[POLL] Do you know or use Bitcoin Lighting Network?

[AG0RA]

Just curious to know how the Lighting Network is seen and used around people here  

If you respond 5. prove it! AGORA@conos.io

[Stalker22]

I have used the Lightning Network a couple times now to send tiny amounts of bitcoin.  But to be totally honest, most folks I talk to have zero idea what it even is.  They are all stuck on just buying some bitcoin and holding it.  So around here at least, Lightning is barely even on peoples radar.  And thats a real shame if you ask me.  I have a feeling that the experiment was a failure, honestly.

[AG0RA]

They are all stuck on just buying some bitcoin and holding it.  So around here at least, Lightning is barely even on peoples radar. And thats a real shame if you ask me.  I have a feeling that the experiment was a failure, honestly.

Wow! That's really a shame! Not sure why here is not even mentioned in the forum. Search results only have 5 pages of topics, mostly from early 2012-2014 talking abut lighting storms and lighting boards... but nothing about the lightning network. I'm with no words!

So how people around here think bitcoin will scale? keeping fees at 1sat/vB?

[famososMuertos]

:://:::

Wow! That's really a shame! Not sure why here is not even mentioned in the forum. Search results only have 5 pages of topics, mostly from early 2012-2014 talking abut lighting storms and lighting boards... but nothing about the lightning network. I'm with no words!

So how people around here think bitcoin will scale? keeping fees at 1sat/vB?

Wow!:=>lol
Now, you can't get the impression from a single comment, the statistics of the existing channels are alive, but what the hell are they talking about, mentioning that it's a failure? Anyway, the current Lightning Network data shows the opposite: there are more than 10,000 nodes ( I think...+/-), more than 50,000 active channels, and a lot of BTC, so...The fact that you don't use it or think it's not used doesn't mean that your conclusions are the trend, come on!

I don't know why I think that people who ask these questions or think this way have opinions without ever having used LN.

[DPHOR]

Sincerely I do see this option while making transaction but had never used them to perform that transaction maybe I would say that people do not regularly use but even as that I wouldn't say it's a total waste effort or as something useless because there would be a time where people can start using it that regularly, maybe people aren't that familiar with the lightening network.

[Upgrade00]

Search results only have 5 pages of topics, mostly from early 2012-2014 talking abut lighting storms and lighting boards... but nothing about the lightning network. I'm with no words!

If you're searching with the forum software you should adjust the time to the last 5 years and check the results. I've seen and engaged in many lightning network topics in my time on the forum and I was not here in the time range you mentioned.

Granted there are not many of such topics around now, but topics are brought up when there's something particular to be discussed. We do not have topics anymore on some other features of Bitcoin like segwit or taproot.

[BitMaxz]

So how people around here think bitcoin will scale? keeping fees at 1sat/vB?

You mean scalability, which means you're pointing to the speed of the transaction and fees. Lightning has an advantage, yes, if we compare it with the current BTC network. Lightning has instant transactions and low fees, I agree, but most of the people do not use it since the current transaction fee is 1 sat/vB.
People will only intend to use Lightning when the network is congested and the fees are high. It happens during block halving. People wanted to switch to Lightning at that time, but the problem is they still need on-chain transactions to be able to open a channel. It takes long because once you transact to the destination, it's instant, but you still need to withdraw on-chain, which also takes time.

The Lightning Network still has many failures, security vulnerabilities, and bugs; it is still not a 100% 2nd-layer solution for speed and high transaction fees. For the time being, it is possible that they will find a solution to these problems, but currently I would stay using on-chain for now since the network is not congested and fees are pretty cheap.

[joniboini]

So how people around here think bitcoin will scale? keeping fees at 1sat/vB?

A cheaper fee is attractive for most people, but they also need other things like easier onboarding and ease of use. I think the competition is fierce nowadays. People can easily look for alts to pay for stuff, so LN is not on their radar most of the time. That being said, most services that I use regularly accept LN payments, and the number is increasing, so that's a good thing to see. CMIIW.

I do use LN once the network is congested, but I'm also on the camp that will stay on the main chain as long as getting confirmation within the next 1-3 blocks is affordable.

[aoluain]

I have used the Lightning Network a couple times now to send tiny amounts of bitcoin.  But to be totally honest, most folks I talk to have zero idea what it even is.  They are all stuck on just buying some bitcoin and holding it.  So around here at least, Lightning is barely even on peoples radar.  And thats a real shame if you ask me.  I have a feeling that the experiment was a failure, honestly.

I have also used it too for small BTC amounts especially at times when transaction
fees were very high on the Bitcoin network and it was a very effective low cost
alternative at those times.

I also know people who have never used it and probably never will.

They are all stuck on just buying some bitcoin and holding it.  So around here at least, Lightning is barely even on peoples radar. And thats a real shame if you ask me.  I have a feeling that the experiment was a failure, honestly.

Wow! That's really a shame! Not sure why here is not even mentioned in the forum. Search results only have 5 pages of topics, mostly from early 2012-2014 talking abut lighting storms and lighting boards... but nothing about the lightning network. I'm with no words!

So how people around here think bitcoin will scale? keeping fees at 1sat/vB?

You are correct in a way, there doesnt seem to be much chat on the forum around
the Lightning network. Todays Bitcoin transaction fees are very low so its possible
the Lightning network is not used as much.

