Industry initiative Time2Build is paying developers to integrate the Breez Bitcoin Lightning Network Software Development Kit (SDK) into existing open source projects.
According to a Tuesday announcement shared with the Cointelegraph, the initiative is not a hackathon or developer prize money. Instead, they will contribute to existing open source projects and pay developers to add Bitcoin (BTC) functionality.
Only the code accepted by the project maintainer will be rewarded, ensuring that Lightning network features actually reach the user. The representative told the Cointelegraph that “eligible open source projects require FOSS. [free and open source] Licenses, active communities, real-world user base. ”
“The focus is not on demonstrations or short-lived hacks, but on permanent adoption,” the announcement said.
Breez Partners from Time2Build include Lightning Network Company LightSpark, Stablecoin Behemoth Tether, and Bitcoin Education Company Plan₿ networks. The prize money is funded by Breez and its partners, while Draperu and Pleblab also offer special residents as additional prizes.
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Open Source Lightning Network SDK
According to the official documentation, the Breez API “provides developers with an end-to-end solution for integrating self-supporting lightning into apps and services.” In other words, it allows developers to integrate Lightning Network with less effort, without the need for third parties to control their assets.
A representative from Breez explained that the SDK is free and open source for developers to use. In addition, initiative partner LightSpark can integrate with third-party Lightning Network service provider Spark.
The Lightning Network is a Bitcoin scalability solution that proponents will return Bitcoin to its original purpose as a payment method. This allows instant and near-free, unreliable transaction off-chaining that can resolve on-chain later.
Recent analysis suggests that it is even technically solid enough to allow Bitcoin to be sent to Mars.
According to 1ML data, the Lightning network currently consists of nearly 1,600 nodes (an increase of 1.7% over the last 30 days) and 43,561 payment channels. The network can process 3,869 BTC transactions. That amounts to over $480 million.
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Bitcoin Lightning Network gains traction
More recently, Lightning Network has also shown momentum for non-cryptoactor recruitment. In late August, digital bank Sophie Technology moved to the first US bank to leverage the Bitcoin network and universal money address, and it was reported that Americans, Mexicans and others could send money through the Lightning Network.
In late April, global grocery giant Spur deployed Lightning Network Bitcoin payments in Switzerland cities. Still, as Lightning Network features expand beyond Bitcoin transactions, more adoption may be expected.
In late January, it was reported that Tether, the world’s top stub coin issuer, was bringing USDT (USDT) Stablecoin to the Lightning Network. In July, Graham Krizek, founder and CEO of Lightning Network Payments Provider Voltage, told Cointelegraph that 5% of global Stablecoin volumes could be processed in 2028 due to increased adoption of the Layer-2 network.
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