What Can I Do With Lightning Today?

The Lightning Network is rapidly expanding, and there are already thousands of use cases available today. You can pay at merchants that accept Lightning, buy gift cards, tip creators, support podcasters, or use Lightning-enabled online marketplaces. Many platforms integrate Lightning for pay-per-view content, micro-subscriptions, or donations.

One of Lightning’s biggest strengths is enabling tiny payments—fractions of a cent—that would be impossible with traditional payment systems. This opens the door to new digital business models, like stream-per-minute audio, pay-per-article reading, or real-time micropayments between apps and services.

Lightning is also increasingly used in emerging markets for remittances and daily spending. Because it’s instant and extremely low-cost, it provides a practical alternative to expensive bank transfers or cash-based systems. As adoption grows and tools become more user-friendly, Lightning continues to bring Bitcoin to life in everyday transactions.