(Newswire.net — February 23, 2018) — The Lightning Network is a decentralized network that utilizes smart contract functionality in the blockchain to allow participants make instant payments across a network. It is a second layer payment protocol that will sit on top of Bitcoin.
The price of Bitcoin has been fluctuating a lot, especially in recent months. From the time it was created, Bitcoin went from less than a dollar to a historic high of about $20,000 in late 2017. Today, it is down to about $10,000. The influx of other cryptocurrencies, government policies, long wait times for processing of transactions, high transaction fees, and others cause a lot of upswings and downswings in the value of Bitcoin.
But the Lightning Network promises to solve a lot of the issues affecting Bitcoin and make the value increase to heights never before attained. The Lightning Network will win over doubters, and more people will begin to use Bitcoin. The value of Bitcoin will increase, and this will ensure that the investments of those that invested in Bitcoin are secured. If you are a Bitcoin investor, you should anticipate the launch of the Lightning Network. It will secure your Bitcoin investment through the following improvements:
1. Scalability:
There is a limit to the number of transactions that the Bitcoin network can process per second. This is because the blocks in the blockchain are limited in frequency and size. The maximum transaction per second for Bitcoin ranges between 3 to 7 transactions per second. The Lightning Network promises to make Bitcoin transactions much more scalable. It promises to allow users make millions to billions of transactions per seconds! Imagine that!
2. Cross Blockchains:
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum use different blockchains. But before you can make transactions from the Bitcoin blockchain to the Ethereum blockchain, you will need an exchange service. Now, there are so many cryptocurrencies that the amount of independent blockchains has increased. With the Lightning Network, cross blockchain swaps can be made in mere seconds. So, with the Lightning Network, transactions can be made across blockchains without the use of an exchange service.
3. Low transaction fees:
Currently, Bitcoin transaction fees are higher than before. In December 2017, the average bitcoin mining fee was $2. In December 2017, that figure increased to $37. The Lightning network will fix this and reduce the extremely large transaction fees that users of Bitcoin have to pay.
4. Fast Payments:
As of now, transactions made using Bitcoin take a lot of time to finalize. But with the Lightning Network, transactions can be made in seconds or even milliseconds.
5. More use of Bitcoin for payment for goods and services:
With fast payments and low transaction fees, retailers will start using Bitcoin. So, in the future, it will be possible to go to a café and pay for a cup of your favorite cappuccino using Bitcoin. The transaction will be made in seconds without any delay and with low transaction fees. With this, store owners and other retailers will be much more agreeable to using Bitcoin for payment. This will drive up the acceptability of Bitcoin worldwide and cement its use for retail transactions.
6. Privacy:
Bitcoin transactions can be viewed on the public ledger. The balance of an address and all transactions made by a Bitcoin address are visible. This has put a lot of people off from using Bitcoin. But transactions made within the Lightning Network are private and can only be viewed by the parties involved. This new level of privacy will increase public interest in Bitcoin. It will further make Bitcoin much more secured.
Conclusion
As you can see from the points listed in this write-up, there are various ways by which the Bitcoin Lighting Network will make Bitcoin much more valuable. The Lightning Network will iron out various kinks and make a lot of things better. More people will use Bitcoin, and the value of Bitcoin will increase.