Ethereum DEX startup launches app store to be 'the homepage of the Lightning Network'
Blockchain startup Radar, best known for running a decentralized exchange (DEX) over ethereum, is expanding its influence in bitcoin and wants to "the homepage of the Lightning Network," according to Radar CEO Alan Curtis.
The company launched on Tuesday an app store that collects all applications built on Lightning Network, the second layer of bitcoin for scaling transactions. The new platform allows users to discover new lightning applications and pay for them via a single payment channel through Radar.
In March, Radar released the Radar ION platform, a starter pack for lightning users that includes news, developer tools, announcements, and tutorials. The app store will add to this offering in the hope to onboard more users to the Lightning Network and allow application developers to showcase their work.
The startup made headlines last August when its decentralized exchange, Radar Relay, raised $10 million from Blockchain Capital, Digital Currency Group, and others. The exchange is based on ethereum and facilitates peer-to-peer trading of ERC20 tokens. The platform has clocked over $250 million in trading volumes over the past two years, and in July it hit its highest monthly volumes of $17 million, according to a company spokesperson.
Radar's expansion to the lightning technology is part of its plan to branch out to a different blockchain network, according to Curtis.
"ION isn’t a pivot; we've identified the Bitcoin Lightning Network as a promising technology (with nearly free and near-instant payments) and launched ION as our second product earlier this year. The ION App Store is an expansion towards our efforts in becoming the Homepage of the Lightning Network," Curtis told The Block.
