The world first experienced Bitcoin all the way back in 2009. A lot has changed since then and the world’s leading crypto continues to power ahead and onboard millions of new users. Throughout this time, and consistent with all things in technology, there is an ever increasing need for more speed and bandwidth. Users always want faster and cheaper Bitcoin transactions. Enter the Lightning Network.
Transacting on the main Bitcoin blockchain doesn’t make sense for the vast majority of transactions. You don’t need to record your coffee purchase on chain. The main blockchain for Bitcoin is the Layer 1 protocol. Lightning Network is a Layer 2 solution that sits on top of the main Bitcoin blockchain. You get all the attributes of the main chain but don’t have to literally transact on that chain.
Think of the Lightning as a peer to peer version of Visa and Mastercard. Nodes can connect peer to peer and the result is unlimited, nearly free, and instantaneous transactions. So much so that the entire nation of El Salvador recently jumped on board the Bitcoin train because of Lightning.
This new technology opens up all kinds of opportunities such as microtransactions. The Lightning Network cans send for free and instantly tiny little itty bitty pieces of value anywhere in the world. There is even an app on iOS and Android that lets you earn Bitcoin by playing games simply because Lightning enables this.
Lightning Network can also make a huge dent in the world of remittances. In El Salvador for example, many folks lose 20% immediately to fees of an amount sent via a remittance service. Add on top the costs associated with physically moving to a location to receive funds (not to mention the threat of violence at these money centers in some countries), and very quickly sending money to another country becomes almost pointless.
It’s high time people all over the world benefitted from financial technology so they can move forward and pursue the things they love. Perhaps you like to find bands playing near me or have other hobbies like art and sports, but either way we all should be able to easily send and receive value across the entire globe.
