This week software developer Jack Mallers released the beta version of a Lightning Network enhanced bitcoin wallet called “Zap.” Mallers introduces his new wallet and demo video in anticipation for Segregated Witness (Segwit) which will go live on the bitcoin network shortly.
Lots of developers and organizations have been trying to build working solutions for the Lightning Network (LN). The LN protocol creates a network of shared payment channels that could theoretically make bitcoin transactions much faster and cheaper. Since the upcoming activation of Segwit is on its way, Mallers thought it would be the perfect time to launch Zap, a Lightning Network wallet. Mallers says LN has become quite the “buzzword,” and his project has received attention from investors and potential business partners. However, Mallers details he has declined every offer in hope to build a better bitcoin experience for users in contrast to corporate interests.
“I am most interested in helping people and companies use the Lightning Network to solve their problems while pushing bitcoin’s overall success in the right direction,” explains Maller’s Zap announcement post. “I think it would be great if the community had an open source LN UI that has no other incentive than simply benefiting the users.”
A Complex Protocol Language With a Friendly Interface’
At the moment Mallers reveals the code is not open source just yet, but he expects to release the code in about a week, after some more “detail work and many more tests.” When the code goes public users can find the protocol details at this Github repo, explains Maller. In the demo video, Mallers connects to a peer, opens a channel, makes a payment request and settles the payment via Bitcoin’s testnet.
“Zap is a Lightning Network wallet that helps users accomplish their goals with a great experience,” explains the app’s website.
Zap Joins the Many Lightning Network Applications Being Built for Bitcoin
Mallers joins the many developers working on individual Lightning Network projects including Bitfury’s Flare solution, Acinq’s Eclair wallet, Lightning Labs “lnd” daemon, and more. Further, there are a lot of applications being built using the Lightning protocol; like tipbots, a full node monetization platform and an app that helps provide electric vehicle energy purchases. For the Zap project, Mallers says he’s very grateful to the Lightning Labs team for all the help they provided.
“[Lightning Labs] availability over Slack and patience with all developers looking to build is how you encourage innovation,” Mallers adds.