Lightning Network Implementation in 2018?

makeorbrake

What are the chances that we will see implementation of Lightning Network with BTC in 2018?


My original interest in BTC was as a practical currency rather than a store of value. It started out with fast TX times and low TX costs - but not only is this not an advantage anymore, it's gone to the other end of the spectrum whereby these things are major disadvantages for btc currently.

Lightning Network could be a game changer and bring btc back into play as a usable currency for microtransactions. From what I can figure out, LN testing has been successful but the gravity of introducing something like this probably means that testing will be ongoing for some time.


Anyone any idea if we will see a practical implementation in 2018?

sunrainmooncl

I'm not sure but I think the test environment is open for people to try themselves. I'm going to check it out whenever I have some free time (between turkey sambos)

makeorbrake

If this is to be believed, then it's unlikely.


https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoins-2018s-bottleneck/


It's incredible to think that there are only 10 full time developers working on Lightning.


Whilst they've proven the concept - due to the gravity of the implementation of something like this, it seems they will be testing this again and again and again before they will release it.

There's a definite logic in that. However, as the author of that report eludes to, TIME is the enemy. Bitcoin currently stands charged of being useless as a currency. If people start to get frustrated that it simply can't be used practically, then they may very well bail out altogether or back another crypto.


It's incredibly frustrating as Lightning would be a game changer.

covfefe

Elizabeth Stark who is a cofounder of Lightning Labs has said there should be a release in less than 6 months:

https://twitter.com/starkness/status/676599570898419712

One of the lightning developers has recently been testing lightning on the Bitcoin mainnet:

https://twitter.com/alexbosworth/status/946175898029395968

Development is moving as fast as I'd expect when developing on a global financial network work hundreds of billions of dollars, you can't rush that, I prefer slow and well tested personally so don't find it frustrating at all. I agree that it will be a game changer for the payment aspect of Bitcoin.

makeorbrake

covfefe wrote: »

Development is moving as fast as I'd expect when developing on a global financial network work hundreds of billions of dollars, you can't rush that, I prefer slow and well tested personally so don't find it frustrating at all. I agree that it will be a game changer for the payment aspect of Bitcoin.

Ordinarily I would of course agree with you. They can't release something flawed in an industry dealing with $$ billions.

My only fear is that in the short term, there may be a shift towards another crypto. (I guess I have skin in the game in terms of investment so my views are being coloured by that - rather than looking at the unfolding of the technology as a whole in a holisitic way!).


That said, if what you reported is true (implementation within 6 months), that's awesome and as much as I would have hoped for.

Whelo79

covfefe wrote: »

Elizabeth Stark who is a cofounder of Lightning Labs has said there should be a release in less than 6 months:

https://twitter.com/starkness/status/676599570898419712

This tweet is from 2 years ago!

Tinder Surprise

I've been doing a lot of catching up when it comes to the whole cryptocurrency world and a hell of a lot of reading and research over the past two weeks....

am I correct in saying that this new Lightning Network will give Bitcoin the shot in the arm it needs when it comes to speed of transaction and remove the latency which seems to be the #1 gripe that bitcoin has at this point in time?

If so, would this not be bad news for say the likes of Litecoin which kinda models itself on the leaner, meaner, faster more useable crypto coin that can be used for everyday use 'vs' the heavy juggernaut that Bitcoin is seen as today which in its current form cannot really be applied to say daily use/transactions like regular FIAT money can.

Again; I probably have this all wrong so all advice welcome.

makeorbrake

Tinder Surprise wrote: »

am I correct in saying that this new Lightning Network will give Bitcoin the shot in the arm it needs when it comes to speed of transaction and remove the latency which seems to be the #1 gripe that bitcoin has at this point in time?

Yes, I believe that to be the case.

Tinder Surprise wrote: »

If so, would this not be bad news for say the likes of Litecoin which kinda models itself on the leaner, meaner, faster more useable crypto coin that can be used for everyday use 'vs' the heavy juggernaut that Bitcoin is seen as today which in its current form cannot really be applied to say daily use/transactions like regular FIAT money can.

It would be a problem for them, yes. IF properly implemented, all of those guys that have relished saying BTC couldn't possibly be a functional currency can get a kick in the arás.
As for litecoin, it sounds like an attractive prospect. However has it been properly tested? Yes, it's been out there for a few years but when the time comes, could it deal with volume - or would there be other trade-offs? When bitcoin came out first - and in the first number of years it was fast and cheap. It hit growing pains as it went - and faces even bigger ones now as it grows exponentially. However, they've all been overcome.

I don't know much about altcoins - but a whitepaper can look wonderful and sound like it will solve world problems. However, you simply don't know until it's been out at sea and weathered a few storms as to whether it can cope in the real world.

Whelo79 wrote:

This tweet is from 2 years ago!

Good spot!,......damn it to hell though!...really would love to see Lightning take off this year.

makeorbrake

For any of you following the progression of LN, you might find this of interest;


Lightning Ramp

Lightning Ramp Demo


Some had criticised LN as it would move BTC away from decentralisation. However, if I understand this guys implementation, then if routed through different nodes, then perhaps it's not such an issue?

garrettod

Hi,

Regardless of whether the Lightening Network ever gets going or not, the question I'm asking myself is will BTC ever be used as a typical payment method in the future and if so, particularly for high volume, relatively low value transactions ?

I find myself thinking it will never be used in such a manner. It's become too much of a speculative currency now imho, with everything from virgin crypto investors to highly trained short sellers working for large international finance houses and Banks, betting on it. That just inflames the crazy volatility and by extension, the unlikely scenario where vendors would be willing to accept it as payment for goods or services (and by extension, taking on the massive risk that they'll lose out if BTC drops in value after they accept it as payment).

Anyone got a different view and if so, why ?

Cheers

makeorbrake

garrettod wrote: »

Anyone got a different view and if so, why ?

The speculation thing is just a side-show. The underlying tech is being worked on as it always was before the masses discovered crypto. That demo might seem impressive but at the end of the day, it's still only in testing. Funds have gone missing on the LN so all these bugs have to be ironed out. Otherwise, when it comes time for roll out, it's interesting that the likes of Lightning Ramp could plug in to a coinbase account and be the conduit to allow someone to get on to LN. If we were waiting for the likes of Coinbase for implementation, that could slow things down considerably.

If it could get released and there was a reasonable level of adoption, I think that BTC would very much be a sound candidate once again as a transactional currency. That's assuming there are no problems with implementation and usage.

If payment is instant and transaction fee is minimal, what's not to like?