Relai Taps Blockstream Greenlight for Lightning Payments

Swiss-based cryptocurrency app Relai has partnered with Blockstream’s Greenlight solution to enable Lightning payment functionality. The collaboration will integrate Greenlight’s Lightning-as-a-service solution into Relai’s Bitcoin-only wallet platform. This integration will allow Relai’s 100,000 users to make low-cost Bitcoin payments using the Lightning network, while still maintaining control of their private keys. By integrating Greenlight, Relai avoids the need to construct and manage its own Lightning infrastructure.

Blockstream launched Greenlight as a fast and low-fee Bitcoin payment service for developers and platforms in June 2023. Unlike custodial solutions that prioritize convenience but compromise security, Greenlight offers a non-custodial approach that prioritizes security and privacy. Greenlight achieves this by splitting nodes into smaller components, with private key operations performed on the user’s device, and the remaining node and operational needs handled by Blockstream’s infrastructure.

Blockstream’s signer is built on the Validating Lightning Signer (VLS) project to ensure end-to-end verification. This design allows only users to initiate operations involving their funds, preventing any interference from the infrastructure operator or other entities. The setup is similar to a hardware wallet, where the user has control over payments and invoices, while the wallet provider operates the Bitcoin node.

Relai, founded in 2020, is an app focused on Bitcoin trading and custody. With over $300 million in trading volume in the past four years, Relai has decided to incorporate Lightning payments to enhance its services. This move follows the trend of major exchanges like Coinbase, which announced in September 2023 that it would integrate Bitcoin Lightning payments into its platform. This decision is driven by Bitcoin’s significant role in the cryptocurrency ecosystem and the potential for faster and more cost-effective BTC transactions.