Brian Armstrong promised me $100 in Bitcoin so where is it?

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Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong owes me $100. This is because he may not know how to use the Lightning Network, the instant payment solution built on Bitcoin.

Armstrong, who has been building in the Bitcoin (BTC) space since 2012, recently tweeted that he will pay people who provide the best examples of people using cryptocurrency in Africa. If you use crypto in Africa, respond with a short video (<30 seconds) or photo of how you use it, Armstrong wrote. The best examples get $100 in crypto.

He’s the CEO of Coinbase, after all, so I shared a video of myself using Bitcoin in Africa, which was part of a 30-second segment from a recent Cointelegraph documentary covering Bitcoin in Senegal.

The tweet quickly became the most liked and shared response to Armstrong’s query. (Essentially, the tweet was referring to Bitcoin in Africa, not crypto in Africa, and it demonstrated the ease and speed of the Lightning Network.)

However, Armstrong seems to have ignored my submission, despite over 600 likes and 100 retweets. The second most popular submission only had 50 likes. So I reached out to some key thought leaders, creators, and influencers within the Bitcoin community to amplify the tweet. Wicked, an anonymous bitcoin educator and data analyst, tagged Armstrong in a post, accusing him of actively ignoring the #Bitcoin Lightning Network.

Wicked very kindly drew Brian’s attention to my tweet video about bitcoin in Africa. Armstrong’s tweet and claim that “Lightning is great and something we’ll be mainstreaming” has led media around the world to report on Coinbase’s next development. He then tweeted that he sent me the money.

Here’s where things get weird. Armstrong said he paid me the $100. He said he sent $100 to the Lightning address listed in my Twitter profile bio: [email protected]

Now, if you’ve never used the Lightning Network before, you’ll be forgiven for mistaking this address for an email address. But would the CEO of Coinbase make this mistake? Could the Bitcoin OG have not recognized that the request in my bio that says Send BTC to [email protected] surrounded by lightning bolt emojis could be my Lightning address?

Additional Note: Running a Bitcoin node is slightly technical, and sending money to the Bitcoin blockchain for the first time is a little nerve-wracking, as the transaction takes about 10 minutes to confirm and we live in a world snap. But using the Lightning Network in 2023? His easy dead brain. A walk in the park. Seriously.

That’s a big call, Joe, I hear you say.

Yes it is. And I have the receipts to prove it. It’s so easy to use the Lightning Network that I stand on the streets in places around the world giving people Bitcoin on their brand new Lightning wallets and filming their reactions.

The most common remarks are I didn’t know it was that easy and Wow, it’s so fast. The videos are on my YouTube channel. Here is a video shot in France for the YouTube channel Cointelegraph where I distribute Bitcoin:

So please don’t pretend Armstrong is overwhelmed with the complexity of sending money to my Lightning address. Also, oddly enough, Bitcoin advocates around the world saw my tweet and enjoyed sending me sats to show that my Lightning address is alive and well.

My phone is exploding with payment notifications.

Back to the story. Danny Scott, CEO of CoinCorner, a bitcoin and lightning company, was quick to point out to Armstrong on Twitter that he may have made a mistake in confusing bitcoin with email, as Coinbase provides an email-sending feature. mail.

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Scott told Cointelegraph in an email, obviously we know the address [that Joe shared] is a Lightning address, but clearly not everyone is.

So I guess Brian knows very little about Lightning right now, especially LNURLs, Lightning addresses and other innovations being built which is perfectly fine he’s distracted it happens now we just hope that he will help himself and the industry by shifting their focus to what really has substance and long-term value, Bitcoin and Lightning.

It’s true: Coinbase offers to exchange over 250 different cryptocurrencies, that’s a lot of tokens to keep an eye on. And as Scott adds, I can understand how busy it will be, this industry isn’t sleeping, and I run a bitcoin business myself, I know that feeling even on a smaller scale.

To give Brian and ultimately Coinbase the benefit of the doubt, I waited a few days before writing this article. I tweeted Brian several times (no response) and also reached out to the Coinbase press team. They told me they’d get to the bottom of it, but I guess Brian probably consolidates the mailings at times.” It’s been a day since that message (no more doubt-benefit) and they haven’t sent for explanation.

Related: Coinbase Wins $470,000 Refund in Insider Trading Case

The email from the press team was particularly left-wing because it referred to batch processing. Batch processing consolidates multiple payments into a single transaction on the Bitcoin blockchain, not the Lightning Layer 2 network. Again, they don’t know about Lightning. This adds further insult to injury: could it be that the Lightning Network just isn’t on Coinbases’ radar?

It’s been three days since Armstrong announced he would be sending the money, and there have been some simply wonderful memes from the Bitcoin community and the crypto community at large.

Brian the “LN Maxi” trying to blend in. Source: @Corndalorian

Armstrong has been active on Twitter, while his company is busy launching new projects and winning insider trading cases for the more than 250 crypto projects hosted by Coinbase.

In the meantime, I’m still waiting for my $100. But I’m also growing increasingly alarmed that the billionaire, crypto OG, and CEO of Coinbase Armstrong had trouble spotting a Lightning address.

Joe Hall joined Cointelegraph as a journalist in 2021. He holds an MA in French and Spanish from the University of Edinburgh and a BA in Languages ​​from Sceinces Po Lyon.

This article is for general informational purposes and is not intended to be and should not be considered legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed herein are the sole authors and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

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