#bitcoinapps

Lightning Network transactions will be available for Bitcoin from tomorrow, rumors are suggesting. Just under two weeks after SegWit locked in for the Bitcoin network, Lightning, which offers considerably faster and cheaper transactions for more users, may appear sooner than planned. Tweeting the as yet unsourced information, commentator Ferdous said that the so-called ‘Layer 2’ technology would be available “from Tuesday.” For users, he clarified, the move meant “trustless instant nearly zero-fee transactions,” “scaling to billions of users” and “thousands of new apps.”https://cointelegraph.com/news/lightning-network-will-come-to-bitcoin-from-tomorrow-reports

The way the BitHappy browser works is quite intriguing. Users can take pictures of an item and sell it for Bitcoin. At the same time, it works as a geographical map for shops and individual sellers around you who accept Bitcoin payments. In a way, it is a mix of a Bitcoin merchant directory and OpenBazaar. But there is more to BitHappy than just buying and selling items from your phone. Charitable organizations can set up their projects on this Android application as well. As a result, Bitcoin from around the world can make donations to projects they have taken an interest in. All of this can be achieved without leaving the BitHappy ecosystem. That being said, users can choose between using the device or another wallet to complete the payment. BitHappy has a lot of potential to help boost Bitcoin awareness around the world. Everyone with a smartphone or tablet running the Android operating system can buy or sell goods with just a few taps of the screen. At its core, this browser application is a perfectly viable alternative to the existing financial ecosystem. In fact, it is even better, as it allows the billions of unbanked citizens to access financial services. http://themerkle.com/using-the-bithappy-browser-to-raise-global-bitcoin-awareness/

PayPal has filed a US patent application for a modular payment module that accepts Bitcoin and other digital currencies. The application names Bitcoin, Litecoin and Dogecoin; and sets out the physical characteristics of the module. It says: “The module includes a chassis which has a modular device connector. A payment database in the chassis stores funding source information and security information.” The patent application also describes a “virtual currency wallet system”. This entails a card that includes a virtual currency wallet; a non-transitory memory including instructions to provide a virtual machine that is configured to provide access to the virtual currency wallet; and one or more hardware processors that are coupled to the card and the non-transitory memory. While nothing has happened yet, the interest in Bitcoin by a large company such as PayPal could be significant. http://www.bankingtech.com/502702/paypal-files-bitcoin-payment-patent/

"Our core user base is likely going to be users in emerging markets who don't have access to high caliber investments and have moved into Bitcoin for either usage of banking services (remittances, cross-border payments), or who see it as a store of value," Burns told ProductHunt. http://m.nasdaq.com/article/invest-in-us-stocks-from-anywhere-in-the-world-with-bitcoin-using-keza-cm587383

http://insidebitcoins.com/news/brock-pierce-consumers-dont-care-about-bitcoin-they-care-about-faster-and-better/35821