[nc50lc]

If you respond 5. prove it! -snip-

Too bad because some Lightning users will not be able to send to a "Lightning Address" since its not a native feature of the Bitcoin lightning network.
Only a select few wallets have implemented it: github.com/andrerfneves/lightning-address?tab=readme-ov-file#wallets-supported

Me, I closed my channels months ago since I barely use them to receive and on-chain fees this past few years have been relatively low so far.
I mostly used Lightning to send "buy-me-a-coffee" donations to services that accepts Lightning payment.

[FinneysTrueVision]

Despite some improvements being made, it is still too complex for average users. I have used it before and was impressed with the speed, low cost, and privacy, but payments weren’t always reliable and would sometimes fail or get stuck somehow. Doing basic troubleshooting when a payment randomly got stuck, like closing and restarting my wallet, would lead to force closures and then I had to wait for weeks for the mempool to clear and receive my funds back on-chain.

This is not the kind of experience that will draw users away from altcoins for smaller sized payments. Nobody wants to deal with liquidity management, zombie channel cleanup, and unreliable payment routing just so they can buy a $5 gift card.

[ABCbits]

Just curious to know how the Lighting Network is seen and used around people here  

So how people around here think bitcoin will scale? keeping fees at 1sat/vB?

I doubt people will adopt LN when they rarely make Bitcoin TX in first place. Creating 1 on-chain TX every few months is more practical than opening and maintaining LN channel every-time you need to send payment to different people/services.

[ChiBitCTy]

A post I made back in 2018 ( https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2852931.msg29271658#msg29271658 )

I highly encourage anyone who's not familiar with the LN or even those that are but want tp brush up on it , to check this link out.  This got a lot of praise from some of the most skilled cryptographers that were around at the time.  I am not that lol, not even close..but I posted a link to a medium discussing the fundamentals of the LN ..which was written by a former "friend" . ..and it's just incredibly well writte/laid out/explained. 

[apogio]

I 've been experimenting with both LND and CLN, but only through Umbrel's pre-built images of the services.

I also remember having downloaded Zeus mobile wallet which connected to my LND node. It was a great experiment, but nothing more than that.

I 've also closed my channels like nc50lc, at least 1 year ago.

It's significantly easier to use Phoenix Wallet or Wallet of Satoshi and, even though the latter is custodial, I don't care for the amounts I keep in it. I rarely hold more than $100 in these wallets. And, to be absolutely honest, too few shops accept Lightning payments in my country.

[NotATether]

Just curious to know how the Lighting Network is seen and used around people here  

If you respond 5. prove it! AGORA@conos.io

I used to run my own Lightning Node complete with channels, but I had to liquidate it in order to cover costs elsewhere.

I still have some sats on Coinos and Stacker News.

I even bought my own LN address: Zenul_Abidin@nostr.com (Maybe there was an underscore not not. I may have a few more, but I don't remember much about them anymore.)

[Ruhila7]

I've utilized the Lightning Network a few times to send small sums of bitcoin.  But, to be really honest, most people I talk to have no idea what it is.  They're all stuck on buying and hoarding bitcoin.  So, at least here, lightning is barely on anyone's radar.  That's a great shame, if you ask me.  I have a hunch the experiment was a flop.

[AG0RA]

I've utilized the Lightning Network a few times to send small sums of bitcoin.  But, to be really honest, most people I talk to have no idea what it is.  They're all stuck on buying and hoarding bitcoin.  So, at least here, lightning is barely on anyone's radar.  That's a great shame, if you ask me.  I have a hunch the experiment was a flop.

Not sure what triggered your hunch, I'm still really bullish on it... a bit of flat line, but hey, still here up and running. check it yourself here https://mempool.space/lightning or here https://bitcoinvisuals.com/lightning for validation

Just curious to know how the Lighting Network is seen and used around people here  

If you respond 5. prove it! AGORA@conos.io

I used to run my own Lightning Node complete with channels, but I had to liquidate it in order to cover costs elsewhere.

I still have some sats on Coinos and Stacker News.

I even bought my own LN address: Zenul_Abidin@nostr.com (Maybe there was an underscore not not. I may have a few more, but I don't remember much about them anymore.)

I guess you have no reason to use it with your community or merchants in your daily life. Otherwise, you'd use it. Or is onchain only for you?

I 've been experimenting with both LND and CLN, but only through Umbrel's pre-built images of the services.

I also remember having downloaded Zeus mobile wallet which connected to my LND node. It was a great experiment, but nothing more than that.

I 've also closed my channels like nc50lc, at least 1 year ago.

It's significantly easier to use Phoenix Wallet or Wallet of Satoshi and, even though the latter is custodial, I don't care for the amounts I keep in it. I rarely hold more than $100 in these wallets. And, to be absolutely honest, too few shops accept Lightning payments in my country.

It make sense, hope the experiment was worth the learning experience for you. We just probably need to onboard more shops around us to make, not only LN but bitcoin itself be more known and accepted as a medium or exchage.

[apogio]

It make sense, hope the experiment was worth the learning experience for you. We just probably need to onboard more shops around us to make, not only LN but bitcoin itself be more known and accepted as a medium or exchage.

These things usually tend to happen organically. I believe that if people wished to accept bitcoin in LN payments, they would already do that.
It's sad that haven't been able to make bitcoin a proper currency yet, but I am very optimistic, having seen all the development that takes place on the field.

[DeathAngel]

I have to be honest & admit that I have never used LN. I will do in the future but at the moment I don’t have a desire to. I don’t use Bitcoin to pay for goods, I just buy & hodl. In this moment I just don’t require to use LN.

[Karl Johansson]

No, I'm afraid I have never use it. But I will do the nearest month.