CoinGate Joins Forces With Litecoin and the Lightning Network

Litecoin has officially selected CoinGate as an accredited payment processor. In addition to promoting Litecoin as a viable crypto payment method, CoinGate will also perform some of its transactions on the Lightning Network.

CoinGate recently announced the Litecoin Foundation’s decision on Twitter and shared some of the details of the partnership:

We are thrilled to announce that #LitecoinFoundation accredited CoinGate as the official, trustworthy #Litecoin payment processor! With the confidence of the Foundation, we continue our work on upcoming Litecoin’s #LightningNetwork. More info on that soon! pic.twitter.com/gRhOwftlsJ

— CoinGate (@CoinGatecom) November 9, 2018

How CoinGate Works

CoinGate has been operating since 2014, making it a fairly established crypto payment platform. It allows customers to pay merchants with cryptocurrency, in addition to allowing merchants to cash out their crypto in the form of US Dollars or Euros.

Vendors can integrate CoinGate with their business in several ways. Sellers on e-commerce sites can add web plugins to their accounts, and independent sellers can add payment buttons to their website. Meanwhile, real-world vendors can accept crypto through a point-of-sale app.

Although CoinGate originally supported Bitcoin, it now provides its services to over 50 altcoins. CoinGate has supported Litecoin for some time, but this new development will deepen the relationship between the two projects.

Suggested Reading : Take a look at the best Litecoin wallets of 2018.

The Rise of Payment Platforms

The crypto world has lacked convenient payment methods for some time, as seamlessly converting between fiat and crypto is no small feat. Now, an increasing number of platforms are trying to fill that niche. CoinGate is not alone: BitPay is a leading merchant service, and PundiX is gaining ground as a viable payment tool. Meanwhile, the major exchange Coinbase has introduced a WooCommerce plugin.

Decentralization advocates are wary of these platforms. CoinGate and many other crypto platforms are centralized: the services hold coins on behalf of their users. This reduces the amount of control that users have over their coins and introduces the potential for frozen accounts. However, some people defend centralization, noting that the convenience of centralized services facilitates adoption and generates value.

CoinGate’s integration with the Lightning Network may make the platform less centralized. Lightning is a fully decentralized payment network which relies on peer nodes to perform payments. CoinGate is already beginning to use the Lightning Network with Bitcoin, and this could add an element of decentralization not seen in most payment platforms. On the other hand, this may not change things very much, as Lightning itself is at risk of becoming centralized.

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