David Marcus, CEO of Lightspark, a company that offers lightning network (LN) related services, has stated that LN will become the “interoperability neutral settlement layer” for the world. Marcus declared that only Bitcoin is “neutral enough” to be implemented as the enabler between national payment systems, granting companies and institutions adopting it an edge for […]
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Lightspark’s CEO David Marcus Recognizes Current Non-Custodial Lightning Network Solutions Imply ‘Some Form of Compromise’
David Marcus, co-founder and CEO of Lightspark, an institutional Lightning Network (LN) payment solutions provider, referred to the state of custodial and non-custodial transactions on the network. While Marcus believes that custodial LN for institutions is ready for prime time, he acknowledged that non-custodial usage still implies compromising on some features.
Lightspark’s David Marcus: Lightning Network ‘Works Well’ for Institutional and Custodial Settings
David Marcus, co-founder and CEO of Lightspark, a Lightning Network (LN) payments solution provider, has referred to the state of custodial and non-custodial payments using Bitcoin’s Layer 2 scaling solution. On X, Marcus reiterated his belief in Bitcoin as the only cryptocurrency that can serve as the base for a worldwide payments network.
Marcus stated:
Bitcoin is the only viable neutral settlement asset and network that can usher in a new era of global real-time payments. Everything else is either too centralized, not secure enough, doesn’t have the required regulatory clarity, or doesn’t have the required depth of liquidity.
Lightspark is based on this premise, seeking to allow institutions and customers to harness the power of the Bitcoin network but using LN to avoid high fees with near-instant transaction finality. According to Marcus, this task has been challenging, having previously stated that it was “incredibly complex and hard to build software around this protocol.”
Nonetheless, the company has managed to build a suite of tools and protocols that have simplified the use of LN for institutions in custodial scenarios. Marcus stated that the company has focused on this part of the market due to the volumes moved, seeking to have the most significant impact in the short and medium-term scenarios.
Non-Custodial LN Problems
The current situation with high on-chain fees and how some wallets manage channels and user payments have awakened the debate on the usefulness of non-custodial LN solutions when the base layer suffers from congestion.
Marcus specifically outlined two challenges: receiving payments offline and reducing the fees for opening channels for smaller transactions. While some solutions are in the works for tackling these difficulties in the future, he acknowledged that current non-custodial LN users had to face tradeoffs.
Marcus declared:
To be blunt, if you want full support for non-custodial Lightning with offline receive and want to make it economically viable, you have to accept some form of compromise on the trustlessness level of the solution.
Even after recognizing this, Marcus is bullish on the future, stressing Bitcoin is on the brink of becoming the internet’s money protocol and achieving mass adoption.
What do you think about David Marcus’ opinions on the current state of non-custodial LN payments? Tell us in the comments section below.
Lightspark CEO David Marcus Profiles Bitcoin as Global Payment Network
David Marcus, CEO of Lightspark and co-creator of Diem, Meta’s failed cryptocurrency project, explained his intentions of turning Bitcoin into a global payments network. Marcus explained that there was no universal protocol for sending value over the internet and that we were still in the “fax era” of global payments.
Lightspark CEO David Marcus Wants to Get Payments out of the ‘Fax Era’
David Marcus, CEO of Lightspark and co-creator of the defunct Diem cryptocurrency project, has talked about how Bitcoin might become a global payments network. In an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Marcus detailed the need for a universal platform to allow money transfers to be as easy as text or video communication using today’s messaging apps.
When consulted about the need for a global payment system, Marcus stated that we are still in the “fax era” of payments, with no universal way of transacting money from one place to another without using common fintech apps in a fragmented market.
Lightspark, Marcus’s new startup, focuses on implementing solutions for enterprises using the Lightning Network, an expansion layer for Bitcoin, to streamline and accelerate the payment experience on top of Bitcoin. Lightspark has partnered with several companies, including Xapo Bank, Rain, Flexa, Chainalysis, Notabene, and TRM Labs.
