I was part of a conversation earlier today about what it means for Lightning payments, specifically remittances, to actually be “available” in a particular country/territory. Is it enough that the app is in the App Store(s), or is it only complete when off-ramps (read: banking relationships) to local fiat are established?
What does success look like?
Success looks like usage between parties in those regions. Off ramps arent essential, but certainly make it more viable
App availability and on/off ramps are both parts of the puzzle that make Lightning able to be a success, but if the population isn't using Lightning or these tools then you won't have true success. I'd measure success based on number of users and/or daily transactions.
In fact off-ramp isn’t necessarily bank-related. With CivKit and Nostr we could build peer to peer exchanges. I would prefer to buy bitcoins from emu peers, and local peers with whom one can exchange fiat<=>btc…
Dreams apart I think they are both part of the equation, mostly at the beginning, probably as adoption grows and shops accept btc, off-ramp would lose relevance
You can always use Lightning remittance to get funds, and then exchange it for local fiat out of band over RoboSats, Bisq or other p2p methods of exchange.
Having an exchange is more convenient for sure, but DEXes are universally available and don't obey capital controls. Important as most of the hyper-inflating fiats try to close the escapes.
I hear you, but even among Bitcoiners (and I’m at Bitcoin Park 5 days a week), mention and presumably use of these DEXes is minuscule. Among normies, it’s likely nonexistent.
I want to believe they’re a viable option, but so far, I just don’t see it.
Yes it's probably a bit too nerdy still. But there is a normie friendly version of this sort of OTC trade. Which is just that you receive sats, and then exchange them at your local FX store for cash. I have it on good authority Bitcoin is already widely used like this, although it's still a distant second to Tether.
