Going Viral: The Wackiest Uses For The Bitcoin Lightning Network

When the Bitcoin Lightning Network went viral on social media, it did so organically. People began sharing news about the Lightning Network all over social media not because they were forced to watch an advert but, rather, because they actually loved the project and its myriad clever implementations. Although the overall goal of the technology is to make Bitcoin (BTC) transactions fast, affordable, and usable by everybody, new ideas surrounding the technology and several wacky implementations have stolen much of the spotlight — thanks to the intriguing nature of these uses. It now appears that the rise in popularity of the Lightning Network can be likened to the explosive growth of Bitcoin in 2017 — with high hopes abound and everyone waiting with bated breath to see how and where Lightning might appear next.

The #LightningNetwork is the most fun I've had with #cryptocrrencies since the 2017 bullrun

— Chrozayis (@Chrozayis) February 17, 2019

To this end, we at BeInCrypto will dig even deeper into the surprisingly wacky world of the Bitcoin Lightning Network while highlighting some of the novel, fun, or downright peculiar implementations of the technology.

Hungry Hungry Chickens

Recently, a website by the name of Pollofeed.com was set up to work with the Lightning Network and accept a small amount of Bitcoin (BTC) as payment for services rendered. What’s the service, you ask? Remotely feeding chickens via a Lightning-activated chicken-feed dispenser.  The website displays absolutely no information about who the developers are or even where the chickens are physically located. The only details visitors can see are the payment address, a video player which streams live footage of the chickens being fed, and a brief service description which reads “Pollo Feed is an automated chicken feeder powered by bitcoin lighting payments.” Despite its cryptic origins, the internet has nonetheless taken it upon itself to ensure these chickens are well fed. The concept has also garnered significant attention from the cryptocurrency community — going viral on Twitter and even drawing attention from industry bigwigs.

Happiness is feeding chickens in a different timezone using the Bitcoin Lightning network (pollofeed dot com) pic.twitter.com/YEe74Og7uC

— Alistair Milne (@alistairmilne) February 21, 2019

Among the thousands of people responding to the project, it is perhaps Alistair Milne’s tweet that garnered the most attention. Milne is well-known as the co-founder of the Altana Digital Currency Fund and is a staunch supporter of Bitcoin (BTC) and other innovations in the digital currency space.

Happy Vending

Few things in life offer the instant gratification provided by your favorite chilled soft drink after a hard day’s — a fact vending machine owners have exploited for decades. Despite this, in many countries, vending machines are becoming less common as fewer people carry the loose change required to use them — while acquisition costs have rocketed as vending machine hardware becomes ever more complicated to handle newer payment methods. This brings us to the project of Ricardo Reis, a Brazilian entrepreneur who constructed a mini prototype vending machine that dispenses Coca Cola in return for payments received over the Lightning Network. Not bad for a first-time prototype.

I build a Coke vending machine that accepts Bitcoin payments through Lightning Network.
I use @Raspberry_Pi, @BtcpayServer , @pusher
YT: https://t.co/qVr3GDkitJ pic.twitter.com/anSmCYmIKM

— Ricardo Reis ⚡️ (@ricardoreis007) September 30, 2018

Building the prototype was a relatively inexpensive process, apparently requiring only a mini computer with LAN connectivity, such as a Raspberry Pi, in combination with a small touch screen display, a water pump, and a circuit bridge. Apart from the above hardware, some basic system software, web solutions, and coding knowledge are required to put it all together into a functional product — though nothing too complex for most people. According to the creator, all the components required to build your own Lightning-connected drink dispenser come to just $120 before shipping — making it an affordable project for anybody looking to bring a Lightning Network-powered offering to their own store. The entire project is currently outlined on Hackster, providing everything you need to know to build your own Lightning powered drink dispenser. To date, the original tweet from Ricardo has been viewed over 50,000 times and liked by thousands — indicating the idea is well received by the community.

Revitalizing Arcade Games

Though arcade machines were hugely popular during the ’80s and ’90s, they have since largely fallen out of favor after being made essentially obsolete by smartphones and home game consoles. Now, in 2019, the golden age of arcade gaming has long past — with only high score attempts and the odd Dance Dance Revolution update making the rounds in popular media. However, in some small pockets scattered around the world, arcades continue to be a commercially-viable business. One such example can be found in a small town in New Zealand called Blenheim, where the medium-sized retro gaming arcade ‘Arcadia’ has made its stand. Owned and operated by David Scoon, Arcadia was previously in the headlines for accepting Bitcoin payments instead of loose change for game tickets. However, this concept was eventually challenged during the historic 2017 climb — which saw BTC transaction fees rocket. As fees continued to rise, it soon became uneconomical to accept Bitcoin payments in exchange for play time, since the transaction fees would eat up much of the profits on small transactions while the extreme delays were not compatible with the arcade business model. Enter Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, the scalable, hassle-free solution to accept micropayments  — even for Arcade games. While it isn’t clear if Arcadia has upgraded to the Lightning Network yet, it appears the technology would solve practically all of its payment problems.

Had lots of fun with the first ever built Lightning Network Pac-Man Arcade! This is a GAME CHANGER 😉 Amazing project @georgevaccaro https://t.co/1bCelRirgV #Bitcoin #LightningNetwork #LightningHackday #DoNotUnderEstimateBitcoin

— Hugo Doyon ⚡ (@HugoDoyon) January 24, 2019

In this vein, George Vaccaro — an independent software consultant — created a prototype arcade simulator machine which works by using the Lightning Network to accept BTC. George claims this technology could be retrofitted with traditional arcade machines as well. In our opinion, this is a perfect example of how new technology like Lightning can be used to improve the utility of older hardware.

Tastes Like Lightning

The last application we’ll look at is one designed by David Knezić‏, a blockchain enthusiast who invented a quirky candy dispenser built using a combination of the Bitcoin Lightning Network, Arduino, and a Raspberry Pi. The dispenser is deceptively simple in its implementation. It simply accepts payments over the Bitcoin Lightning Network and dispenses a proportional number of delicious candies as a reward. Despite this simplicity, the Lightning candy dispenser has been recognized by thousands of people online — many of who praise the invention for potentially solving other less-whimsical challenges.

How it works: The dispenser is USB enabled using an Arduino Micro. It’s controlled by a Raspberry Pi that runs the “sweetbit” utility. It listens for incoming transactions through https://t.co/ngvWD3oCfL and dispenses candy relative to the amount of BTC. https://t.co/AnG9e0jHXZ pic.twitter.com/ox0M7WIrOj

— David Knezić (@davidknezic) May 27, 2018

For example, this simple pay and dispense technology could be used to dispense medication through automated dispensers — massively reducing the operating costs of pharmacies and helping patients gain access to potentially-critical drugs outside of working hours. On top of this, implementing a prescription validation step could eventually provide a means to bring down prescription costs by cutting out intermediaries while improving patient access to medical care. What are your favorite uses for the Bitcoin Lightning Network? Have you seen anything wackier than the ones we mentioned? Let us know in the comments below!