Marcus believes the size of the payment business is “ginormous,” with a potential market of trillions of dollars that currently move through legacy bank-dependent cross-border payment systems like SWIFT.
Marcus: Bitcoin Will Not Be the Currency ‘People Will Use to Buy Things’
Marcus also stressed that, according to his vision, bitcoin will not be the currency used to make payments in the future due to its anticipated growth in price. On the contrary, Bitcoin will serve as a platform to empower the exchange of value using other fiat currencies.
On how this will be achieved, Marcus declared:
A fragment of a bitcoin on top of Lightning is like a small data packer on the internet only for value. And so, you can exchange at the edges of the network and send dollars to someone who will receive Japanese yen on the other side.
He further explained that this use case could be sustained using Bitcoin alongside Lightning Network, with transactions settling in real-time at “very, very low costs.”
What do you think about David Marcus’ intentions of using Lightning Network to make Bitcoin a universal settlement layer? Tell us in the comments section below.
Lightspark CEO David Marcus States Building on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network Is ‘Incredibly Complex and Hard’
David Marcus, CEO of Lightspark, a company that builds business-grade solutions to facilitate payments on top of the Lightning Network, shared his experience in developing on top of the Bitcoin scaling layer. Marcus stated that it is “incredibly complex and hard to build software around this protocol,” acknowledging the constraints the Lightning Network presents for builders.
Lightspark CEO David Marcus Acknowledges Lightning Network Constraints for Builders
David Marcus, CEO of Lightspark, a company that builds payments solutions on top of the Lightning Network, a second-layer scaling platform for Bitcoin, has given his opinion about the challenges that building on top of this protocol presents for companies.
Marcus, a veteran in the payments arena who was president of Paypal, head of Novi at Meta, and part of the Diem Board of Members, says Lightspark decided to build around the layer-2 protocol due to the “unique qualities” Bitcoin presents as an underlying network. However, he declared:
Building on Lightning and Bitcoin is likely at least 5x harder than building with other protocols. It’s so incredibly complex and hard to build software around this protocol.
Rigidity and Difficulty
Marcus attributes part of this difficulty to the rigidity of Bitcoin and the problems of changing its structure to include new code in its base layer, to accommodate the needs of specific solutions. On this issue, he stated:
Bitcoin layer 1 is incredibly rigid. Getting a new opcode to mainnet is almost mission impossible. Constraints are what they are.
However, instead of considering this difficulty a problem and abandoning the protocol to use other, less complicated chains, Lightspark took it as a challenge to build a payment solution that would be relevant “100 years from now.” Marcus concluded:
We recommitted ourselves to building on Bitcoin Lightning, and to doing whatever it took to realize its fullest potential. Because it’s time for the world to have a universal open protocol for payments.
Marcus is not the first to recognize the intricacies and overall difficulties of producing software around the Lightning Network. Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, CEO of Binance, also stated that including Lightning Network services on Binance’s platform was “more complicated” than it might appear, due to the utilization of on-demand invoices, different from pre-generated addresses.
Fiatjaf, a Bitcoin developer and the creator of the decentralized social protocol Nostr, also recently criticized the Lightning Network, calling it an “inelegant pile of ugly and complicated hacks.”
What do you think about David Marcus’ vision of building on top of the Lightning Network? Tell us in the comments section below.
Interview With Marcus Fetherston, Eightcap’s Head of Operations, on the Current Trends in Crypto Derivatives Trading
In the past few years, crypto derivative trading has taken off. There is another way to buy and hold cryptos that have appealed to traders who want to make the most out of price movements by using leverage.
However, there are risks associated with CFD trading, especially when it comes to cryptocurrency. In 2021, large exchanges had to cease operations due to regulatory issues leaving crypto derivatives traders with no place to trade. That’s where Eightcap, a multi-award-winning regulated CFD broker stepped in, with a fresh offering that stood out for its extensive range of crypto coins, crosses and indices, all paired with low spreads. On top of that, derivative traders with Eightcap have access to multiple funding options and super quick withdrawals.
