When will the lightning network activate?

[Platonicus]

Just wait and see. Long live the king BTC!

[RicardoReis]

Here are some videos of people using Zap: https://twitter.com/ln_zap/status/949160102883405824

Zap (http://zap.jackmallers.com) is a Lightning Network wallet that helps users accomplish their goals with a great experience. Taking in complex protocol language and delivering a friendly interface where anyone can send and receive cheap and instant bitcoin payments.

 

[e6ug]

I think it will be too late, there are newer coins with much better tech, and less centralized mining available.

[a-dalora]

I think it will be too late, there are newer coins with much better tech, and less centralized mining available.

With the core technological advantage of being invisible.

[cactus87]

I think it will be too late, there are newer coins with much better tech, and less centralized mining available.

With the core technological advantage of being invisible.

LN is activated already.
You can now use your LN node to pay for TorGuard on main net

[Colorblind]

Hope it'll have a gui.

It will

[Colorblind]

I think it will be too late, there are newer coins with much better tech, and less centralized mining available.

The only reason those coins seem to have no scaling issues is because they lack scale to have scaling problems.

[jvper]

I think it will be too late, there are newer coins with much better tech, and less centralized mining available.

The only reason those coins seem to have no scaling issues is because they lack scale to have scaling problems.

Wow, this is so true! No coin has security, decentralization and scalability at the moment, but they keep pointing their fingers on Bitcoin at all times.

[OG Magnum]

Hopefully soon. I think LN and Segwit should be at the top of the list. It would definitely help with the mempool spamming and all other BS

[amishmanish]

[...]

That means that the key people who are guiding development of key features of Bitcoin need to think more like a finance startup and less like a space research agency - get it done yesterday and the customer is always right!

[...]

It's a community effort, not an attempt to make a quick buck by burning venture capital just to get bought up by Google or Facebook further down the road.

Good to read this positivity and that is what has made all of this possible.
This community effort aims to free people from the uncertainties of central banking policies by giving them a medium of exchange and store of value that is completely in their control.
Though, the present reality is that new entrants and marketing is fast catching up. And these attacks are becoming shrewder by the day.
Isn't it something that needs to be dealt with in small steps? Should we opt for a concerted effort or it should be left to each individual to decide, as has been the trend for bitcoin?

[kesany]

I also think 18month is gonna be to late  it is slowly starting to look like btc is slowly losing its attractiveness
since major companies like windows and steam dont accept btc payment anymore since the
fees aatm are ridiculous! and very slow so something reaaaally needs to be done about this.

i mean bcc has 8mb which is pretty sick compared to the 1mb of btc
(not saying that bcc is better or worse just stating the facts)

[cr1776]

I also think 18month is gonna be to late  it is slowly starting to look like btc is slowly losing its attractiveness
since major companies like windows and steam dont accept btc payment anymore since the
fees aatm are ridiculous! and very slow so something reaaaally needs to be done about this.

i mean bcc has 8mb which is pretty sick compared to the 1mb of btc
(not saying that bcc is better or worse just stating the facts)

Lightning is running on testnet and there was at least one lightning transaction on the main net last month. 

It is much closer than 18 months.  Whomever is saying 18 months now is likely trolling you at this point.  About 2 years ago people estimated about 18 months, and now we are nearly at 24 so it took a little longer than expected (SegWit's delay due to miners trying to block it certainly didn't help), but not significantly when you are aware of the volume of funds that could use it. 

[Anti-Cen]

The only reason those coins seem to have no scaling issues is because they lack scale to have scaling problems.

Agree 100% and they can play around like ETH with block sizes or timing but the old steam engine will not
go much faster and scale.

Nothing at all wrong with block-chain but Lightning is a useless sticking plaster that looks like a scam
to me and I am far from alone in saying this and they can forget playing us along for a completion data
because it would only take seconds for the development team to put a quick fix in for the crazy fees we
are being forced to pay.

public static money MaxFee=1.50 // 20,000 is too many miners, those that  don't like the rule are free to leave

I can only assume that the dev team have become greedy and are owned by the
bankers. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYHFrf5ci_g

Lets keep everything on the block and all we need is to use block-matrix to break the 200gb
of data down into a more manageable size and distribute that between nodes and yes it will
include some degree of centralization but no more than is being built into Lightning anyway

Already Bitcoin is full of scams so whats it all going to look like when half my data is on the
block and others parts are hidden away in private ledgers, do one thing or the other boys

[Shamie1002]

I think it will be too late, there are newer coins with much better tech, and less centralized mining available.

