Bitcoin lightning network release date

Cross Blockchains. Cross-chain atomic swaps can occur off-chain instantly with heterogeneous blockchain consensus rules. So long as the chains can support the same cryptographic hash function, it is possible to make transactions across blockchains without trust in 3rd party custodians. Powered by Blockchain Smart Contracts Lightning is a decentralized network using smart contract functionality in the blockchain to enable instant payments across a network of participants.

How it Works The Lightning Network is dependent upon the underlying technology of the blockchain. Bidirectional Payment Channels. Two participants create a ledger entry on the blockchain which requires both participants to sign off on any spending of funds. Both parties create transactions which refund the ledger entry to their individual allocation, but do not broadcast them to the blockchain.

They can update their individual allocations for the ledger entry by creating many transactions spending from the current ledger entry output. Only the most recent version is valid, which is enforced by blockchain-parsable smart-contract scripting. This entry can be closed out at any time by either party without any trust or custodianship by broadcasting the most recent version to the blockchain. Lightning Network.

By creating a network of these two-party ledger entries, it is possible to find a path across the network similar to routing packets on the internet. The nodes along the path are not trusted, as the payment is enforced using a script which enforces the atomicity either the entire payment succeeds or fails via decrementing time-locks. Lightning can handle billions of transactions a second compared to twelve per second for Bitcoin. Lightning is being rapidly adopted because it allows for instant and free remittances, cheaper payment processing than credit cards and makes micropayments possible.

As a simple analogy, you can think of the Lightning Network as being like Venmo and the Bitcoin network as similar to sending a bank wire. The two networks, while related, each have unique use cases. Conversely, using a wire transfer to send a friend your share of an Uber ride would be excessive, not to mention costly. Lightning, then, isn't a substitute for the Bitcoin base layer.

Instead, deciding between Lightning or the base layer is simply a matter of picking the right tool for the job. For example, if the task at hand is a small transaction, then the right tool might be payment via Lightning. Lightning becomes an obvious choice if you know that you will have multiple transactions with the same person or business.

At a high level, the Lightning Network is a web of individual connections known as channels. The secret behind Lightning's instant and cheap payments is that it takes bitcoin transactions "off-chain. To be included in a block in a timely fashion, most transactions incur a fee that can, at times, be relatively expensive. In addition, Bitcoin adds blocks of transactions once every ten minutes on average, with best practices of waiting an hour for transactions to be considered finalized.

Lightning only uses the Bitcoin blockchain to open and close channels, the gateway that connects one Lightning user to another. By doing so, Lightning bypasses base layer transaction fees and wait times. It also provides a definitive answer to the question of scalability that has dogged Bitcoin since its inception.

Whereas the Bitcoin network can only process about twelve transactions per second with SegWit enabled,2 Lightning is theoretically capable of billions. Lightning adoption is growing as people become more familiar with its use cases. For example, cross-border payments such as remittances are practically free and instantaneous via Lightning.

Merchants have an excellent reason to adopt Lightning: it's as fast as a credit card swipe with a tiny fraction of the fees. Micropayments, which have been impractical in the digital realm, become possible with Lightning. Lightning Network channels have more than doubled to 70, over the last year for these reasons and more. In Bitcoin version 0. In the years after Satoshi's code appeared, developers made multiple attempts to build a payment protocol on top of Bitcoin. Unfortunately, none of these early efforts succeeded.

In , developers drafted a protocol known as the Basis of Lightning Technology BOLT to ensure these different versions would be interoperable. The last step of the puzzle was Bitcoin's activation of the SegWit upgrade. A few months later, developers officially launched Lightning for Bitcoin. A node is a computer that runs the Bitcoin Core software.

Nodes keep a record of the blockchain, verify transactions, and communicate with other users. However, Lightning nodes differ from regular Bitcoin nodes. Lightning nodes only verify transactions they are involved in and only communicate through established channels. On the other hand, full Bitcoin nodes monitor all network activity7 and broadcast and relay transactions to a wider group of peers. Lightning wallets, ready-to-use applications, are readily available for download for those who don't want to run a node.

Wallets come in two flavors: custodial and non-custodial. The difference is that non-custodial wallets allow users to maintain the key for their bitcoin. With custodial wallets, users trust a third party to safeguard their bitcoin.

With either type of wallet, the user is routing their transactions through a node maintained by the wallet provider. While using a Lightning wallet is more accessible, running a node provides more flexibility, lower fees, and increased security.

In addition, node operators can receive routing fees, small bitcoin payments for helping pass along transactions throughout the network. Lightning users lock up bitcoin in an address that they share control over with another person. One channel owner can't access this locked bitcoin without the permission of their counterpart. When you pay someone with Lightning, the bitcoin that is locked in the address doesn't move anywhere.

Instead, the Lightning Network keeps a running tally over who controls what portion of the funds. This lack of movement is why Lightning is fast and practically free. When the address owners wish to "settle up," they publish the latest address statement to the base layer blockchain. Then, the bitcoin in the address is unlocked, and the Bitcoin network distributes the fair share to each owner.

Let's go through an example of how Lightning works between two friends, Alice and Bob, who are always splitting small expenses after weekly nights on the town. First, Alice and Bob deposit funds via the Bitcoin network to a Lightning account they both control. This type of address is known as a multi-signature address. If Alice or Bob want to close the channel, they need the other to approve the transaction.

Once the channel is open and funded, Alice and Bob can use Lightning to manage their tab with each other. To receive a payment, Alice or Bob will create an invoice. Wallets typically generate invoices as QR codes that other wallets can scan. For example, if Alice owes Bob for a meal, Bob would create an invoice from his wallet software that Alice would then scan with her wallet to pay Bob. This payment would only occur on the Lightning Network.

The only restriction is that Alice must have adequate funds to make the payment. When Alice makes a payment to Bob, bitcoin doesn't move out of the multi-signature address. Instead, Lightning records that Alice now owns fewer of the account's bitcoin, and Bob has more. When Alice and Bob want to settle the tab with each other, they'll close the channel and send the last account statement to the Bitcoin blockchain.

Reasons for closing a channel could include: one participant running low on funds or if the two parties don't expect to transact anymore. Their closing transaction will incur the Bitcoin base layer's usual charges, and the final settlement will take about an hour. However, by using Lightning, they paid only the fees to open and close their channel while sending money to each other instantaneously and free of charge.

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