A “layer 2” technology that’s making bitcoin payments faster and cheaper**
The Lightning Network allows users to send or receive Bitcoin quickly and cheaply by moving transactions off of the main blockchain.
The Lightning Network is designed to make bitcoin transactions as fast and cheap as possible. It’s part of a newer class of crypto technologies known as “layer 2” blockchains. By offloading some transaction “traffic” to the Lightning Network’s “layer 2” blockchain, the core Bitcoin blockchain (“layer 1”) can move faster.
Twitter allows users to send and receive Bitcoin “tips” via the Lightning Network.
El Salvador became the first nation to make Bitcoin legal tender — in part because of the desire to save Salvadorans some $400 million annually in money transfer fees. The government-created wallet, Chivo, is Lightning-compatible and designed to enable seamless cross-border payments. As of October, Chivo had consistently been one of the most-downloaded apps in El Salvador.
A peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchange called Paxful, which processes millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin transactions in emerging markets and claims to have 1.5 million users in Africa alone, also recently announced it will enable Lightning payments. This integration could enable fast and cheap Bitcoin payments for millions of users.
When Satoshi Nakamoto first described Bitcoin in a 2008 whitepaper, the pseudonymous creator used the phrase “peer-to-peer electronic cash” — proposing that the cryptocurrency might one day become a popular way for people to pay for goods and services online.
But as Bitcoin’s value has grown over the years, the narrative has shifted. We now tend to think of Bitcoin as being more like “digital gold” — or as an inflation-resistant way to store wealth over time.
In part, it’s because of the way the Bitcoin network is designed. Bitcoin allows two strangers anywhere to securely send or receive value without a credit card company or payment processor in the middle.
It does this using a decentralized network of computers all over the world — all of which need to achieve consensus (or agree) about the current state of Bitcoin’s digital ledger. Nakamoto’s solution to this problem was mining, which can be a time-consuming process.
The Lightning Network was invented, in part, to help Bitcoin function more like the digital cash that Nakamoto envisioned. It processes transactions “off-chain” much more quickly and cheaply than Bitcoin’s core blockchain — with fees that are typically fractions of a cent. Lightning transactions are also less energy intensive than transactions on the main blockchain.
While the main Bitcoin blockchain (layer 1) can typically handle fewer than 10 transactions per second, the Lightning Network (layer 2) can theoretically handle millions of transactions a second.
How does the Lightning Network work?
The Lightning Network uses smart contracts to establish off-blockchain payment channels between pairs of users. Once these payment channels are established, funds can be transferred between them almost instantly.
Cleverly, the network doesn’t need to create pairs between all users. For instance, if User A has a channel with User B, and User C has a channel with User B but not User A, funds can still be freely transferred between all networked parties. Lightning addresses look like typical Bitcoin addresses, and the payment process is very similar for users.
At any time, users can close their payment channels and settle their final balances on the core blockchain.
Because only the opening and closing of payment channels are recorded on the core blockchain, the entire Bitcoin network can move faster. Additionally, Lightning Network transactions can be more private than those made on the main blockchain (because layer 1 transactions all appear on a public and transparent ledger).
If you want to make transactions using the Lightning Network, you’ll need to send some BTC (for instance from your Coinbase account) to a Lightning-compatible wallet. There are dozens to choose from. Popular options include both “custodial” and “non-custodial” wallets. Here’s the difference:
