Shocking Innovations
Only a week after the “hard fork” Bitcoin split a new technology is poised to come into effect; Lightning Network. What does this mean for the future of Bitcoin? The entire basis of Lighting Network is to increase transaction speeds to an almost instantaneous level. For 2 years Lightning Network has been in planning aiming decrease the mining speed down to a few seconds. Now that wait is coming to furition.
At the moment current transactions can take nearly 60 minutes. This has to do with the hash; or the mathematical equation, built into the blockchains. The miners need to solve a math equation in order to imprint the transaction on the blockchain. Lightning network plans to change how mining; the act of solving the equation, works by using a separate server and automatically updating accounts after the request is completed. Lightning Network is intended to be used by stores to enable customers to purchase goods instantly to make Bitcoin a competitor for PayPal.
Not a Segway but a SegWit
The entire formatting behind the Lightning Network will be made possible by the introduction of the prerequisite software “SegWit”; or the Segregated Witness, which is designed to increase the total capacity for Bitcoin, as well as the number of transactions. SegWit is the reason behind the split into what is now Bitcoin Cash. But how? It implemented a new system into how mining was handled.
The Segregated Witness is essentially another miner who checks that the math is correct. After verification the blockchain is approved and the transaction commences. Instead of creating larger block chains; which will reduce the backlog of transactions, SegWit allows for more of the same sized blockchains to be produced. But faster. This change will decrease the total size of the transaction backlog. Add in Lightning Network which uses an entirely different server to “bypass” the backlog and create near instant transactions between users, while also having the support of SegWit. The tandem is the key to Bitcoin success in the future, and it is looking bright.
