While Segregated Witness (SegWit) activation is looking more likely past times the hour, Bitfury is getting gear upward to deploy a version of the Lightning network amongst or without the protocol upgrade.
The blockchain engineering company, peradventure best known for its Bitcoin mining puddle of the same name, successfully sent existent bitcoins over a exam version of the Lightning Network this week. Interestingly, Bitfury’s implementation of the engineering is compatible amongst the electrical flow Bitcoin protocol together with is thus functional fifty-fifty without SegWit.
“This is a major accomplishment past times our technical squad together with an of import pace frontwards for the Lightning Network together with the growth of Bitcoin,” Valery Vavilov, CEO of The Bitfury Group, said inwards a statement.
Lightning Network
The Lightning Network is a highly anticipated second-layer scaling solution that allows for inexpensive together with instant (micro)payments. Cleverly leveraging Bitcoin’s basic scripting capabilities, Lightning users should hold upward able to brand a virtually unlimited number of transactions, where exclusively a minimal proportion of them are recorded on Bitcoin’s blockchain, thereby boosting Bitcoin’s scalability. Meanwhile, all users rest inwards command of their ain bitcoins at all times, maintaining the trustless properties of Bitcoin itself.
“The Lightning Network has the potential to solve Bitcoin’s scalability number together with supply instant payment functionality. By demonstrating that the Lightning Network tin component now, Bitfury has cleared the agency to increased transaction processing together with farther adoption of Bitcoin,” Vavilov said.
Bitfury’s Lightning implementation is based on LND, which is beingness developed past times Lightning Labs.
For its demo, the Bitfury software squad created 2 Lightning transactions. One of these is a forthwith transaction from 1 Lightning node to the next, effectively simulating a payment channel betwixt 2 users. Since it was exclusively a test, Bitfury exclusively made 1 transaction — precisely it could accept made thousands dorsum together with forth at no extra cost.
The other exam was a single-hop transaction, which meliorate simulates the top dog purpose of the Lightning Network. Users pay each other through a usual 3rd party, without requiring whatsoever trust inwards this 3rd party. While the Bitfury software squad exclusively made 1 transaction on this channel equally well, it could, 1 time again, accept made thousands dorsum together with forth betwixt all 3 parties, at no extra cost.
Since Bitfury’s exam took house on the top dog net, the funding together with settlement transactions are recorded on Bitcoin’s blockchain together with tin hold upward seen past times whatsoever typical block explorer.
Tests together with SegWit
Bitfury’s is non the start successful exam of the Lightning Network. Several companies, including Lightning Labs, Blockstream, ACINQ equally good equally Bitfury itself accept experimented amongst their implementations of the technology. But since almost of these companies are working on versions of Lightning that rely on Segregated Witness, these tests were express to Bitcoin’s testnet together with Litecoin. Likewise, major wallet service Blockchain has sent “Thunder” transactions over Bitcoin’s top dog net. But piece Thunder resembles the Lightning protocol, it isn’t quite equally trustless or decentralized.
As such, Bitfury is the start fellowship to teach a version of the Lightning Network upward together with running on the electrical flow Bitcoin protocol.
“We released this start experimental version of the Lightning Network for Bitcoin because nosotros mean value the Lightning Network is an essential engineering for Bitcoin together with would honey to run across it made available equally shortly equally possible,” Vavilov said. “We are proud that our developers constitute a agency to adopt the Lightning Network for Bitcoin without SegWit. It’s a huge pace frontwards for Bitcoin scalability.”
Regardless, the CEO noted that he is hopeful that SegWit volition activate on the Bitcoin network. With BIP91 currently getting to a greater extent than or less its activation threshold, it seems increasingly probable that SegWit could hold upward alive inside a month. This would allow for a version of the Lightning Network that offers an improved user experience.
Vavilov:
“The Lightning Network volition hold upward the almost effective when used amongst SegWit, which is why nosotros are fully committed to SegWit’s implementation, together with nosotros volition maintain working on a version of the Lightning Network that is compatible amongst SegWit.”
Bitfury, which started out equally a Bitcoin miner, has grown to teach out 1 of the largest soul infrastructure providers inwards the Blockchain ecosystem. Part of this effort, the fellowship has been supporting the evolution together with implementation of the Lightning Network for good over a year. Bitfury previously also co-designed together with successfully tested Flare, a payment-routing solution for the Lightning Network.
Watch the video of Bitfury’s tests here:
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