Evolution of the Bitcoin Lightning Network
The day of August 24, 2017 is marked by the world of Bitcoin and Bitcoin lovers as extremely important for this currency system since on this day SegWit protocol was implemented on the Bitcoin network. The SegWit protocol helps in allowing the Bitcoin network to grow and expand in order to accommodate the constantly ballooning customer interest and hence, the constantly increasing transactions. It can’t be denied that as of now, SegWit hasn't been adopted as widely as it had been expected and hence, hasn't been able to make much of an impact. Yet it is still extremely important to the network as it changed the way the whole system worked, wand it has also paved the way for something more developed.
The SegWit might not have worked out the way it was expected to, but it has clearly made the path for a brand-new technology which is all set to bring about a new way. In the world of bitcoin, the focus is on the implementation of Lightning Network, which according to the developers around the world, is stated to bring about a revolutionary change in the network. Currently the lightning network is still in its early stages of use and it’s available to the public for live tests. But it’s expected that in a matter of a few months it is about to become an enterprise grade stable in the bitcoin industry.
The Lightning Network has been developed to handle the sudden surge of traffic in transactions owing to the latest developments in cryptocurrency which has led to a huge growth of interest in bitcoin exchange. This new system would potentially make way for easier transactions and microtransactions using Bitcoin. This results in a transaction being completed instantaneously which means that more successful transactions can take place in a shorter span of time. Aurélien Menant who is the founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Gatecoin has commented, "The Lightning Network is a game-changing innovation, which utilises smart contract technologies to enable instant micropayments using cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin," The lightning network has been built with an aim to create a secure network of participants. These will be enabled to carry out transactions at high volume as well as high speedby making use of real Bitcoin blockchain transactions and its native smart-contract scripting language.
It is expected that the implementation of Bitcoin Lightning Network will change the entire bitcoin world. Lightning is expected to make bitcoin a long term and competitive payment platform that functions within a brand new revolutionised peer to peer payment system. This will ensure a faster and more efficient payment process which will help the network handle transactions in a shorter time span and hence, enable it to deal with an increase in traffic more effectively.
Bitcoin Lightning Network has indeed been a game changer in the fast world of Bitcoins. Although the knowledge about this concept is yet not very widespread, it’s gradually making its way to the enthusiasts and is expected to soon revolutionise bitcoin transactions.
