The year 2021 has so far been the year of adoption for Bitcoin (BTC). Indeed, more and more companies are making the choice to bet on the king of cryptos, both by investing in the asset, like Tesla, or by integrating it into their services, like PayPal.
Substack opens its arms to Bitcoin
Substack is a platform for online written content, allowing its content creators to monetize their productions, by offering a subscription to their readers. It is widely used within the crypto ecosystem, notably in the context of various specialized newsletters.
Faced with this craze from the ecosystem for the platform, Substack has decided to take a step towards cryptocurrency aficionados.
Indeed, on Monday, August 23, the company announced that it accepts Bitcoin for subscription payments.
Initially, this feature will only be available for a selection of cryptocurrency-themed publications, but the company does not rule out the possibility of expanding to all of its creators based on feedback and demand.
“Having this option will give writers more flexibility and freedom, and we look forward to doing more in cryptos to meet writers’ needs.”
Nick Inzucchi, Product Designer at Substack
The Lightning Network in the spotlight
In addition to accepting traditional payments made on the Bitcoin blockchain, Substack also offers the ability to pay via the second layer network: the Lightning Network.
“Bitcoin payments are fast, convenient and secure, with low fees. We use the Lightning Network for transactions, [which are] even faster than credit cards.”
Substack spokesperson
Under the hood, Substack has partnered with payment provider OpenNode. The goal is to simplify setup and use both Bitcoin’s core network and the Lightning Network. Content creators will be able to keep the BTC they receive, as well as request a direct conversion into the fiat currency of their choice.
This connection with the crypto ecosystem seems to make sense when you take a look at Substack’s investors. Indeed, we find Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) or FiftyYears.
Meanwhile, the price of Bitcoin briefly exceeded $50,000, before falling back just below this symbolic mark. Does this point to a second round of the bull run?
