Bitcoin Magazine

Breez Drops New Bitcoin App Which Doubles As Wallet and Developer Toolkit

Bitcoin software provider Breez has released a new app it says will serve both everyday users and developers. 

The product, dubbed Glow, is supposed to be an easy way to make Lightning transactions easier for everyday users, while also doubling as an open-source blueprint — a way to see exactly how easy it is to implement Bitcoin features using the SDK’s API — for builders. 

Breez claims the app will help developers exploring Bitcoin see what’s possible by packaging in the features that are essential for any Bitcoin app to compete in its category.

Being open-source, developers can open up Glow’s codebase and see exactly how each of those features — such as passkey login, Lightning addresses or stablecoin transfers — work and use them for their own app, rather than building it from scratch. 

For example, a developer building a social app doesn’t need to figure out how Lightning address or contacts should work — they can look at Glow’s code, see the API calls it makes, and replicate that in their own product with minimal effort. 

Developers can fork Glow, rebrand it, and ship it as their own, according to Breez. 

Because developers building on the SDK never take custody of user funds, Breez notes the regulatory footprint stays minimal — letting teams focus on product rather than compliance overhead.

The Glow app release comes after Breez announced it was working with Turnkey last month, a deal letting developers add non-custodial Bitcoin to apps running wallets from their own servers — solving a custody problem that has kept many of the largest consumer platforms from integrating Bitcoin at all.

According to the companies, keys now stay out of reach of the app’s servers, Breez, and Turnkey. The company’s backend holds a credential that defines what actions it can take, while authority to move funds rests with the user.

The deal positions some of the world’s largest consumer apps to add non-custodial Bitcoin without rebuilding their backend architecture or taking custody of user funds.

This post Breez Drops New Bitcoin App Which Doubles As Wallet and Developer Toolkit first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.

Bitcoin Magazine

NYSE-Listed AI Company Taps Lightning Network to Pay Employees In Bitcoin

Publicly traded AI operating system Vida Global (NYSE American: VIDA) has said it has started paying employees in Bitcoin using the Lightning network — but in a way where the company does not have the leading crypto on its balance sheet. 

The Austin, Texas-based company said Thursday that after a worker in Argentina asked to be paid in Bitcoin, the firm tapped Bitcoin infrastructure company Voltage to make the transaction. 

But the company is not keeping Bitcoin on its books: it simply sends the cash amount via Voltage’s platform, the employees receive payment in Bitcoin, and Vida’s balance sheet remains in dollars. 

“Vida has a global team, including team members in Argentina who prefer to be paid in Bitcoin because of challenges with their local currency,” Vida CEO Lyle Pratt said. 

“Voltage facilitates the Bitcoin payments, and we settle the balance in U.S. dollars at the end of the month, just like a standard vendor invoice. It has made offering Bitcoin payments remarkably simple for both our team and our finance operations.”

Pratt added the setup meets employee needs without adding crypto complexity to accounting.

Voltage CEO Graham Krizek said it was solving a mismatch between “global by default” AI companies and payment rails that haven’t kept up.

“Their team members get paid in seconds in the money they actually want, and their finance team never touches crypto,” he said. “When a public company runs part of its team compensation on Bitcoin rails and the books stay boring, that’s the point.”

Lightning is another network that skirts transactions around the main chain, cutting costs and increasing speed — originally designed so people could use Bitcoin for daily purchases.

Bitcoin maxis like Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey have since integrated the network into their businesses, payments platform, Cash App and his PoS terminals, Square.

This post NYSE-Listed AI Company Taps Lightning Network to Pay Employees In Bitcoin first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.