'Make Bitcoin Fun Again': New Lightning App Lets You Buy Pizza With BTC

Over 150 people bought pizza with bitcoin this week by using the Lightning Network.

The crypto payments startup Fold, which launched the web-based Domino's portal on Wednesday, basically makes fiat pizza purchases on behalf of hungry lightning users.

"We're trying to make bitcoin fun again and illustrate that lightning is at a point where it is mainstream-ready."

The Fold web app plans to integrate lightning for all its shopping options over the next six months, including Starbucks, Whole Foods, Dunkin Donuts, Target and Uber.

"Since the average lightning payment is usually less than $5 so this was able to stretch the Lightning Network to higher value payments for the first time at volume."

After the Fold lightning integration, Reeves said the startup plans to launch mobile versions of the Fold app for both Android and iOS. This seven-person startup, which is incubated by venture studio Thesis, is currently raising a Series A funding round and looking to diversify its retail brand offerings.

"The largest barrier to conversion was setting up a new lightning wallet," Reeves said, adding there were roughly 1,500 orders but only a 10 percent conversion rate because people struggled to use lightning-enabled bitcoin wallets.

"We've learned a lesson that in order to grow the lightning ecosystem we not only need the best products, but the best education as well," Reeves said.

The Fold team is hardly the only one pushing lightning toward mainstream adoption.

Square CEO Jack Dorsey said during a recent podcast that his company's Cash App will integrate lightning capabilities sometime in the future.