We sat down with Marcus Fetherston, Head of Operations at Eightcap, to discuss the broker’s award-winning crypto derivative offering, the current trends in crypto, and to delve deeper into the problems derivative traders are facing. This is what he had to say.
With increasing volatility in the crypto market, why should people trade Crypto derivatives?
There hasn’t been a better time for derivative products, especially crypto. We have seen crypto assets move into downwards trends and sideways markets over the past year. Bitcoin has been reaching all-time highs, and we have witnessed crypto coins such as Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Cardano also gain momentum in the markets. This has brought in an influx of traders who want to make the most out of crypto market movements. One of the ways to do this is through crypto derivatives, as it enables derivative traders to go long or short. Plus, the use of leverage on CFD accounts allows traders to take advantage of price fluctuations without the need to place large amounts of capital to enter the crypto derivatives market.
What are the current problems crypto derivative traders face?
There are several problems that crypto derivative traders have faced and are still facing when trading crypto CFDs. There has been a divergence of product offerings to meet the current demand for crypto trading. Many licensed entities now offer crypto CFDs while adhering to stringent regulatory requirements. However, even though there are a lot of crypto CFD providers, most of them have a lackluster product offering paired with wide spreads. So crypto derivative trades aren’t gaining exposure to a varied and extensive suite of crypto CFDs, and they aren’t getting the best price when it comes to trading derivatives. There are also centralized offshore exchanges that offer a great range of products to trade. Still, the flip side of the coin is that crypto derivative traders won’t have the peace of mind that they would have when trading with a regulated broker.
More recently, Binance encountered a glitch, which ultimately led to crypto derivative traders being unable to withdraw Dogecoin for two weeks. Earlier in the year, we had also seen Binance cease operations in regions such as Italy and Hong Kong. This left crypto derivatives traders feeling disgruntled and worried about their active trades and questioning where they could go to trade crypto derivatives.
Eightcap stepped in with a solution to the problems I have mentioned. In September 2021, we rolled out 250 crypto derivatives, including coins, crypto crosses and indices. We are continuing to meet crypto demand by adding more and more coins to our offering. Eightcap has been awarded the Best Crypto Broker at the 2021 AtoZ Markets annual awards due to our latest crypto derivative offering. We have an extensive suite, and with this, we also offer ultra-low spreads.
How does Eightcap’s Crypto derivative offering stand out from what other brokers and exchanges are offering?
Our offering stands out in the crypto derivatives market because of the extensive range of crypto derivatives available to our clients. As mentioned before, we have over 250 crypto derivatives and this includes Dogecoin, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polkadot, Cardano, Solana and more. We also offer crypto indices and crypto-crosses.
In addition to our award-winning offering, we are committed to being the new home of crypto derivatives traders. We aim to deliver ultra-low spreads with our entire crypto derivatives suite. Our clients can trade Bitcoin with spreads from 12p/coin, Cardano from 0.004 p/coin, Dogecoin from 0.0002 p/coin and Ether from 0.45 p/coin, to name a few. Additionally, our withdrawal process is seamless and fast. Crypto derivative clients have multiple options for funding their trading account with us, including BTC, Tether, PayPal, Credit/Debit card, Skrill, Neteller, Bank Wire transfer, and many more. Clients can also rest assured that they are trading with a regulated broker. Eightcap is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB).
There has been substantial growth in the metaverse community. How are you meeting the needs of the traders who want to make the most out of this?
The Metaverse is a fascinating concept, and if we move on to an augmented world, it changes everyday life as we know it. A virtual world that centres around a fully functioning economy built entirely using blockchain and dApps is a big concept, and we still don’t know what this world will look like. Yet, we have big names in tech already racing to claim a stake in the Metaverse. Facebook announced in June 2021 that it would be helping to bring the Metaverse to life. We already have companies such as Decentraland that can integrate crypto with its virtual world. As an award-winning crypto derivatives provider, we are providing products to our derivative traders who are enthusiastic about blockchain’s trending topics. Currently, we offer CFDs in both Decentraland and AXS, so our clients can speculate on price as news of this new Metaverse progresses.
For those who want to trade Crypto but are not sure where to start, how does Eightcap cater to their educational needs?
There’s definitely been an influx of new crypto traders that want to take advantage of volatility. We don’t just deliver the products to trade with; we are also focused on building a home for crypto derivatives traders. We have a series of webinars for new derivative traders who aren’t sure where to start. This six-part webinar series starts by explaining the fundamentals of crypto trading that everyone needs to know before entering the derivative markets and then builds on the basics with more technical aspects. We recently partnered with BK Forex to host CryptoFest, a yearly event where several professional crypto traders share their knowledge on many crypto-related topics. Additionally, we have our crypto market updates and educational articles updated regularly that explain the latest trends, price movements, and news around crypto derivatives.
How does trading Crypto derivatives differ from the more traditional asset classes?
Believe it or not, there are similarities between more traditional asset classes and crypto derivatives, like forex, for example. We have seen the establishment of rigorous support and resistance channels that form following periods of high-scale volatility. In these moments, we can see how crypto pricing behaves in the same way forex did over twenty years ago before it was dominated by institutional trading. This creates an excellent opportunity for swing trading, momentum strategies, and general technical analysis. We can even see how crypto derivatives trading mirrors stock derivative trading. What drives crypto prices on a fundamental level is the underlying technology, mass adoption and social coverage, allowing traders to analyze growth potential in crypto by studying these factors.
What does the future of crypto trading look like, and how does Eightcap fit into this vision?
With NFTs being a huge social phenomenon where a growing community has jumped on the idea of owning things such as art and music in the digital realm using crypto, this is where crypto trading could be heading next.
With further advances in technology, we are going to see blockchain applied to more industries giving traders more opportunities and cryptos to trade on. Since the introduction of DeFi last year we are also continuing to see more technology introduced that can add value that extends beyond traditional finance – not just in APY rates, but also in trading technology that can add value to derivatives trading. As cryptos start to see more sideways movement and downward trends, the emphasis on technical trading and using derivatives to do so will increase as well. Therefore, the key is to make sure that we at Eightcap evolve our offering to meet new crypto trends. That is what we are focusing on right now and will continue to do so next year.
Furthermore, working on providing resources alongside our derivative products that educate our clients is also part of how we can add to the future of crypto trading as an award-winning CFD provider.
David Marcus, The Latest Top Executive To Leave Meta/ Facebook’s Crypto Project
Another one bites the dust. David Marcus stepped down as the head of Novi, Meta/ Facebook’s fintech division. The company’s first order of business was to create a cryptocurrency, but regulators around the world were not keen on the idea. After a few missteps and name changes, they finally released a wallet called Novi to little fanfare. The coin, now named Diem, is still in development and unreleased.
Related Reading | What Zuckerberg’s Meta Means for the Metaverse
David Marcus Says Goodbye
This is not the first time this happens, other top executives have abandoned Meta’s ship over the years. CNBC recapitulates:
“Marcus’s departure follows that of other key executives who led Facebook’s ill-fated efforts in blockchain. Fellow project founder Morgan Beller left the company in September 2020 to go into venture capital. Kevin Weil, another one of the project founders, left in March to join Planet, a San Francisco company.”
Ex-Upwork CEO Stephane Kasriel will replace David Marcus, who in a Facebook post announcing his departure said:
“The one thing I’m the proudest of during my time here is the amazing kickass team we’ve assembled over the last three years. This is the most resilient, passionate, determined and talented group of humans I’ve ever worked with. I find comfort and confidence in knowing that they will continue to execute our important mission well under Stephane Kasriel’s leadership, and I can’t wait to witness this from the outside.”
