A Bitcoin on-chain payment refers to a transaction that is recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain. This is the process where blocks of information are added to the blockchain and validated by all nodes in the Bitcoin network.
In a Bitcoin on-chain payment, the sender creates a transaction and broadcasts it to the network. The transaction contains information about the amount of Bitcoin being sent, the recipient’s address, and a transaction fee. The transaction is then validated by miners who add it to the blockchain.
Because Bitcoin transactions are immutable and transparent, on-chain payments are considered to be very secure. Transactions are confirmed and validated by multiple nodes and the information is stored permanently on the blockchain.
However, on-chain payments can be slower and more expensive due to the time it takes to validate transactions and the fees charged by miners. As such, some users opt for off-chain solutions such as the Lightning Network for faster, cheaper transactions.