Features TheBitTimes.com

Marcus said there’s still no universal protocol when it comes to transferring money, unlike information which can be shared via email. While information today can be easily transferred over the internet via email or text, global payment s on the other hand, have remained in a “fax era," according to the former president of PayPal.  In a Sept. 11 interview with CNBC, the former PayPal executive and co-founder of Bitcoin Lightning-focused payment service Lightspark said he believes Bitcoin's Lightning network could solve the cumbersome process of sending money across jurisdictions.  “If you were to stop [someone] and wanting to communicate with them you could ask them for an email address and you can email them easily the next minute [and] you could text them,” said Marcus.  However, there’s no universal protocol when it comes to transferring money over the internet, he said: “If you were to send them money [but] they were not a U.S citizen here using one of the same fintech ...

Why is there a groundswell toward Bitcoin adoption in Dakar? And could it influence neighboring countries and regions to explore magic internet money? Cointelegraph goes to Senegal, West Africa. The mid-sized African nation recently hosted a Bitcoin (BTC) conference, and more and more merchants and customers are joining the  Lightning Network. Armed with a camera, a Lightning wallet and a microphone, reporter Joe Hall took to the streets of Senegal to peer under the surface of Bitcoin adoption in the capital city, Dakar. As the Cointelegraph YouTube video highlights, Senegal has a young, digitally native population and, in recent years, it's become second nature for people to send money via mobile phones rather than banks. A mobile money provider called Wave, for example, began in 2017 in Senegal and has since expanded to other countries in West Africa. It now boasts millions of users.  Much like Bitcoin, the mobile money revolution attempts to bank the unbanked and improve fina...