Two of the main obstacles keeping bitcoin from legitimacy as a mainstream currency are its regular transaction fees for adding payments to the blockchain and the lengthy delays in between payments and their recording on the blockchain. The Lighting Network, originally conceived by Joseph Poon and Thaddeus Dryja, allows two users to open up a private channel for however long they want, and only after the users close the channel do their transactions get added to the blockchain. Users pay only two transaction fees, one when they open the channel and one when they close it. The Lightning Network would not only make small transactions affordable and feasible, but it would also remove a lot of the daily pressures on the blockchain, making everything quicker. The Lightning Network is slowly being rolled out to bitcoin enthusiasts.
Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know.
