Electrum, one of the most popular Bitcoin wallets, supports Lightning Network payments

The latest version of the major changes have been released in version 4.0, one of the most significant updates since the launch of Bitcoin wallet in 2011. (Note: some fixes have been added since version 4.0.) Lightning payments are the future of Bitcoin as they are cheaper and allow many users to conduct transactions in Bitcoin cryptocurrency at the same time.

This makes Electrum the oldest purse that has introduced Lightning payments.

Lightning support to Electrum will be a long time coming. Electrum founder Thomas Voegtlin told CoinDesk for the first time last summer that Lightning was coming to the next version.

"We chose [the] Lightning because we see it as a way for Bitcoin. Lightning is a bit complicated and not a hassle, but ultimately, it's the most promising method of scaling Bitcoin known today, it allows fast, cheap and more private payments, "SomberNight CoinDesk, alias developer of Electrum, said in an email.

Learn more: What is the Bitcoin Lightning Network?

In fact, to support Lightning transactions, the developers wrote a new implementation of the Lightning protocol "from the beginning," SomberNight said, instead of using a popular implementation like LND from Lightning Labs or C- Lightning Blockstream. This is one of the reasons why publication has taken so long.

An Electrum watchdog

In addition to supporting Lightning payments, Electrum 4.0.2 now supports many other innovations in the new version that can be made using Lightning more secure and less rugged for users.

For its part, Electrum built its own watch of Lightning, a key component of Lightning's network that evaluates Bitcoin's blockchain to detect and prevent fraud.

Learn more: Bitcoin Lightning Fraud? Laolu set up a guard at the guard to fight it

Although there are current Guard implementations, they are not yet widely used in the Lightning network, although they are an important element. In this way, support for the Electrum watch is a step towards a better Lightning network.

Underwater waters

Then there are the "underwater swaps". Accepting payments has always been a difficult part of Lightning's network because users need "incoming capacity" to receive payments. This means that funds should be placed on a specific part of a person's "Lightning" channel, similar to an account.

The irony is that users "only receive payments when they spend money," as SomberNight said.

"To solve this problem, we set up underwater underwater, which is the atomic exchange of chain bitcoins and lightning," SomberNight told CoinDesk. In other words, submarine exchanges transmit normal Bitcoins to a Lightning channel and provide users with a way to fill their incoming capacity.

"Electrum Technologies operates a central server that enables these exchange rates. It allows users to purchase incoming capacity to receive Lightning payments," the developer added.

Lightning support

Electrum also integrates Lightning with hardware support. Because hardware wallets store Bitcoin outside of hackers' reach, they are considered one of the best ways to secure Bitcoin.

"You can use Lightning [now] directly on your hardware wallet: channels can be opened and closed directly from and to addresses supported by a hardware device. While you're in the gutters, your balance sheet Lightning does not guarantee equipment, but your entire chain balance. It is very convenient to have a shared wallet that allows you to pay for both chain and Lightning credits. "