David Marcus, one of the former heads at Meta (initially Facebook), is launching Lightspark, a payment firm that will use cryptos as the main payment tool. The startup, which Marcus will lead, also brings onboard former employees from Meta and is targeting to employ layer-2 Lightning Network (LN) as a vehicle for Bitcoin payments.
Meta’s Former Crypto Boss Develops Lightspark
David Marcus, one of the top crypto bosses at Meta, is doubling down on the importance he thinks digital coins might have for payments in the future. Marcus released the news about Lightspark and pointed out that it targets to harness the capability of cryptos for payments.
Marcus is on the journey with the new company alongside other employees from Meta. Although the details about the company remain scarce, Marcus pointed out that Lightning Network (LN) will be involved as the second layer protocol for Bitcoin. Here is what he had to say:
“As a first step, we’re actively assembling a team to dive deeper into the Lightning Network.”
Although Lightspark is still in the nascent stages, Marcus has managed to draw major names into his corner, including Paradigm and A16z that contributed an undisclosed amount. Other venture capital firms that have shown interest include Felix Capital, Matrix Partners, Thrive Capital, and Ribbit Capital.
The Current Bear Market and Lightning Network
To some people in the crypto industry, the launch of Lightspark could not have come at a better time. Over the last few weeks, the market has been on a strong downtrend, which is threatening the collapse of the Terra ecosystem and the falling of the stock market. But Marcus was quick to discredit these comments.
According to Marcus, downturns are excellent moments to help people focus on building value with mission-aligned people. He added that they are excited to jump into the lightning, learn and work with the community.
With its low transaction fees, Lightning Network is very attractive for payment companies. It was launched in 2015 and now has about 3,807.15 Bitcoins stored in its system. It also boasts over 17,000 active nodes.
