In an interview with CNBC on September 11th, Marcus remarked, "If you want to communicate with someone, all you need to do is ask for their email, and you can send them a message. Yet, if you wanted to send them money, and they weren't a U.S. resident and didn't use the same fintech app as you, you'd run into a problem. It's like we're still in the fax machine era regarding global payments." He clarified that sending money to someone who isn't a U.S. resident would mean obtaining their bank account number and visiting a local bank, paying a $50 fee for international transfers. "If it's past 5 p.m. on a Friday, you're out of luck," added Marcus.
Lightspark, which Marcus co-founded in May 2022 and now serves as its CEO, aims to tackle this issue using the Bitcoin Lightning network.
Even though Marcus was the president of PayPal, he believes that in the future, Bitcoin Lightning won't be used as much for everyday purchases but rather for international transfers. "Our view is that Bitcoin won't be the currency people use for shopping," he stated. Instead, Bitcoin will be used to send U.S. dollars to someone on the other side of the globe, and they will receive it in the form of yen or euros, as explained by the Lightspark chief.
Thanks to the combination of Bitcoin and rapid Lightning payments, it's possible to achieve instant settlements at very low costs.
Undoubtedly, the global payment method urgently needs an upgrade, and it's heartening to see proactive efforts being made towards its innovation. With the advantages of low costs and swift settlements, cryptocurrencies are poised to be perceived by society at the same level as tangible assets.
Bitcoin is about to end the "fax era" in global payments, says former PayPal chief
