Xapo Bank is the first fully licensed bank in the world to integrate Lightning Network.
BANGKOK, THAILAND – Media OutReach – 9 March 2023 – Xapo Bank, a leading Bitcoin custodian and licensed private bank, has partnered with Lightspark and integrated with the Lightning Network to enable lightning-fast Bitcoin payments for its customers. Xapo Bank members can now instantly pay for small purchases of up to $100 USD at any vendor which accepts Lightning payments without suffering high transaction fees and long blockchain confirmation waiting times.
The Lightning Network enables scalable payments at millions of transactions per second across the network. This integration will reduce the time-consuming and costly experiences that often plague users who pay for small transactions in Bitcoin. Xapo Bank will be the first fully licensed private bank to offer near-instant Bitcoin payments, and its goal is to be the largest Lightning node, expanding the network’s use across a host of new users.
Seamus Rocca, CEO of Xapo Bank, said: “The average transaction confirmation time of one hour combined with potentially large fees during periods of high usage make the Bitcoin network unsuitable for small daily payments such as groceries. By integrating with the hyper-efficient Lightning Network, we are the first bank in the world to streamline this process and allow our members to pay for small purchases with Bitcoin without having to convert to USD first.
“Against a backdrop of hyperinflation, economic uncertainty and political turmoil, we are entering a world where digital money is ubiquitous, and we need integrations like this that open up access to Bitcoin payments. We are bringing together the benefits of fast, cost-efficient, and global Bitcoin payments with the security, privacy, and flexibility unmatched in the traditional banking industry.”
Founded in 2013, Xapo was the first institutional holder of Bitcoin and is one of the most trusted custodians in the industry, providing users with a secure platform to store and transact with their Bitcoin. It was the first crypto company in the world to obtain a banking licence, evolving into Xapo Bank, and has since expanded its offerings to include interest-bearing accounts for both USD and BTC and continues to develop its Wealth Management offering alongside other traditional banking services. Unlike other financial services businesses, members at Xapo Bank own and control their Bitcoin fully, meaning they can receive, hold and send it directly.
David Marcus, CEO and Co-Founder of Lightspark, said: “We’re thrilled to enable the first bank on the Lightning Network to offer instant, cheap Bitcoin payments to its customers. Xapo has been one of our early closed beta partners, and we’re delighted they chose Lightspark’s enterprise-grade solution to reliably send and receive payments on the Lightning Network without all the complexity and operational overhead that typically comes with running a node on it. We look forward to talking more about our solution in the months to come.”
To pay via the Lightning Network, Xapo Bank members will need to hold Bitcoin in the Xapo Bank App. After that, they can simply scan and pay an invoice at any merchant accepting Lightning Network payments. The network charges a small fee for each transaction, usually a few Satoshis. Xapo Bank has set a fixed payment fee for SAT 15 (less than $0.01 USD as of Feb 24th) to protect members from executing transactions with high fees.
Wences Casares, Chairman at Xapo Bank, said: “We believe that Bitcoin is the future of money, and we are committed to helping our members navigate this new financial landscape. By expanding our services to include instant Bitcoin transfers, we can offer our members better usability and ultimately grow the cryptocurrency that many of our members rely on.”
To learn more about Xapo Bank and apply for membership, visit: https://www.xapo.com/
Hashtag: #XapoBankTo learn more about Xapo Bank and apply for membership, visit: https://www.xapo.com/
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About Xapo Private Bank:
Xapo is an international private bank that accepts members who may apply and join the bank from anywhere in the world, digitally. Similar to other licensed banks in Europe and the UK, deposits at Xapo Bank are guaranteed for up to USD 100 000.00 under the 
Gibraltar Deposit Guarantee Scheme. It is currently paying 4.1% interest on USD, available on demand, with no lock ups.
Xapo is the first fully licensed private bank to offer total real-time transactability in USD, alongside investments in USDC and Bitcoin, through a single, secure, simple and user-centric account and app. The bank and its members are strictly protected by UK and EU standard laws in the trusted UK jurisdiction of Gibraltar, under the authority of the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission.
Led by the leading minds in traditional banking, fintech and future-forward crypto adoption, Xapo is a best in class banking platform from end to end. Xapo’s advisory panel includes former Citibank CEO and chairman John Reed and former US Secretary of Treasury Larry Summers (and included the late Visa founder Dee Hocks until his passing last year), and its C-Suite is comprised of global leaders in fintech and banking from companies such as PayPal, Libra, Standard Chartered, Credit Suisse and more. CEO Seamus Rocca was previously Group Head of Liquidity and Funding Risk at Standard Chartered Bank in London, and founder Wences Casares is a world renowned serial entrepreneur and Bitcoin pioneer who previously served on the board of PayPal.
Xapo’s distributed workforce across 42 countries brings unrivalled diversity of problem-solving talent to the world of private and decentralised banking. A tech company first and foremost, 65% of the bank’s staff are world class engineers who are developing its innovative technology platform.
The world’s first fully licensed crypto-native bank, Xapo was conceptualised and funded in Silicon Valley and uses best in class technology to safeguard its members’ and its own reserves. It holds one of the world’s largest distributed reserves of Bitcoin.
- Instagram @xapoprivatebank
- Facebook @xapoprivatebank
- Twitter @xapoprivatebank
- LinkedIn @xapoprivatebank
About Lightspark
Lightspark is building infrastructure for the Lightning Network. Lightspark is in a closed beta, but services and tools will be available soon.
