Can Visa or Mastercard or PayPal offer the same service at the same price for micro transactions like this?
Yeah, something similar already exists in Taipei:
https://www.taipeibiketours.com/single-post/2017/06/06/How-to-Use-Taiwans-Youbikes-in-8-StepsThere's a deposit if you pay with credit card, but they're actually a lot cheaper. The other alternative (or rather the main option), EasyCards, can be used to pay for just about any public transportation and is accepted at major convenience stores if I remember correctly.
So yeah, the Lightning Network isn't really breaking any new ground here, but I'd say it's still a very interesting proof of concept. This won't excite you if you've never doubted the Lightning Network, but it should be pretty fun for skeptics.
Now seriously all this hype is making me turn bearish: PPP
Everyone getting excited about this like they've come out of the forest of Amazon for the first time.
The idea is great but it's not something that will revolutionize anything, it's a service that is copying something we have used for almost a decade but via bitcoins and LN.
Like you've said nothing to get excited, it's the normal course, as long as there is demand there will be offer.
I'm actually curious if he plans to offer his service via
BTC ONLY.
That would be something that would really color me impressed but at this moment I doubt it.
And for god's sake people....read the whole article:
The novel design itself, it’s important to note, only pertains to the rental of the payment for the “boosts” and electricity themselves; thus a separate or integrated system would necessarily need to be developed and implemented for the rental of the bike itself.
