the What started the end of January as an Experiment, wandered as a „Lightning Torch“ to the whole world. After about 250 transactions this torch but it grew so strong that she puts the difficulties of the Lightning Network of Bitcoin open. How is it now?

Dr. Philipp Giese
17. March 2019BTC$3.983,21 -0.24%part Facebook Twitter LinkedIn xing mail

On the 14. In March the Lightning Network was a year old. This year, a lot happened: The number of Nodes increased to around 7,400, and the total capacity to over 1,000 BTC. However, there is a slight shadow over this birthday was. The Lightning Torch, a Community project that is constantly growing and will always admit heavier.

The Lightning Torch was on 19. January of a Norwegian with the Pseudonym Hodlonaut launched. The thought was that he’s sending a transaction with 100,000 Satoshi (about four dollars) to someone. This should give this transaction and, in turn, is 10,000 Satoshi. With each transaction the value of the torch grew so. What each Individual pay should be, but it is an amount that should be able to afford many: 10.000 Satoshi correspond to the current Bitcoin rate is not even US $ 0.40.

The LNTrustchain, or even Lightning, Torch wandering for almost two months to the whole world. Illustrious persons such as Samson Mow of block stream, Riccardo Spagni of Monero or Justin Sun took part in this torch-passing. Also people beyond the crypto-Ecosystem took part in this Experiment: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman have received the torch alive. From Greenland to Antarctica, from Hawaii to Brisbane, the Lightning transaction, wandered the world as a whole. Even political borders, such as between Iran and Israel, represented for this Experiment, no Problem.

Venezuela was a stage in this torch relay. With Criptodiana the Lightning Torch came to Caracas. She sent these to Bitbros, which is based in Venezuela. They had to operate, thanks to a country-wide power outage, the Lightning Node with batteries. In order to confirm this sign of commitment yet from the other side, you want to pass the torch to someone from Tesla. Tesla is not just electric cars, but also one of the leading manufacturers of power save.

Lightning – If You think it is

not for more… Besides the power failure, the Bitbros, however, face another Problem: the value of The torch is now 3.930.000 Satoshi or about 150 US dollars – what is the current torch-bearer. You were able to pass on the torch to Xavier Iturralde from Ecuador. The Problem of increasingly expensive torch, however, is a sword of Damocles for the Community project. The Problem is in the lack of liquidity of the Lightning Network.

The Lightning Network, you can not receive the easy money, man must himself ensure sufficient liquidity, this money pass at all. Specifically: A torch-bearer not only 10.000 Satoshi that he can add to the value of the Lightning Torch, but also almost four million Satoshi in a with the Lightning Network related Payment Channel, in order to the Community Experiment. Therefore, the higher the torch is burning, the higher the probability that it comes to an end: Eventually, they will burn so bright that no other Channel takes place with a sufficiently high liquidity.

difficulty in the case of large payments

There are other limitations of the Lightning show. Let’s say that a Person is holding four Channels open, each with a Million Satoshi. You could say that this Person has enough Satoshi to pass the Lightning Torch. The Problem, however, is that the money is in different Channels, and these are just not into each other can be moved.

let’s Look at an example: let’s Say Alice wants to pay Dave to 0.05 BTC. In principle, this can go over to Bob and Carol, if the Payment Channel between Alice and Bob, Bob and Carol, and Carol and Dave 0,05 BTC are available.

Now Alice wants to pay Dave to 0.06 BTC. Since in another connection about Erin, a corresponding amount is available, also works. In images, spoken, one can imagine the network as:

you Can send Alice in a transaction of 0.11 BTC to Dave? Since the Payment Channels between Carol and Dave, and Erin and Dave together, these amount to the required sum, would have to go, right?

In the existing Lightning Network is not possible. Theoretically, the two transactions would, however, not a single.

A Lightning-like Avid are now saying “So what? Then we pay in several payments.” Alice would so pay Dave a payment of 0.05 BTC from Carol and Dave, and in the second step, Erin a on the order of 0.06 BTC. In principle, this is possible. For the payment recipient, however, entails the risk that, for example, the Route via Erin can be.

AMMS – Comes from somewhere a little light in here

With all the enthusiasm over the Lightning Network, the Community Event has developed into a stress test. It showed the limits of the payment flow, rise to the question of how suitable the current Lightning Network is for a real payment. Defenders emphasize that the primary Use Case would be real micro-TRANS-actions. It is the question of where the boundary is located.

for these reasons, various projects are working on solutions to the liquidity problem. Some time ago, we reported by the Service Bitrefill. The Swedish company provides Interested, for them to open the Channel in the Lightning Network with a pre-defined liquidity – against a certain amount of understandable way.

Also Protocol-level developers want to improve the Situation. Under the acronym AMP Atomic Multi-Path Payments. In the above figure, we have tried to illustrate the current limitations of the Lightning Networks.

Atomic Multi-Path Payments are now to automate the Search for different paths between Alice and Dave. The paths are searched out, the group possess sufficient liquidity in order to realize the desired payment quickly. In the above image is minimized by this automation, the risk for Dave to receive a partial payment. Who would like to analyze a little bit the possibilities of Atomic Multipath Payments yourself, reference is made to the simulation tool from Robtex.

SLP, Gitcoin, EOStorch – A torchlight procession on the Crypto-market

the competition is That at an Event with great media attention actively, it is not surprising. So also in the case of the Lightning Torch: Bitcoin, Cash, Ethereum and EOS want to show that a Torch like the Lightning Torch for you and you will be able to perform the torch relay is better than Bitcoin.

The SLP-Torch is a project in the Bitcoin-to-Cash Ecosystem, which had the Lightning Torch for inspiration. A Token called Simple Ledger Protocol will be passed on. A Person with the Pseudonym Cipher Gnome started, already had Bitcoin-Cash-Stars such as Roger carried the torch for a short time. Meanwhile, the fire seems to be extinguished; for several days, the torch has not been passed.

In the Ethereum Ecosystem, Eric Conner started the Gitcoin Torch. This was not simply intended to be a Showcase for fast transaction or a liquidity test. The goal was, rather, money for Ethereum to acquire based projects over the Gitcoin platform. Within just two weeks, the equivalent of 14,000 U.S. dollars.

The EOS Ecosystem of the claims is the fastest torch in the crypto-world. The EOS-Torch is passed on, similar to the SLP-Torch, a Token. It is interesting to note that, theoretically, each channel of the torch can give to a message. Some of them read quite creepy:

I’ve been exploring the inescapable magical forms of happiness.

after all, 96 transactions, it may bring the torch so far. Unlike the SLP-Torch and the Gitcoin-Torch, this seems to be still active.

Satoshi World Tour – Little Toshi is Not a the world

plenty of money in a Payment Channel, at the torch gift to participate? Then another Experiment is perhaps a little more interesting: Under the Hashtags #littletoshi and #Satoshi world trip enthusiasts who want to give a Satoshi more together. Unlike the Lightning of the Torch, which was a moose test for the liquidity of the Lightning Networks, consider this a Community project, rather as an example for Micro-transactions.

The Lightning Network, I wish to first birthday and everything Good that it can eliminate all liquidity issues, and as a quick-to-use payment system has been established. And also SLP, Gitcoin and EOStorch for the developments may be to the respective block chains beneficial.

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