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No, it\u2019s not Groundhog Day. Subway is accepting Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>), again \u2014 but this time it\u2019s using the fast, nearly free\u00a0Bitcoin Lightning Network<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kicking off the 7-day #usingbitcoin<\/a> week with Lunch at Subway, Chausseestrasse in Berlin! <\/p>\n 50% off when paying with #bitcoin<\/a> \u2014 felix (@felixbillert) October 19, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The world\u2019s largest franchise by number of restaurants is trialing Bitcoin payments at three Subways in Germany\u2019s capital, Berlin. Subway first experimented with Bitcoin almost 13 years ago in Moscow,<\/a> Russia.\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the past few months, Daniel Hinze, the Berlin Subway franchise owner, recorded over 120 Bitcoin transactions. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Hinze explained his desire \u201cto help Bitcoin become money.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cFive years ago, I started to deal with cryptocurrencies; and in the last two years, I have dealt very intensively with the topic of Bitcoin. With that in mind, I\u2019ve decided that [Bitcoin] could be the better money system.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Bitcoin is not a popular means of exchange in Europe, despite the efforts of merchants<\/a>, retailers and even Lightning-enabled conferences<\/a>. Hinze has encouraged Bitcoin payments by offering a 10% discount on all footlongs, meatball marinaras and sucookies paid for with BTC. <\/p>\n Lunch with #usingbitcoin<\/a> \u2014 Rumpel_BTC (@BtcRumpel) October 19, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n To kick off the campaign, Hinze offered a 50% discount on all Bitcoin payments for one week: <\/p>\n \u201cAround the week, there was, of course, extremely high demand. Our three restaurants were frequently visited by people who liked to pay with Bitcoin.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n German-speaking social media was buoyed by Subway buys as the hashtag #usingBitcoin took over. Hinze partnered with Lipa, a Swiss-based Bitcoin company, to enable an easy-to-use point-of-sale solution. <\/p>\n Bastien Feder, CEO of Lipa, told Cointelegraph that its mission is to make Bitcoin \u201cbasically irresistible to use because Bitcoin is currency.\u201d Lipa kitted out the Subways with merchant devices that allow customers to quickly scan a Lightning-enabled QR code that allows for fast, frictionless, low-cost payments. <\/p>\n Lipa charges merchants 1% for the service, as opposed to Visa or Mastercard payment rails, which charge double or more. Feder explained:<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s 2.5% to 4% depending on the contract from the merchant. If it\u2019s a business card, there\u2019s 0.5% on top of that. [\u2026] And if it\u2019s a foreign business credit card, you pay up to 7%, and you don\u2019t know until the end of the month.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The experience of paying over the LN differs greatly from when Subway franchises first accepted Bitcoin payments in 2014. Before the arrival of the LN, customers would have to wait for around for several minutes. <\/p>\n Miners would mint the next block on the blockchain, with the transaction confirmed by Bitcoin nodes around the world. The process was inconvenient for retail payments due to the wait time as well as the sometimes high fees. With the LN, customers enjoy faster settlement times than Visa or Mastercard and lower fees thanks to a peer-to-peer network of payments.<\/p>\n RACE OF THE RAILS ♂️ <\/p>\n Bitcoin #Lightning<\/a> payments vs #fiat<\/a> contactless payments at the #Gibraltar<\/a> Bakery. <\/p>\n \u00a32.20 loaded up on both PoS. <\/p>\n WHO WINS?? ⚡️ ⚡️ <\/p>\n \u2066@CoinCorner<\/a>\u2069 \u2066@CoinCornerMolly<\/a>\u2069 pic.twitter.com\/b3ezy7FIeq<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Joe Nakamoto (@JoeNakamoto) July 25, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Nonetheless, due to the fact that Bitcoin has for most of its history been a speculative vehicle \u2014 sparing a few use cases for purchasing \u2014 encouraging Bitcoiners to spend BTC can be a challenge.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, retail examples are popping up, such as in Berlin or San Salvador. Nicolas Burtey, CEO of Galoy Money, told Cointelegraph that the adoption of Bitcoin in El Salvador was the tipping point for the Lightning Network. He joked that\u00a0the Bitcoin Law<\/a>\u00a0\u201cshould have actually been called the Lightning Law!\u201d<\/p>\n Related:\u00a0McDonald\u2019s, pizza and coffee paid in Bitcoin: The Plan B for crypto payments<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Lipa and Hinze expect a steady increase in demand for Bitcoin payments. Feder told Cointelegraph that it\u2019s due in large part because of the \u201dexponentially rising Bitcoin community in Germany, in Switzerland, basically all over the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, the LN is enabling communities keen to trade,\u00a0from Senegal<\/a> to Guatemala and\u00a0Switzerland<\/a>. Hinze told Cointelegraph that for the moment, the Subway restaurant only accepts the world\u2019s most recognizable currency, as he and his business partners \u201cfirmly believe in Bitcoin.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
#spendyourbitcoin<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/f81kdMOnEQ<\/a><\/p>\n\n
at Subway in Berlin.
Also got 50% off. \ud83d\ude00 pic.twitter.com\/yZkZ6osO9D<\/a><\/p>\n\n