Support Bitcoin Lightning with Greenlight with Christian Decker (SLP521)
Oct 20, 2023
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Christian Decker, Blockstream's representative for Greenlight and expert in Bitcoin's Lightning Network, discusses the improvements in lightning experience, Greenlight experiences, mobile nodes, comparison with other providers, shared infrastructure, and core Lightning features. They also explore the potential of lightning as a force multiplier for the Bitcoin ecosystem and discuss the features of Greenlight, including bolt wealth, splicing, liquidity ads, and PSWOP. The goal is to make Greenlight on par with core lightning, opening up various use cases and enhancing the user experience.
Lightning Network's scalability and real-time capabilities are showcased by the significant growth in the number of Lightning transactions per month.
Payment reliability in Lightning Network has improved over time due to better node management, improved liquidity allocation, and advancements in liquidity management systems.
Lightning Network enables real-time transactions, micropayments, machine-to-machine payments, and instant payments, offering advantages not possible on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Deep dives
Lightning's Adoption and Usage Numbers
The recent Lightning report by Revera dispelled popular narratives about Lightning Network's adoption. The report highlighted the lower bound of 6.6 million Lightning transactions per month, showcasing the network's scalability and real-time capabilities. The numbers indicate significant growth and demonstrate the potential of Lightning's off-chain transactions.
Improvements in Payment Reliability
The payment reliability in Lightning Network has seen improvements over time. Factors such as better node management, improved liquidity allocation, and the use of routing hints have contributed to enhanced reliability. Additionally, advancements in liquidity management systems, including mid-cost flow and liquidity ads, are further boosting payment performance. These improvements have led to higher success rates and faster time to completion for Lightning payments.
The Benefits of Lightning Network for Micropayments and Instant Payments
Lightning Network offers several advantages for micropayments and instant payments. It enables real-time transactions that were not feasible on the Bitcoin blockchain. With Lightning, users can make tiny payments, perform machine-to-machine payments, and even send signal payments by attaching messages to small payments. These use cases were not possible on-chain. Lightning's instant confirmation capabilities provide a seamless user experience and eliminate the need for waiting for confirmation on the blockchain.
Introducing Green Light: A Self-Custodial Lightning Node Infrastructure
Green Light is a self-custodial Lightning node infrastructure offered by Blockstream. It enables developers to easily integrate with Lightning by providing a hosted solution. Developers can register their nodes on Green Light and take advantage of the infrastructure's capabilities. Green Light offers features like spinning up and down nodes, ensuring up-to-date views of the Lightning network, and facilitating secure offboarding for users who want to move their nodes to their own infrastructure.
Collaboration with Validating Lightning Signer (VLS)
Blockstream collaborated with the VLS project to enhance the security and usability of Green Light. VLS provides a validating lightning signer that ensures policies are enforced for lightning transactions. The collaboration involved implementing end-to-end verification, which guarantees that funds movement commands are initiated by authorized users. The partnership with VLS strengthens the security and reliability of Green Light's infrastructure.
Future Outlook and Features
The future of Lightning Network holds promises of exciting features and enhancements. Async payments, where payments can be deferred until the recipient is online, have the potential to significantly improve user experience. Bolt 12 support will allow for static QR codes and enable users to easily accept payments by simply presenting a QR code. Other ongoing developments include improvements in gossip synchronization, multi-client compatibility, and enhancing security for plugins. These advancements aim to make Lightning more accessible, user-friendly, and open up new possibilities for developers and end users alike.
Are you interested in building support for Bitcoin’s Lightning Network into your product or service? Check out this discussion of Greenlight with Blockstream’s Christian Decker. We talk:
Improvements in lightning experience over the years