About Lightning Network
The Lightning Network is a decentralised network on the Bitcoin blockchain that enables instant, low-cost payments across a network of participants. The Lightning protocol makes use of the security and liquidity of the Bitcoin network to create a secure network of participants who are able to transact bitcoin at high volume and high speed with low cost and instant settlement.
Services
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Stakeholder mapping, analysis, engagement and communication needs to be detailed to avoid business losses or even worse, a crisis. How can you do this effectively to prevent failure? ...
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
Data-driven business decisions have never been as crucial, especially in this era. MGBF leverages off, technology, experience and market presence to aid businesses in making accurate decisions. ...
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
MGBF provides comprehensive strategic advice and results-focused solutions to solve clients' problems in business-government relations so they can focus on their core business. ...
BUSINESS & BROADER MARKET ACCESS
A critical business challenge is meeting the right decision-makers and potential buyers through the best channel and platform. How will you improve your business competency? ...
Upcoming Events
DESIGNING THE FUTURE OF THE DIGITAL ECONOMY
Expanding on the global digital arms race that governments and corporations are engaged in, this full-day forum will see industry leaders speak, and four interactive panel sessions. Event date: 21 March 2023. Contact us to book your seats now!
SECURITY CONCERNS IN CRITICAL VALUE CHAINS
The threat matrix has evolved to include information warfare, cyberspace incursions, big data and behavioural communications. Business leaders need to be aware of these threats to survive. What are you doing as a key stakeholder?
ADDRESSING WEAPONISED INFORMATION IN THE MEDIA
Corporations and their leadership often face weaponised information attacks in the media. Understanding these advanced business threats is crucial. Recently completed. View proceedings online.
DIGITAL RESILIENCE IN THE CORPORATE SECTOR
Special session: Cyberwarfare Waged on the Corporate Sector - Lessons from the Russia-Ukraine Crisis. Corporations are in a digital arms race that many don't realise. How does this relate to your organisation?
MGBF In The News
The Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF) will be hosting a roundtable on ‘Designing the Future of the Digital Economy’ on 23 February 2023. It is the culmination of the first three MGBF Exclusive Roundtable Series titled ‘The Evolving Threat Matrix in the Digital Economy’ held throughout 2022. According to the […]
The Founding Chairman of the Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF), Nordin Abdullah, today spoke on Bernama TV’s leading English talk show, The Brief, hosted by Jessy Chahal, on the topic of a stable political reality and what that means for the Malaysian economy. Nordin said, “The first thing that it […]
More than 1,100 years ago, Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi was developing the mathematical formulas that we know today as algorithms which now have become so intertwined with the business fortunes of global media giants and the very fabric of geopolitics. A series of recent high level international reports have revealed […]
KSK Land has been recognised by the Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF) for its role in attracting high net-worth individuals to Malaysia post-pandemic. The first challenge in investor attraction is “selling” the country. In the context of Asia, Malaysia is competing with some very established investment destinations. The second […]
Malaysia, in particular Kuala Lumpur, continues to position itself as a regional centre to do business, educate a family and enjoy a global lifestyle. One company, KSK Land, has taken the lead in positioning itself and the city of Kuala Lumpur as a property investment destination for the global citizen […]
The upcoming budget represents an opportunity to build resilience in the critical sectors that will form the backbone of the country’s future-facing economic ambitions. This however needs to be achieved in the context of managing the community sectors most impacted by COVID-19 over the past two years. The Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family) […]
KUALA LUMPUR, 6 July 2022 – As the global economy continues to deal with unprecedented levels of disruption caused by the pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the convergence of energy security and food security issues has become a front-of-mind issue faced by policy makers and consumers alike. […]
KUALA LUMPUR, 23 June 2022 — Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF) ties up with scoutAsia to ensure that businesses are equipped with deeper regional insights. The past two years has seen a massive shift in the way businesses are conducted with digitisation, digitalisation and automation continuously being adopted to improve […]
KUALA LUMPUR, 25 May 2022 – The Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF)’s exclusive roundtable on ‘Security Concerns in Critical Value Chains’ was held in a hybrid setting yesterday at the Eastin Hotel Kuala Lumpur. The guest of honour was Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Rafidah Aziz, former minister of […]
The Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF) has released a report following the roundtable on ‘Digital Resilience in the Corporate Sector’, which was recently held in Kuala Lumpur. In attendance as guest of honour was Deputy Minister of Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin. The report recommended several critical development […]
Trade and investment delegations will trickle back over the next few months, but the second half of the year should see considerable return of business travellers. It was learnt that over 50 per cent of international business chambers and industry associations surveyed will consider sending exploratory teams to Malaysia during […]
KUALA LUMPUR, 30 March 2022 – The Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF)’s exclusive roundtable on ‘Digital Resilience in the Corporate Sector’ was held in a hybrid setting yesterday at the Element by Westin Kuala Lumpur. The discussion focused on what business leaders need to understand, to ensure business resilience and […]
The Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF)’s exclusive roundtable on ‘Addressing Weaponised Information in the Media’ was held in a hybrid setting today at the Hilton Kuala Lumpur. The discussion focused on addressing one of the most relevant threats to businesses in the digital economy – cyber threats causing physical and […]
The current floods that have impacted various parts of the country have given rise to an extensive commentary on the response cycles of various stakeholders. It has in turn led to continued crisis communications and statements in the media by agencies and ministries alike. This binary approach to the discussion […]
The formation of a special Cabinet committee to develop strategic measures to safeguard the economy amid the Covid-19 outbreak shows the Malaysian government is serious about creating a balance between the continued safety of the general population and the survival of the economy. In the global context, as many countries […]
