the time posting, the writers may or may not have holdings in some of the coins or tokens they cover. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency, as all investments contain risk. All opinions expressed in these articles are my own and are in no way a reflection of the opinions of The Bitcoin Manual

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