The only reason those coins seem to have no scaling issues is because they lack scale to have scaling problems.

Wow, this is so true! No coin has security, decentralization and scalability at the moment, but they keep pointing their fingers on Bitcoin at all times.

Can't say it better. New coins are easier to use because they are not having the same amount of users like bitcoin does.
If that "new coin" would reach such a demand, we could expect scaling problems, traffic and high fees too.
There is nothing to scale because it's not as popular as it is.
We can never say another coin is better that bitcoin. No one can.

[Victorycoin]

I think it will be too late, there are newer coins with much better tech, and less centralized mining available.

The only reason those coins seem to have no scaling issues is because they lack scale to have scaling problems.

Wow, this is so true! No coin has security, decentralization and scalability at the moment, but they keep pointing their fingers on Bitcoin at all times.

That is understandable, Bitcoin happens to be the flagship cryptocurrency and parades the largest community. In the future and by what time Bitcoin must have moved on, we shall be seeing most of these acclaimed substitutes of Bitcoin bending over to lace their shoes and evidently Ethereum has began to feel the heat already.

[amishmanish]

The only reason those coins seem to have no scaling issues is because they lack scale to have scaling problems.

Agree 100% and they can play around like ETH with block sizes or timing but the old steam engine will not
go much faster and scale.

Nothing at all wrong with block-chain but Lightning is a useless sticking plaster that looks like a scam
to me and I am far from alone in saying this and they can forget playing us along for a completion data
because it would only take seconds for the development team to put a quick fix in for the crazy fees we
are being forced to pay.

public static money MaxFee=1.50 // 20,000 is too many miners, those that  don't like the rule are free to leave

I can only assume that the dev team have become greedy and are owned by the
bankers. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYHFrf5ci_g

Lets keep everything on the block and all we need is to use block-matrix to break the 200gb
of data down into a more manageable size and distribute that between nodes and yes it will
include some degree of centralization but no more than is being built into Lightning anyway

Already Bitcoin is full of scams so whats it all going to look like when half my data is on the
block and others parts are hidden away in private ledgers, do one thing or the other boys

The dev-team is simply trying to do this more professionally than increasing blocksize and risking decentralization long term. There could be some sort of fee cap? But then how do the miners who aren't generating the coinbase block get compensated?

If the idea of opening and closing time-bound payment channels becomes widely used by merchants and users alike, then there really isn't a reason that it won't work. Its already demonstrated on the testnet. I am positive about the difference that LN can make.

Could you elaborate on that block-matrix thing? One thing to keep it in mind that the payment hubs cannot steal your BTC. whether thats possible in alternate implementations or not?

[dx_twisted]

I do believe in BTC, and when something hits, it usually ends in failure. Just look at bitcoin gold and the previous bitcoin analysis.

Bitcoin gold isn't exactly a failure. Even Bitcoin Cash. They are two of the succesful cryptocurrency's that was created within Bitcoin's fork. A fail project will not even have a single cent of a value. I'm not a fan of those two coins mentioned, but we have to show some love with other alternative cryptos as they are the reason why the digital economy is booming these days. Of course, Bitcoin is the pioneer and will stand strong for years. However, without the creation of either Litecoin, Ethereum, DASH, etc. will it still have a movement of its price? I don't think so.

[Spendulus]

I do believe in BTC, and when something hits, it usually ends in failure. Just look at bitcoin gold and the previous bitcoin analysis.

Bitcoin gold isn't exactly a failure. Even Bitcoin Cash. They are two of the succesful cryptocurrency's that was created within Bitcoin's fork. A fail project will not even have a single cent of a value. ...

Not true. There's a large pool of "dumb buyers" in crypto right now.

A failed project is measured not by a coin's value but by a coin's markets and utilization.

In simple terms - which vendors accept it for payment?