New Add-on: Microsoft Excel users will be able to send and receive bitcoin via Lightning Network
Pierre Rochard, software engineer at Bitcoin Advisory, presented on October 24 some advances of a Microsoft Excel add-on he is developing to receive and send payments through Lightning Network (LN) channels in the spreadsheet application.
Rochard explained that “The LND node software now runs from within the Excel add-on. It should be noted that LND stands for Lightning Network Daemon, the name of the node, which currently comes in beta version 0.5.
According to Rochard’s tweet, Excel users will be able to make and receive LN payment invoices with just a few clicks. He added that this will be possible through Neutrino, Lightning Network’s light client technology that enables those who do not run a full node to make payments through it.
The LND node software now runs from *within* the Excel plugin. With neutrino, that means that a Windows + Excel user can be making and receiving LN payments with a few clicks.
The LND node software now runs from *within* the Excel plugin. With neutrino, that means that a Windows + Excel user can be making and receiving LN payments with a few clicks. https://t.co/qeP2dCJSqp
— Pierre Rochard [⚡️] (@pierre_rochard) October 24, 2018
In Rochard’s interactions with other Twitter users, the engineer pointed out: “You send a payment by pasting the payment request into a cell and pressing the Send button. Also, Rochard responded to a user that the information captured in Excel would be shared instantly with the other nodes thanks to Lightning Network, thus keeping a record of transactions in the blockchain of Bitcoin.
Rochard justified the development of his application in the statement that 99.99% of people working in the world of finance and accounting have Microsoft Excel on their computer. In this sense, Rochard pointed out that the plug-in is aimed at Excel users who want to experiment with Lightning Network’s payment channels.
At the moment there is no proof of concept of the plugin available, but Rochard said that by the end of the month would be the public release of the plugin. In the same thread, Rochard clarified that the source code of the plugin will be freely accessible.
The universe of Lightning Network applications is expanding more and more. So far there are different applications that have adopted the Lightning Network. From games like Super Mario and Pokémon, to betting, to microtasking on-line and drinks like coffee and Coca Cola are part of the set of services that can be paid through the payment channels of the Lightning network. Recently, a hacker of German origin developed an intelligent bicycle (still in proof of concept) whose routes can be paid with bitcoins through Lightning Network.
