Lisk network
How the Lisk network settles a payment
Lisk is an Ethereum layer 2, which in practice means the same currency arriving far faster and far cheaper. It is also the network on this list your customers are least likely to already be using, and that is the whole trade — worth making for some businesses and not for others.
Everything shared with the other EVM networks — why one address works on all of them, what gas pays for, and what actually happens when a payment lands on the wrong chain — is on the EVM networks page. This one covers only what is specific to Lisk. Networks
Seconds, not minutes
Blocks arrive every couple of seconds rather than every twelve, so a payment reaches 12 confirmations in roughly 24 seconds. That is not a marginal improvement over Ethereum mainnet — it is the difference between a customer waiting at a checkout and a customer who has already moved on.
Detection and confirmation are still two separate events, exactly as on every other network. The gap between them is simply much shorter here.
A layer 2 inherits its security from Ethereum rather than providing it independently, which is why the confirmation depth is set where it is. The live value is on the supported networks page, generated from the running product.
What it costs to pay you
Fees here are a small fraction of Ethereum mainnet — the entire purpose of a layer 2 is to batch work and spread the underlying cost. Your customer still pays the fee, still on top of your amount, and it is small enough that it stops being a factor in whether they complete a small payment.
That is the case for Lisk in one line: it makes small payments viable. An invoice that would be uneconomical to pay on Bitcoin and irritating to pay on Ethereum mainnet is unremarkable here.
What this network carries
Ether, and at present nothing else. There is no stablecoin enabled on this network, which means an invoice here is denominated in a currency that moves against yours between the moment you quote it and the moment it settles.
Weigh that against the speed. Faster settlement narrows the window in which the price can move, but it does not remove it — if you need the number you invoiced to be the number you receive, a stablecoin on Ethereum mainnet does that and this network does not.
The part that will decide it for you
Your customer needs Ether on Lisk specifically. Holding it on Ethereum mainnet is not enough: they have to move funds across to this network first, which costs a mainnet fee, takes time, and is a step many people have never performed.
So this network is excellent for customers already on it and a genuine obstacle for everyone else. If your buyers are crypto-native and already operate across layer 2s, the speed and the cost are close to free. If they are not, offering Lisk alone will lose you the sale — offer it alongside a network they already hold funds on, not instead of one.
Which customers this network fits
Worth it for
- Small and frequent payments, where mainnet fees would dominate the amount.
- Checkouts where waiting is the thing that loses the customer.
- Buyers who already operate on layer 2s and hold funds there.
Better suited elsewhere
- Customers who hold everything on Ethereum mainnet and will not bridge to pay you.
- Prices that must hold their value — there is no stablecoin here.
- Anywhere you can only offer one network; this is a second option, not a first.
What to plan for
A Lisk address is the same string as your Ethereum address, so funds sent on the wrong network go somewhere real and are not reported here. The payment page names the network for exactly this reason.
- Fewer wallets and exchanges list this network by default than list Ethereum, so some customers will have to add it manually before they can pay.
- Less liquidity sits on a smaller network. That matters less for accepting payments than it does for moving large amounts afterwards, but it is real.
- A confirmed payment cannot be reversed by anyone, including us — the protection against chargebacks and the reason a mistaken send is gone.
Questions
Why would I accept payments on a chain nobody has heard of?
Because of two numbers: it settles in seconds rather than minutes, and its fees are a small fraction of Ethereum mainnet, which together make small payments practical in a way they are not elsewhere. Whether that beats the obscurity depends entirely on your customers — if they already hold funds here it is the best network on this list, and if they do not, it is the worst.
Can I accept the LSK token?
No. LSK is a real token — it trades on exchanges and exists as an ERC-20 on Ethereum — but it is not an asset in Unheld, and it is not what this network runs on. Gas on Lisk is paid in Ether, and an invoice here is priced and paid in Ether too. The slug names the network, not a token.
Does my customer have to bridge funds to pay me?
If their Ether is on Ethereum mainnet, yes — it has to be moved to this network first, and that costs a mainnet fee and some minutes. This is the single biggest reason to offer Lisk alongside another network rather than on its own. Customers who already operate on layer 2s skip the step entirely.
Can I invoice in a stablecoin here?
Not on this network at present — it carries Ether only, so an invoice moves with the Ether price between quote and settlement. The window is short because settlement is fast, but it is not zero. If holding the exact number matters, use a network where a stablecoin is enabled.
Is a layer 2 as safe to accept payments on?
For the purpose of receiving a payment, the properties you care about are the same: the money arrives at an address derived from your own wallet, we never hold it, and a confirmed transaction is final. A layer 2 derives its security from Ethereum rather than standing alone, which is reflected in the confirmation depth shown on the supported networks page.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from one of these documents. Each was read on the date shown rather than recalled.
See how fast it settles
Create an invoice on the Lisk test network and pay it. The gap between detection and confirmation is the thing worth watching — it is the shortest of any network here.
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