Topic: The Lightning Network (Read 104 times)

Innovative Features

As blockchain technology continues to develop at such a rapid pace, new solutions are constantly appearing to expand the network’s capabilities. One of these innovations, the Lightning Network or LN for short, will solve the main problems associated with the Bitcoin Blockchain.

The LN solves the issue of performance by not recording all data in the block that is not of critical importance. Since the blockchain acts as an arbitrator and only disputable questions are dealt with, all other issues are solved directly by the network participants.

The LN is based on a payment channel; when a person joins the network, they perform the same actions as when connecting to the Internet through a provider. They find the point at which they connect and go to all the other nodes along the way from several points. As the user they create a payment channel through which they can interact with the entire network.





Development Prospects

The payment channel is an online entity; previously the user’s wallet was a collection of private keys stored offline. This wallet did not interact with the network, however, now the interaction takes place online.

The LN is currently operational with three different implementations. Lightning-c is written in C language, Lnd is written in Go language and Eclair is written in Scala. It’s important to note, however, that Eclair is not yet recommended to launch for production. Pankov made sure to emphasize that all of the software associated with the LN is still in the early Alpha stage and it is highly recommended to work with test coins in test networks, or small volumes of real bitcoins or altcoins.




Advantages Using the LN

Exchanges and exchangers: can instantly transfer between sites. Additionally, the LN provides an automatic exchange between currencies.
Merchants and online stores: are able to instantly accept payments in the particular cryptocurrency.
Games and entertainment: experience the implementation of fast In / Out of coins.
Mass users: experience a reduced cost when using the Blockchain.

The LN is an innovative solution for the Bitcoin Blockchain that will dramatically change the network’s capabilities. Although current realizations are not ideal and for the most part work in the testnet, the technology is constantly being improved and soon it will reach the required level of development.