[2019-01-30] Spongebob-Themed Tech Proves That Bitcoin’s Lightning Is Advancing

[Lucius]

This Spongebob-Themed Tech Proves That Bitcoin’s Lightning Is Advancing

“Wumbology, the study of ‘wumbo’. It’s first grade, Spongebob!”

For the uninitiated, that’s a quote from the Nickelodeon animated series Spongebob Squarepants. Spoken by the jolly starfish Patrick Star, it describes the word “wumbo” – to which the eponymous character responds: “I don’t think that’s a real word.”

Well, thanks to some up-and-coming technology built on bitcoin, Star is looking to be correct.

Pinched from the cartoon, the term wumbo now describes one of the next milestones for bitcoin’s lightning network, the payments layer bitcoin developers are heads-down on in order to solve the digital money’s biggest problem: that it only supports a few users right now – let a worldwide ecosystem.

“I wumbo, you wumbo, he, she, me wumbo,” Star explains further.

https://www.coindesk.com/this-spongebob-themed-tech-proves-that-bitcoins-lightning-is-advancing


Development of BTC lightning network unstoppable is going forward, and this upgrade will allow user to change limit on how much money can be locked in lightning channel. For now it is only 167.77216mBTC, and users will in future get option to remove this limit. Is this a good option and how many actually it helps the wider adaptation of LN?

[DooMAD]

The training wheels are coming off.  They grow up so fast, heh.   

The timing seems fairly reasonable for it.  Will be interesting to see if users start cautious or immediately begin moving mega-money around.  If I had to guess, it's probably the latter.  There always seems to be that "something to prove" mentality when it comes to new advancements.

[deisik]

The timing seems fairly reasonable for it.  Will be interesting to see if users start cautious or immediately begin moving mega-money around.  If I had to guess, it's probably the latter.  There always seems to be that "something to prove" mentality when it comes to new advancements

It would be an exercise in stupidity and futility

Really, what's the purpose of recklessly moving money around? I'm not speaking that no one will be moving "mega-money" just for the sake of it, but even if some inquisitive and curious users actually engage in this activity for some time, what will it change in a major way? Okay, now everyone starts to open payment channels and shuffle their coins around, and to what end exactly? To prove that they can?

[DooMAD]

The timing seems fairly reasonable for it.  Will be interesting to see if users start cautious or immediately begin moving mega-money around.  If I had to guess, it's probably the latter.  There always seems to be that "something to prove" mentality when it comes to new advancements

It would be an exercise in stupidity and futility

Really, what's the purpose of recklessly moving money around? I'm not speaking that no one will be moving "mega-money" just for the sake of it, but even if some inquisitive and curious users actually engage in this activity for some time, what will it change in a major way? Okay, now everyone starts to open payment channels and shuffle their coins around, and to what end exactly? To prove that they can?

Futility, perhaps, but also an exercise in freedom.

I doubt that all the BTC currently changing hands over LN are for the purchase of real-world goods and services.  Some of it is almost certainly just users experimenting, or even just plain dicking about.  And that's their prerogative, I guess.  Providing they are doing it of their own free will, I honestly don't see a problem with it.  They presumably know the risks involved.  If they still want to do it just for the hell of it, then why not?

[deisik]

The timing seems fairly reasonable for it.  Will be interesting to see if users start cautious or immediately begin moving mega-money around.  If I had to guess, it's probably the latter.  There always seems to be that "something to prove" mentality when it comes to new advancements

It would be an exercise in stupidity and futility

Really, what's the purpose of recklessly moving money around? I'm not speaking that no one will be moving "mega-money" just for the sake of it, but even if some inquisitive and curious users actually engage in this activity for some time, what will it change in a major way? Okay, now everyone starts to open payment channels and shuffle their coins around, and to what end exactly? To prove that they can?

Futility, perhaps, but also an exercise in freedom.

I doubt that all the BTC currently changing hands over LN are for the purchase of real-world goods and services.  Some of it is almost certainly just users experimenting, or even just plain dicking about.  And that's their prerogative, I guess.  Providing they are doing it of their own free will, I honestly don't see a problem with it.  They presumably know the risks involved.  If they still want to do it just for the hell of it, then why not?

That's not a problem on its own

The real problem is likely to arise when people start to interpret this as a sign of great success of the Lightning Network technology (which seems to be the case already). Well, technically, it would be so, but I still wouldn't call it a success as the real success will come when it actually starts being used for payments and wealth transfer on a grand scale, not for experimenting and testing or just for kicks ("dicking around")