Build Your Own Lightning Network ATM

The Lightning Network continues to provide crypto enthusiasts with new and exciting features. This month, an intuitive developer by the name of 21isenough released plans on how to build your own Lightning Network powered ATM. Now, the community can review this open-source project and push it to the next level.

Importantly, the Lightning Network is a proof-of-concept rather than an item you would want to build and place in a public location. Specifically, there are a number of attack vectors the platform is susceptible to. Additionally, there are still some reliable issues getting worked out.

Lightning Network ATM in Action

All that being said, this is one of the coolest Lightning Projects to date. In a video released on social media, 21isenough demonstrates the amazing micro-payment capabilities of his invention. In the video, there's a crudely constructed ATM built from what appears to be a cardboard box.

Lightning Network ATM – 21isenough Twitter

The box features a slot labeled fiat currency with a permanent marker. Amazingly, he begins to put change into the slot which initiates the screen to start displaying data. The screen begins to convert his pocket change over to Satoshis. Importantly, Even though the screen is small, it provides you with all the information you need to complete the conversion. You see:

• Total Sats You Will Receive
• What You Deposited
• Conversion Rate
• ATM Fee

Then, 21isenough pulls out a tablet and scrolls over to the Dapp and creates an invoice for the amount listed on the ATM. Notably, there is even an option to create a 0 Satoshi invoice. Within seconds he receives the deposit. The entire process took less than 1 minute.

Future Modifications

A quick scroll through 21isenough's timeline and you are graced with the step-by-step development of the project. You even get a glimpse into what the future will hold for this concept. In one post, he demonstrates the ATM reprogrammed to function with a bill collector rather than coins.

The LN-Community Gets on Board

The best part of this entire project is the incredible amount of support put forth by the community. All of the coding is open-source and available on Github. 21isenough even includes in-depth video instructions on his Twitter feed. The entire project really encapsulates the openness and community feel of the Lightning Network.

Lightning Network ATM Time

There are already other developers posting videos of their versions of the Lightning Network ATM. In one video, a developer named Ronin Torque shows off his version of the concept. He effortlessly slides a 200 EUR bill into a small collector.

Torque then presses a button to confirm the transactions. Next, he scans the code on the ATM with his smartphone and his deposit is received. The entire process only took 40 seconds to complete and it looked easier than using a traditional fiat ATM.

The Future is Lightning

There is something really awesome about seeing someone buy Bitcoin with pocket change. One could only imagine the wealth you would have today had you followed this strategy nine years ago. For now, the Lightning ATM serves as a rallying point for everyone standing behind this revolutionary protocol.