It seems like any thread about LN both before and after the new year should be fine.

Nice to see BTC back above $42K as the week kicks off. Was looking like the price might keep sliding.

Of course, I agree that we should be attempting to try to use various BTC-related resources prior to diverting into shitcoins, and yeah, sometimes we might have fiat-related payment systems that we can use, also.

I have not had a lot of opportunities to use lighting network systems, but I do look out for such opportunities and also try to encourage anyone who is brave ought to also try to find various lightning network systems, and sure there are also differences between third-party custodial systems, and some of the variations of self-custody, in which that Darthcoin lightning wallet review website (the link I already provided) categorizes the wallets in ways that might also be helpful so some of us who have similar ideas about getting used to trying to use (and finding transactional partners to use) lighting network wallets.

Regarding the small transactions, that is also what I have been trying to do in terms of transactions of less than a couple hundred dollars, but there might also be some higher amount transactions that might be cheaper and more convenient to use a lightning network wallet.. but there could also be some questions about how much value that any of us might want to keep on a lightning network wallet, so for example if we recharge up to $1,500 or so, and then maybe we use it 10 or more times for transaction values that average $100 each, but then if it starts to get below $500 or maybe $200, then we recharge it again.. so sure, there could be various ways to think about how to use these kinds of wallets that will make more sense if we are actually finding others who are also able to transact with their lightning network wallets.  Sometimes in the past, some of the "give-aways" which you have received coins in that way, and I have both received and declined some of coins in that context, have resulted in incentives to interact, but also could serve as incentives for some of us to set up lightning network wallets, if the rewards might ONLY be payable through a lightning network wallet address..

I have too much to do in my life I do not want to be bother to set up an LN node or a new wallet.

First off if you mine you can do this for free on the correct mining services.

I am going to create a thread that shows what places will offer you LN

I will only show a service I used with success.


So far as a miner on more than 1 pool or service only nicehash is offering free easy peasy LN

THE catch is simple they can go bust and screw you.

SO using nicehash is for small amounts of btc do not think  you are going to carry $1000's in your nicehash wallet.

other catch  KYC

But here goes today I did my first ever LN send using my nicehash wallet which I fill via mining.

BTW you can fill your nicehash wallet by mining by an LN deposit or by a standard but costly deposit on regular block chain.




I don't want this to seem like a nicehash ad as I am trying to list three or four ways to access non-custodial LN sending methods.

It doesn't make sense to add layers upon layers to Bitcoin for transactions, in my opinion, of course. Because I don't see this as a solution.
In addition to the second and third layers being more insecure and exposed to problems, we continue to need to move BTC from the first layer to the second or third.

Just the other day I gave a very simple example:
It's Friday and I want to go out to dinner with my wife, and I want to pay with bitcoin. So I decide to move $150 to LN to pay for dinner and a few other things. But, when I go to make this movement, I see that the fee is $50. I'd rather not go out to dinner than spend that fee.

I don't blame Ordinal, although I think they should be in the second or third layer. But I don't blame them or anyone else, per se. (Even though I think the pools are taking advantage of this for greater profits, but as you said, it's part of the business.) I just think that a solution has to be found for this issue, so that everything is minimally viable for everyone. I have some ideas, but I don't want to cause more offtopic.

spacer.

I sent 53 usd worth of btc for next to nothing look below

to all hat-avatar wearers like @Torque @cAPSLOCK @hisslyness @BitcoinBunny @Biodom @JayJuanGee @d_eddie @jojo69 @philipma1957... maybe you are interested in being part of the next edition
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5478136.0

BTC blocks are found ~ 10 minutes on average, and i do not expect that part of the protocol to change, but there are already some scaling solutions, through sidechains and off-chain layers, and there would be further developments of scaling solutions in the future and it is hard to tell from now if they would solve a great part of BTC's scalability problems. The LN for example is a layer 2 solution that can be used for micro payments, but it also has its own disadvantages and its adoption has been slow.

Since it is a free market, if there is congestion in the network, the only thing to do is to outbid other users for a space in a block, and those with a lower fee would have to wait or add to their fee to get a space in a block, this is how it is probably going to be when there is mass adoption, and with congestion there would be a spike in the fee rate, something we are experiencing now.

I've said it for years: more people running their own pools would help a lot. The reason behind this is simple; pools and mining have always been shrouded in mystery for some reason. Movements like Bitaxe, I believe, are starting to bring mining more into the light, along with pools.

1 Miner - 1 Pool.
1 CPU - 1 Vote.

I've said for years that if more user-friendly solutions emerge for running your own pool, many would do this, and the network would look very different in a very short space of time, I believe.

Though would people give up on the exsisting way.  Probably not but would be pretty spectacular if it happened.

I think this is what's currently holding back the Bitcoin rally.  The amount of transactions piling up in the mempool is indeed becoming a problem.  The average transaction today seems to be costing more than $50.  That's a lot of money to spend just to be able to spend money.  As a vendor who sells items that cost less than that for BTC I can tell you that there are indeed consequences in the Bitcoin economy when this happens.  It's typically something you see happen at the peak of cycles, so it's troublesome that outrageous fees are already hurting the blockchain.  Maybe someday people will break Bitcoin free from it's Blockstream chains and let it do what it was meant to.

Maybe I misunderstood, but ... there... I highlighted it for you... which sounds like another way of saying miners are ongoingly manipulating the bitcoin fees system in a kind of broken way.. and yeah, maybe you did not mean it like that.. but that's how I read your various astute-sounding "prognostications."  

That's common sense. When fees are high, people don't use Bitcoin for transactions. I'm not surprised that DOGE is used more during busy times as DOGE is the most used crypto-currency for small transactions, I do the same as well. Why would I pay 12-15$ for a small tx while I have an opportunity to send the same amount just for 50 cents? Last time I had to pay over 60$ fee for a Bitcoin transaction I still can't forget.