Revolut and Lightspark Bring Bitcoin Lightning Network to Europe for Faster, Cheaper Transactions

Digital banking platform Revolut has announced a partnership with Lightspark to integrate the Bitcoin Lightning Network for users in the U.K. and select European Economic Area (EEA) countries. This collaboration aims to provide near-instant Bitcoin transactions with significantly reduced fees, marking a major step forward in cryptocurrency adoption for everyday payments. The integration leverages Lightspark’s infrastructure, led by ex-PayPal executive David Marcus, to enhance Revolut’s crypto offerings and improve the user experience for Bitcoin payments.

Revolut Partners with Lightspark to Integrate Bitcoin Lightning Network for European Users

Digital banking platform Revolut is collaborating with Lightspark to enable Bitcoin Lightning Network transactions for customers in the U.K. and select European Economic Area (EEA) countries. The integration promises reduced fees and near-instant settlement for BTC payments.

Lightspark, headed by ex-PayPal executive David Marcus, provides the infrastructure backbone for what it describes as a decentralized ’Money Grid.’ The Lightning Network’s layer-2 solution addresses Bitcoin’s scalability limitations by processing transactions off-chain before settling on the main blockchain.

While Revolut hasn’t disclosed an exact launch timeline, the move signals growing institutional adoption of Bitcoin’s secondary scaling solutions. The partnership could accelerate crypto payment adoption among Revolut’s 40+ million users by eliminating traditional pain points of slow confirmations and high gas fees.

BlackRock Bitcoin ETF IBIT Overtakes Gold ETF in Year-to-Date Flows

BlackRock’s iShares bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has eclipsed the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) in year-to-date inflows, marking a pivotal shift in investor preference toward cryptocurrency exposure. With $6.96 billion gathered in 2025, IBIT now ranks sixth among all ETFs—surpassing GLD’s $6.5 billion despite gold’s 29% price rally this year.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas highlights the milestone as evidence of accelerating institutional adoption. The divergence underscores a broader trend: digital assets are competing with traditional SAFE havens for capital allocation, even amid volatile market conditions.

Strike Expands into Bitcoin Lending, Allowing Users to Borrow Fiat Without Selling BTC

Jack Mallers’ Bitcoin payments app Strike is venturing into the lending space, offering users a way to access fiat currency while retaining their Bitcoin holdings. The new service, dubbed Strike Lending, aims to address a common dilemma faced by crypto investors—liquidating appreciating assets for short-term cash needs.

"You shouldn’t have to sell the best-performing asset in human history to access cash. Now you don’t have to," Mallers declared in a post on X. The service will initially launch in select U.S. regions before expanding globally.

The product’s value proposition hinges on Bitcoin’s historical outperformance. "If bitcoin continues to grow faster than your borrowing costs, your asset appreciates faster than your debt," Mallers explained. This model revives a concept that collapsed during the 2022 crypto winter, when lenders like BlockFi, Celsius, and Genesis failed spectacularly.

Bitcoin’s ’Digital Gold’ Narrative Gains Traction Amid Market Turbulence

President Trump’s tariff announcement on April 2 sent shockwaves through financial markets, with the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 plunging 4.8% and 5.4%, respectively. Bitcoin initially followed the downturn as volatility spiked to early-COVID levels.

Yet the cryptocurrency’s rapid recovery within days underscored its evolving role as a store of value. This price action reinforces growing institutional acceptance of bitcoin’s ’digital gold’ proposition during macroeconomic uncertainty.

Revolut Integrates Bitcoin Lightning Payments via Lightspark in UK and EEA

Digital banking giant Revolut is set to roll out Bitcoin Lightning Network payments for users across the UK and select European Economic Area countries. The partnership with Lightspark, a fintech firm led by ex-PayPal executive David Marcus, aims to bypass Bitcoin’s traditional blockchain constraints—slow settlement times and high transaction fees—by leveraging Lightning’s layer-2 infrastructure.

Marcus framed the MOVE as a leap toward borderless finance, contrasting Lightning’s instant settlement with legacy banking rails. Revolut’s adoption signals growing institutional recognition of Bitcoin’s utility beyond speculative asset status, particularly for microtransactions and remittances.

Dormant Bitcoin Wallets Move $324M After a Decade, Sparking Market Speculation

Two long-inactive Bitcoin wallets suddenly transferred over 3,400 BTC ($324 million) in coordinated moves, with one address last active in 2012 moving 2,300 BTC and another dormant since 2011 shifting 1,000 BTC. Blockchain analysts noted the transactions occurred hours apart, fueling theories about lost key recovery or strategic portfolio adjustments.

Market observers breathed a cautious sigh of relief as none of the funds were routed to known exchange addresses. The BTC was instead forwarded to newer wallet types, suggesting potential cold storage migration rather than imminent liquidation. The movement represents one of the largest awakenings of Satoshi-era holdings in 2024.