On February 18, 2023, a new world record for peer-to-peer (P2P) bitcoin transactions was set using the Lightning Network. The Praia Bitcoin experiment, a Brazilian nonprofit social project, was able to complete 71 P2P bitcoin transactions in just 3 minutes and 33 seconds, making it the most P2P bitcoin transaction completed via Lightning in the shortest possible time.
Packages containing a piggy bank, a t-shirt and a bitcoin debit card (Bolt Card) were distributed among the students and residents of the village of Jericoacoara, with the help of which three every second a payment has been made.
The children could use the card at 21 local merchants and also buy fruit at school for 10 satos, which is about one cent in the Brazilian currency. All this without the need for a smartphone. The initiative was organized by Fernando Motolese, Vinicius Kinczel and Lucia Helena Buso and supported by 2go Fintech, Bipa CEO Luiz Parreira and Bitcoin Beach. The performance was verified by Lucas Ferreira of Lightning Labs, confirming that the funds moved between Bitcoin servers and were available in participants’ Lightning Network wallets.
Praia Bitcoin founder Fernando Motolese explained why the new world record is important.
“This record proves the power of bitcoin and that it is ready for the masses” – He told. “We’re excited to see what the future holds for the Lightning Network, and we hope that this achievement will inspire other communities to adopt bitcoin as a medium of exchange, and who knows, maybe even surpass our record.”
The Praia Bitcoin team plans to make another attempt to break their own record later this year, but this time with the Guinness World Records team in attendance to make the record official.