A tool called AcceptLN allows anyone with an email address to receive bitcoins. To this end, it uses the Lightning micropayment network, which allows instant transfers with low fees. The potential of this technology is great, because it doesn't matter if the recipient of the funds has never used Bitcoin, and besides, almost anyone has an email address.

The announcement from LN Markets, a company focused on derivatives trading through the Lightning network, states that using AcceptLN is quite easy: "when you want to send sats [minimum unit of one bitcoin] to someone, simply enter their email address on the AcceptLN website, enter an amount, and pay the bill."

The mechanism is simple. The AcceptLN node receives the bitcoin sats and sends an email to the recipient of the funds, informing them that someone sent them money via the Lightning network. If this is your first payment with Bitcoin and Lightning, the website guides you to set up your first wallet. This way you can claim the funds by pasting an invoice. In addition, the LN Markets team seems to be working on adding withdrawals soon with LNURL, a tool that allows you to generate invoices in a simplified way, connecting wallets with third-party services.

The service is custodial, since people must deposit the funds they expect the recipient to accept into a node, after creating a wallet. However, the AcceptLN team does not intend for the tool to be used as a method of storing bitcoins and they incentivize people to withdraw their funds and take care of their money: if the recipient has not withdrawn the money in 60 days, they charge a fee.