Summary
TLDR: Bitcoin’s Lightning Network faces criticism for being fundamentally flawed despite recent rollouts in Southeast Asia and on Coinbase. The network aims to solve Bitcoin’s scalability issue by using a mesh network of nodes to process microtransactions. However, developers have raised concerns about the network’s viability and functionality. Despite this, progress is being made with partnerships and funding to improve access and infrastructure. Similar concerns have been raised about Ordinals, another Layer-2 protocol for Bitcoin. Both Lightning and Ordinals face opposition and setbacks, but developers continue to work on improving their projects. Bitcoin’s resilience and developer spirit will ensure that the network continues to evolve and grow stronger in the future.
Key Points
1. The Lightning Network, a Layer-2 protocol developed on Bitcoin’s blockchain, aims to solve Bitcoin’s scalability problem by relying on a mesh network of locally hosted nodes to process microtransactions of BTC through smart contracts.
2. Despite early hype and endorsements, the Lightning Network has faced criticism for stagnation and persistent problems such as lack of merchant access, bugs, and concerns about node capacity and user experience.
3. Recent developments include Neutronpay securing funding to deepen network infrastructure in Southeast Asia and Coinbase finalizing a partnership to roll out Lightning on its platform, showing continued progress and determination in the face of challenges.