Mark Zuckerberg responded to David Marcus:
“I’ve learned so much working with you and I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done for this place. We wouldn’t have taken such a big swing at Diem without your leadership and I’m grateful you’ve made Meta a place where we make those big bets. You’ve built a great team, and while I’ll miss working with you, I’m looking forward to working with Stephane to lead the team going forward.”
I am so honored for the opportunity to lead the awesome @novi team, and look forward to continuing to build products and services that allow more access for people and businesses to the financial system and digital economy.
— Stephane Kasriel (@skasriel) November 30, 2021
For his part, Stephane Kasriel said via Twitter:
“I am so honored for the opportunity to lead the awesome Novi team, and look forward to continuing to build products and services that allow more access for people and businesses to the financial system and digital economy.”
FACEBOOK price chart on BMFBOVESPA | Source: TradingView.com
What’s The Deal With Libra/Calibra/Novi/Diem?
After many iterations, Diem is now a stablecoin prototype. For its part Novi, the wallet, is only available in the United States and Guatemala. Facebook/Meta is running a pilot program to test the technology and gather data. They’re trying to steal the remittances market in Guatemala, which constitutes 14% of the county’s GDP. Using the Novi wallet, it’s almost free.
Nowadays, Facebook/Meta is using the Paxos stablecoin USDP as their standard. About this, David Marcus said via Twitter. “USDP is a well-designed stablecoin that’s been operating successfully for over three years and has important regulatory and consumer protection attributes. I do want to be clear that our support for Diem hasn’t changed and we intend to launch Novi with Diem once it receives regulatory approval and goes live. We care about interoperability and we want to do it right.”
Related Reading | Facebook Officials Claim Novi Received Approval From Major U.S. States
However, will Diem ever receive regulatory approval? For Facebook/Meta, that’s the Trillion-Dollar question. The company’s reputation regarding its handling of personal data is hampering the whole operation. And, well, governments around the world don’t seem to want a company like Facebook in charge of the money. And, well, the project’s been all over the place from the very beginning. No offense to David Marcus, who claims to be Diem’s “Co-creator & Board member.”
The project’s slogan is “To build a trusted and innovative financial network that empowers people and businesses around the world.” And, well, that’s Bitcoin. Why don’t they just plug in to the winning open network? Because Meta wants to be in control of the money supply. And that’s what government’s around the world are trying to prevent.
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David Marcus Of Facebook Indicates Plans To Support NFTs
According to David Marcus of Facebook, you must seek out ways to clients support NFTs if there is a good cryptocurrency wallet such as Novi.
After completing Facebook’s exclusive crypto wallet Novi, the top-notch social media magnet, will likely support NFTs (non-fungible tokens) very soon.
The co-creator and financial head of Facebook, David Marcus, launched cryptocurrency Diem. In his speech on Wednesday, he stated that Facebook is assuredly searching for realizable ways to enter into the Non-fungible-Tokens industry.
Facebook is considering many different choices to launch the NFT features when the right time comes, says Marcus in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
Related Reading | 37% Of U.S. Investors Decline To Liquidate Cryptocurrency Assets in Bearish Situations
According to him, “with a good cryptocurrency wallet such as Novi, there is the need for you to think on how to assist clients support non-fungible-tokens,” he says.
Crypto wallet Novi is currently “ready for launch,” says Marcus. However, after developing the wallet for two years now, Facebook is not in a hurry to launch it, pending the firm’s go-ahead from regulators to launch together with Diem.
The Origin Of Facebook Backed Crypto-Wallet Novi
Facebook started the work on this digital currency a couple of years ago, initially bearing answering Libra. On June 18th Facebook broadcasted a white paper for their long-awaited blockchain-based and cryptocurrency financial framework project.
As stated by the paper, the social media magnet global stablecoin named “Libra” will function on a scalable and native blockchain. Also, it will be supported by reserve assets designed ostensibly to provide it with intrinsic value and reduce volatility fluctuations.
