Everybody got so excited about the Lightning Network when it first came out.
Then reality set in.
Back To Center
If the opening lines triggered you in any way, don’t let it.
- Don’t be triggered by words from a mid-level blogger, you’re too soft
- I am bullish and excited about what the Bitcoin chains can do, see below
Most of what is out there now is attempting to run through the Lightning Network and Stacks, but primarily Lightning at the moment.
When Jack Mallers came out with Strike, which uses and champions the Lightning Network, everyone in the space immediately went to Twitter and started shooting all over their screens.
Jack was all over CNBC, Bloomberg, and crypto publications smiling one moment, cursing the next, espousing the cure for a 13-year-old network that was hampered by its slow speed in modern times.
This was it. This was the fast layer we needed to absorb the world’s demand for fast payments on the blockchain.
Nobody even considered there were other chains (apart form Stacks, which does other things altogether), being built on BTC. Only the hardcores knew.
Admittedly I did not.
That was until I got drunk with my friend Nacho.
Enter the Nacho
Nacho is another digital nomad living all over Latin America. He’s a…bit of an anomaly. A 6 foot 5 Kiwi Bitcoin Maxi, who exudes all the bravado and eccentricities you’d expect from a 6’5 Kiwi named Nacho.
I met him in Mexico City, and we had a long chat about a lot of things, but as maxis do, I couldn’t avoid the BTC conversational shift for too long.
I mentioned Lightning Network in some context, I don’t remember how exactly, but he immediately jumped in and proclaimed…
“Lightning is shit, mate. Absolute shit.”
I was surprised. Not the answer I’d expect from anyone in that camp.
He went on to explain how. How there are holes in it everywhere. How there are suspected backdoors in the code that could end up in disaster someday.
After all Bitcoin is known for it’s top notch security (never been hacked), and now this has changed. Not in real life of course, Bitcoin in its original form still hasn’t been hacked, but now its layers certainly can be.
Kinda kills off one of its biggest features.
The more I dug, the more I found. If you really want to dive deep, this interview with Lightning’s biggest detractors describes it really well AND goes over the other chains being built, what they do, and his opinion of them.
And let’s also not forget that how when it comes to all of the excitement over payment speed, that this isn’t going to even be a thing if people don’t want it.
As of right now, the people who need the BTC payment layers the most, would much MUCH rather have access to USD via Tether, than access to Bitcoins.
I don’t see this shift in sentiment happening anytime soon. Like, not this decade.
Conclusion
Am I still bullish on the BTC Ecosystem? Absolutely.
I love what they’re doing, there’s a built in audience, and if they can somehow show its security and show off its claim to privacy and sovereignty, there could really be something there.
It’s worth keeping an eye on.
But the rest of the crypto world are doing the same things, mind you. There is real competition at every corner.
The BTC Network better come with it.
They might have a long way to go.
— VP