Bitcoin’s mainnet Lightning Network has touched a new milestone across the community as its speedy completion advances in the year 2019. According to a data monitoring website, the amount of active nodes at 6124, with 24,458 channels, and the Lightning transaction volume is at an all-time high at 660 BTC ($2.4 million).
What is the Bitcoin Lightning Network?
Bitcoin’s blocks are restricted to 1MB in size. However, as cryptocurrencies meet mainstream enactment, the number of transactions is developing exponentially, and the current block size is by no means adequate to concoct the extensive number of transactions taking place on the Bitcoin network.
Therefore, with the implementation of the lightning network, by combining a smart contract script into the Bitcoin network that would clear private payment channels between a single node and all of the other nodes that they negotiate with. For each one of these separate payment courses that they are part of, the nodes would have one course open to the Bitcoin blockchain. As a result, the nodes can negotiate amongst themselves in their own courses, but only the ultimate result of the transaction would be proclaimed to the blockchain. Because of these batches of separate channels, miners would only have to concoct a section of the activities that they currently serve. Hence, in assumption, the lightning network advances peer-to-peer transactions more effective, scale-free, and low cost.
The improvement in size arrives as Lightning gains clout past the Bitcoin professional society thanks to a user-operated action receiving other familiarized with how the network operates. Definitely, Lightning Torch, a relay transaction being hopped between nodes, has previously gained support from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in what became a broadly advertised issue.
Real-Time Lightning Network Statistics
The following is the real-time statistics of the network:
- Number of Nodes :6,124 (+14.62%)
- Number of Channels: 24,458 (+24.5%)
- Network Capacity 654.84 BTC (+14%)
- Nodes with Active Channels: 3,110 (+21.77%)
Why is Lightning Network rising so swiftly?
There is an extreme demand for extremely agile and incredibly low-cost Bitcoin payments, which is particularly valid in the state of microtransactions which is not inscribed by on-chain Bitcoin activities. Also, the growing availability of simple to follow models and mechanisms for utilizing the Lightning Network. The growing public recognition of the advantages of Lightning Network is also responsible for the rising of the network.
In the month of November 2018, the Lightning Network capacity had increased by almost 300% in ten days. Normal application of the Lightning Network consists of initiating a payment carrier by perpetrating a funding transaction to the appropriate blockchain, supported by creating any number of Lightning transactions. These transactions update the provisional allocation of the carrier’s stocks without declaring to the blockchain which is then optionally supported by stopping the payment channel by declaring the final variant of the transaction to distribute the channel’s funds.
Disclaimer: This information should not be interpreted as an endorsement of any cryptocurrency. It is not a recommendation to trade. The crypto market is full of surprises and overhyped assets. Do your research before buying anything. Do not invest more than you can afford to lose.
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