Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 21 Joss User Experience

A panel discussion between Lisa Nigut (C-Lightning, Blockstream), Rockstar Dev (Strike, which uses lnd), and Miles was among the more enlightened discussions at the Bitcoin Takeover event held at Bitcoin Commons in Austin last Friday. Sutter (Cash app, which uses LDK) is about the different implementation and overall performance challenges across UX when using the Lightning Network led by Matt Odell. During the discussion (which should be public soon) the panel focused on the topic of BIP21, a BIP that I did not know but I was very excited to come to understand.

There is a huge UX barrier at the moment that exists for users of various Bitcoin wallet software providers. UX on sending and receiving bitcoin transactions through chains and Lightning networks. Some wallets are only on-chain, some are light only, and some allow users to use both but force you to manually shuffle between the two when sending and receiving. Enter BIP21, which aims to resolve this UX constraint with the option of sending users optional. BIP21 will enable QR codes that enable wallet providers to include both a Lightning Invoice and an on-chain Bitcoin wallet address in one place.