In Berlin, Germany, Subway is testing the Lightning Network layer-2 Bitcoin payments system.
Three Berlin Subways, the world's biggest franchise, are testing Bitcoin payments. Moscow-based Subway tested Bitcoin over 13 years ago.
Berlin Subway franchise owner Daniel Hinze logged over 120 Bitcoin transactions in the previous several months. "To help Bitcoin become money," Hinze told Cointelegraph.
Despite merchants, shops, and Lightning-enabled conferences, Bitcoin is not popular in Europe. Hinze offers a 10% discount on BTC-purchased footlongs, meatball marinaras, and sucookies.
Subway restaurants started accepted Bitcoin purchases in 2014. Paying over the LN is quite different. Customers waited many minutes for the LN.
Miners would create the next blockchain block, which Bitcoin nodes worldwide would confirm. The wait time and hefty costs made retail payments cumbersome.