Lightning Network moves a step closer.

[TheQuin]

Coindesk reports the first two transactions on the live network between the three main implementations. The standards are now agreed and we have moved on from proof of concept testing to actual live transactions. There is still work to do but this is a very significant step forward in scaling the Bitcoin network.

https://www.coindesk.com/lightning-last-test-shows-bitcoin-scaling-solution-almost-ready/

Bitcoin's long wait for the Lightning Network is almost over.

Announced today, the startups behind the three most active Lightning implementations have revealed test results, including live transactions, proving their software is now interoperable.

The findings, released by ACINQ, Blockstream and Lightning Labs, effectively bring Lightning (the mechanism many see as the best solution for increasing bitcoin's capacity) closer to public launch.

[thesavoyard]

The question is, will the mining pools allow a software upgrade. They don't seem to be interested in what's best for Bitcoin, just short-term profitability.

[TheQuin]

The question is, will the mining pools allow a software upgrade.

They don't need to, it's already there. That's the point of this post, actual transactions happened on the live network. The Lightning Network is new software that interacts with the existing blockchain to allow off-chain transactions so no modification of the existing code is required.

Here's a bit of an intro as to what it is all about:
https://cointelegraph.com/explained/lightning-network-explained

[thesavoyard]

So it works a bit like masternodes, saves the ownership of the coins until it can be written on the blockchain. I foresee this leading to a new level of backlog that will never catch up. I think BTC needs to be actually sped up though. Even Dash is working on increasing blockchain efficiency, the masternodes alone can't handle a million transactions a minute.

[squatter]

The question is, will the mining pools allow a software upgrade. They don't seem to be interested in what's best for Bitcoin, just short-term profitability.

Don't confuse Segwit with Segwit2x. Segwit was already activated on the network months ago. Technically, the Lightning Network didn't even require Segwit, but all Lightning code to date was written around it because it addressed transaction malleability. The miners didn't support Segwit2x because they're rational and realized that the community didn't support it.

So it works a bit like masternodes, saves the ownership of the coins until it can be written on the blockchain.

I guess you could see it like that. Coins are locked up while you have payment channels open. LN nodes are similar to masternodes in that they collect fees to facilitate LN transactions. It could have a similar economic effect: coins are locked up in LN --> less liquidity/supply --> price increases.

That's the point of this post, actual transactions happened on the live network.

Any guess when we'll see publicly available wallets?

[TheQuin]

Any guess when we'll see publicly available wallets?

It is a complete guess but I'd think just a few months now, 1st or 2nd quarter of 2018. They have a working system but need to be absolutely sure it is secure before releasing it.