Can the Bitcoin network have it both ways, i.e. maintain its original design and still serve as a high-speed network for micropayments? Through the Lightning Network, it can, and we’ll show you exactly how to use the Lightning Network for everyday transactions like paying for a cup of coffee.
The Lightning Network is an example of a Layer 2 bitcoin service. An off-chain approach was first formally proposed by Joseph Poon and Thaddeus Dryja in 2015.
In practice, it takes the burden of small transactions off the Bitcoin blockchain and instead employs micropayment channels, controlled through something called multi-signature (multi-sig) wallets. This is a fancy term for a way of two or more parties all having to agree to changes to balances of mutually held payment channels.
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