You may have doubted its utility and ability to change the world of cryptocurrency... doubt no more.
The Lightning Network, a solution to the scalability solutions of Bitcoin and other LN-capable coins, is working as intended in testing and is nearly ready for mass adoption.
The importance of the Lightning Network should not be under-estimated. This solution to Bitcoin's currently slow and expensive nature will change how cryptocurrency is transacted. With LN, payments are virtually instantaneous and cost less than a penny. Here is a simple video demonstration of the Lightning Network in action:
In this demo video, Bitcoin is transacted to buy bird seed and is transacted instantly, at virtually no cost.
Up until last year, Bitcoin was slowing under its own weight, too popular for its own good. Alternative currencies offered solutions to scaling issues. Traders began buying these alternative currencies for their speed and efficiency. Many of these alternative currency loyalists will argue against LN, critiquing the costly need to open channels or the possible susceptibility to centralisation, for example. Andreas Antonopolous, an expert authority in the world of Bitcoin, dispels these and other fears in a recent Q&A on Youtube:
Once Lightning network is fully implemented in wallets and exchanges, users will not need to deal with the technical elements of opening channels and figuring out how to take advantage of SegWit and LN features, in the same way we no longer need to know how the internet works in order to use it. For now, it involves some technical know-how and manual efforts to open channels, but this will not always be the case.
The Lightning network will revolutionise and popularise cryptocurrency in ways that slightly faster and slightly cheaper cryptocurrencies simply can not. It will enable retailers to accept cryptocurrency in a manner that up until now, has been reserved for credit card, debit card, and fiat cash purchases. Watch for an explosion in popularity of LN-capable coins over the coming months.
For more information about the Lightning Network, check out this article. If you hear more about fears and doubts regarding expensive channels or the centralisation of Bitcoin, I highly recommend taking twenty minutes and listening to the Antonopolous video.
*This is not professional trading advice - it's just my opinion!
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Sources:
https://www.youtube.com
https://vimeo.com
image source:
https://www.livescience.com/61013-lightning-radioactive-particle-accelerator.html