Substack Rolls Out Bitcoin Payments via OpenNode and Lightning Network

OpenNode and Substack will allow some crypto-focused subscribers to pay with both on-chain and Lightning bitcoin transactions.

Aug 23, 2021 at 3:45 p.m. UTC

Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 1:43 p.m. UTC

Substack’s over 500,000 paying subscribers will now be able to pay using bitcoin through the Lightning Network, a layered payment network for Bitcoin.

The announcement was made by OpenNode, a bitcoin payment processor that has integrated its API to allow both on-chain and Lightning payments on the Substack online publishing platform. To start, OpenNode and Substack are making the payment system available to a select group of crypto-focused publications.
The Lightning Network is a layer 2 payment rail built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain that enables secure, private and near-instantaneous transactions at little to no cost.
Transactions on the Lightning Network use real bitcoin but can process over 3,000,000 times more transactions per second.
"Having this option will give writers more flexibility and freedom, and we look forward to doing more in crypto to meet writers' needs,” said Nick Inzucchi, product designer at Substack.
"Our partnership will allow content creators across the Substack ecosystem to accept bitcoin payments, and retain earnings in bitcoin or convert to preferred currency. Writers and podcasters have flocked to Substack to regain creative and financial freedom, and bitcoin is a natural fit," said João Almeida, co-founder and CTO at OpenNode.

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