The Leading Colombian Supermarkets Now Accept Bitcoin!
Welcome to the Bitcoin Commerce Roundup!
Bitcoin adoption around the world and all kinds of improved tech are featured in this edition.
The leading Colombian supermarkets now accept bitcoin (Article in Spanish) & adoption is rising fast in Columbia
Coinbase partners with LightSpark to integrate Bitcoin Lightning payments
BTCPay Server announces some really handy new features for Bitcoin Commerce in the latest version and plugins
UK-based Leeds Gin integrates bitcoin payments via CoinCorner. Where does the UK sit on the BtcMap adoption leaderboard? Check it out here.
NuetronPay raises $ 1.5 million to spread bitcoin payments throughout Southeast Asia
Looking for a laugh? Check out our Bitcoin meme of the week at the back of the Roundup! 😁
Find it all here, and thanks from the Velas Team!
Bitcoin Payments are on the Rise in Columbia
According to CriptoNoticias, bitcoin payments are quickly becoming more popular in Columbia.
One cool standout I wish we could say here: the leading supermarkets accept bitcoin! Paying for groceries with Bitcoin makes us want to put Columbia on the travel wish list.
Bogotá tops the list of Colombian cities with 177 merchants accepting bitcoin, with Cali coming in second place with 100.
Apparently the growing popularity has caught regulators eyes, who seem to have yet approved any comprehensive legislation after repeated attempts.
This article is in Spanish and has lots more great info
CoinBase Partners with LightSpark to integrate Lightning Network
Coinbase made headlines last September with an announcement they would integrate Lightning payments.
Now the details are becoming more clear. They are partnering with LightSpark, an enterprise-focused Lightning Service Provider to bring Lightning payments to their users.
The recent volatility in Bitcoin Network fees have really made Lightning more critical. Based on our recent experience, we’ve seen on-chain transactions between $ 1 and $ 75 USD in recent months.
Fees like that make everyday commerce and payments impractical in Bitcoin. Could the integration be online in time for this month’s upcoming halving?
We are suspecting that network fees could be out of control again soon and we advise everyone in Bitcoin Commerce to get prepared!
https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-partners-lightspark-bitcoin-lightning-payments
BTCPay Server’s new version and plugins pack some handy new features
There are some great upgrades in the new BTCPay Server version 1.13!
Some of them are particularly handy for Bitcoin Commerce based on our experience including:
Server admins have view-only access to all stores on the server
New user roles for Managers and Employees
Improved branding for the server portal
There’s also been a bunch of new plugins released recently, including beta support for Breez SDK non-custodial, easy-to-use Lightning Nodes, and a payroll plugin to make bitcoin payday easier!
Check it all out here:
Leeds Gin Now Accepts Bitcoin and boosts the UK on the new BTCMap Leaderboard
Looking for a new place to spend some BTC?
Check out Leeds Gin, in Northern England, where you can order online and checkout with bitcoin thanks to an integration with CoinCorner.
And where does the UK stand on the new BTCMap leaderboard? At number 46 currently, with the Czech Republic sitting in the number one spot.
The leaderboard uses a weighted average of the up to date locations and then sorts by active locations - which seems to produce some surprising results. Like the USA ranking below Cuba, for example!
For some additional ideas where you can spend some btc, check out the spend-sats link too. Find it all here:
https://btcmap.org/countries/leaderboard
NeutronPay Raises $1.5 Million to Spread Bitcoin Payments across SE Asia
The Bitcoin Lightning Network payments company is hoping to use this funding to spread the use of Bitcoin payments throughout Southeast Asia and expand into North Asia as well.
Combined with the CoinBase <> LightSpark story, these are some really interesting developments in bitcoin payments recently.
“We expect to see a continued normalization of the superiority of the Lightning Network over legacy fiat banking rails for a range of payment categories and are happy to back Neutronpay as one of the foremost companies at the cutting edge of this technology.” - Allen Farrington on behalf of Axiom Capital
We think so too, and it’s a critical link for Bitcoin Commerce.
Check out the story in Bitcoin Magazine here:
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/neutronpay-receives-1-5m-funding-to-expand-bitcoin-lightning-network-in-southeast-asia
And our Bitcoin Commerce meme of the week.............🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁
🧭 Navigate Bitcoin’s Lightning Network in a New High Fee Era
The recent spike in Bitcoin prices and network traffic have made a unique combination of headaches and opportunities. It’s also generated a lot of thinking on the future of scaling Bitcoin. Check out our deep dive here.
⚡Tapping into Taproot Assets
Lightning Labs is working on a series of short demo videos walking through using the Taproot Assets Daemon, tapd, from install to mint to transfer to burn! Find the playlist on YouTube here.