All the assets comprise a basket of short-term government securities and bank deposits, held within Libra Reserve per every issued Libra.
In addition, the governance of the current crypto will be through a Switzerland-based not-for-profit consortium – “Libra Association.” It counts Stripe, Visa, PayPal, Mastercard, Uber, Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase, and eBay as its founding members.
Meanwhile, Facebook has plans to further the association to reach at least 100 members by the estimated launching time during the first six months of 2020.
Latest Novi Launch Resolution
As it stands now, the social media magnet Facebook may go ahead with the Novi launching without Diem says Marcus as a fallback plan. However, for Diem to succeed, both of them are required, he added.
In June 2019, Facebook broadcasted a white paper for the then-named Libra. The original plan was to stick numerous fiat currencies with this digital currency, including the US, Singapore, British pounds, Japanese yen, and the euro.
Related Reading | PayPal To Facilitate UK Customers With Cryptocurrency Trading Feature
However, because of the pushbacks from global regulations, Libra Association finds it difficult to the stablecoin since then.
Eventually, the digital currency is currently rebranded to Diem Association. Also, the digital currency is redesigned to be stuck majorly on the United States dollar. In addition, the United States government will regulate it.
Featured Image From Pixabay
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Facebook & Libra’s David Marcus Is Asking About Ethereum DeFi
Ethereum’s decentralized finance (DeFi) space has received a lot of attention in recent months. This sector of the crypto space has seen a rapid uptick in capital involved as the yields and incentives to use these DeFi applications have increased at a dramatic clip. Data shows that the number of DeFi users has literally gone from a few thousand at the start of the year to somewhere close to a few hundred thousand now.
Prominent investors and innovators within and outside of the crypto space are understandably taking notice. So much so that David Marcus, co-founder of Libra and a former PayPal president, began to ask about it on Twitter just recently.
Related Reading: Here’s Why Ethereum’s DeFi Market May Be Near A Bottom
David Marcus From Facebook Discusses DeFi
David Marcus is a well-known figure in the crypto and financial technology community. He is a former PayPal president and ran the Messenger team at Facebook. Now, he is helping to run Libra, the digital currency project first launched by Facebook but one that has since expanded to a more decentralized/distributed mandate.
Marcus recently asked about DeFi, having seemingly begun to read up on the subject. He asked his followers:
“What are the most interesting #DeFi projects beyond Uniswap, Maker, and Compound I should know about?”
Dozens of individuals responded with the projects that they should Marcus could look into.
What are the most interesting #DeFi projects beyond Uniswap, Maker, and Compound I should know about?
— David Marcus (@davidmarcus) November 2, 2020
It is unclear why Marcus is asking about DeFi, but he is an outspoken fan of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other decentralized networks and neo-financial technologies.
Related Reading: Tyler Winklevoss: A “Tsunami” of Capital Is Coming For Bitcoin
Far From the Only Investor or Innovator Taking Note
He is far from the only prominent investor or innovator in Silicon Valley taking notice.
Legendary venture investor Naval Ravikant recently stated in a podcast with Tim Ferris:
“They’re building a decentralized Wall Street, they call it DeFi, D-E-F-I, for decentralized finance. But I actually think it’s more like DEFY as, just defy the government, DEFY. And so I think, we’re seeing a whole new casino that’s better than Wall Street.”
Silicon Valley venture firms have also begun to allocate capital to this space. This interest is likely to drive the next round of growth in this still-nascent sector in the already-nascent crypto space.
Related Reading: 3 Bitcoin On-Chain Trends Show a Macro Bull Market Is Brewing
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David Marcus Says Calibra Is Considering Audits to Prove Data Protections
n David Marcus said that Facebook and Calibra have built strong protections from one another in regard to personal data sharing, and is seeking an auditor to prove itn
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Calibra Head David Marcus Touts Libras Money Laundering Standards
n Calibra wallet head David Marcus says that Libras anti-money laundering compliance will be better than many alternativesn
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