THE LIGHTNING NETWORK - LAYER 2 OF BITCOIN

The Lightning Network is designed to make bitcoin transactions as fast and cheap as possible. It’s part of a newer class of crypto technologies known as “layer 2” blockchains — which you can think of as being a little like HOV lanes on highways. By offloading some transaction “traffic” to the Lightning Network’s “layer 2” blockchain, the core Bitcoin blockchain (“layer 1”) can move faster. 

• Twitter allows users to send and receive Bitcoin “tips” via the Lightning Network. Via a Lightning Network-compatible payments app called Strike, many of Twitter’s 360 million monthly active users can send Bitcoin payments to other Twitter accounts instantly and for free. (Twitter isn’t actually the first creator-driven social platform to incorporate the Lightning Network — Substack has allowed BTC payments since late August.)
• El Salvador became the first nation to make Bitcoin legal tender — in part because of the the desire to save Salvadorans some $400 million annually in money transfer fees. The government-created wallet, Chivo, is Lightning-compatible and designed to enable seamless cross-border payments. As of October, Chivo had consistently been one of the most-downloaded apps in El Salvador.

The Lightning Network uses smart contracts to establish off-blockchain payment channels between pairs of users. Once these payment channels are established, funds can be transferred between them almost instantly. 
Cleverly, the network doesn’t need to create pairs between all users. For instance, if User A has a channel with User B, and User C has a channel with User B but not User A, funds can still be freely transferred between all networked parties. Lightning addresses look like typical Bitcoin addresses, and the payment process is very similar for users.
At any time, users can close their payment channels and settle their final balances on the core blockchain. 
Because only the opening and closing of payment channels are recorded on the core blockchain, the entire Bitcoin network can move faster. Additionally, Lightning Network transactions can be more private than those made on the main blockchain (because layer 1 transactions all appear on a public and transparent ledger).
How can you get started with the Lightning Network?
Our concierge team will walk you through the opportunities on how you can use the Lightning Network to accelerate your business.