Bitcoin Transaction Done over Radio Waves Using the Lightning Network

In a first, Bitcoin developers have done something amazing amid the criticism over the lightning network and issues associated with it. A team of developers has made an international payment using the radio waves on the lightning network.

Rodolfo Novak, the co-founder of the startup CoinKite sent out a Bitcoin transaction to Bloomberg columnist Elaine Ou from Toronto Canada to San Francisco, California. The current feat is quite remarkable given how dependent our current system of banking is on the internet. So, under the circumstances of an Internet shut down, you can still send or receive Bitcoin using the radio waves.

Generally, radio waves are used for transmitting music or radio waves but the current feat would also help the Bitcoin community to enhance the network to be radio waves compatible and use the facility in cases of internet shut down or emergency.

The Current Feat is Not out of Blue

The current use of radio waves to make international Bitcoin payments is not just a fun experiment, but the testing which has been taken up by the developer community for long-term solutions. Even before the current feat, people have sent Bitcoin over the radio waves, but not this far. The idea was put forward by Nick Szabo and Ou in 2017 to help the network get past the limitations of the mode of transactions.

ou comments on the development,

“The equipment is currently the hard part: You need a radio that supports these frequencies. The cheapest way is with a software-defined radio, which is about $200 for something that can transmit low-power signals or thousands for a high power transmitter.”

in the last known attempt of sending Bitcoin over the radio waves, Rodolfo Novak managed to move Bitcoin 600km away from Toronto to the co-founder of Openbazaar, Sam Patterson in Michigan, United States.

Thus, it is evident that with the right set of hardware equipment bitcoin can be sent through radio waves over 100s of km. This is quite exciting given the discovery is just in its testing phase. with enough refinement and new developments, sending Bitcoin through radio waves would become more normal especially for those who live in developing nations with no or limited internet supply.

Final Thoughts

Bitcoin creator’s aim was to help the developing nations and underprivileged society members to have a financial system which is not governed by a centralized authority like the banks. The current discovery of using radio waves will only liberate the economic distress for those whose government is not worried about their development. The current discovery would give more power in the hands of people even when the government shuts the internet.