The Lightning Address protocol allows users to send bitcoin over the Lightning Network to a wallet identifier resembling a conventional email address.
Michael Saylor, the outspoken bitcoin proponent and co-founder of business analytics software firm MicroStrategy (MSTR), has integrated Bitcoin’s Lightning Network into his corporate email address. This means anyone can use that email address – saylor@microstrategy.com – to send bitcoin (BTC) to the 58-year-old billionaire.
The integration uses The Lightning Address protocol, which allows developers to replace a standard Lightning invoice, or payment request, with an internet identifier such as an email address.
The Lightning Network is Bitcoin’s layer 2 scaling solution designed to make bitcoin payments cheaper and faster.
Saylor, who is reportedly worth around $1.2 billion and whose company has amassed approximately 140,000 BTC (about $4 billion at current prices), has been receiving small bitcoin donations from fans after tweeting about the integration.