On April 23, Lightning Labs, a blockchain development company building the lightning network (LN), announced the first alpha release of the Lightning App for desktop on the Bitcoin mainnet.
Per the Lightning Labs blog post announcing the release, this Lightning App is still an early version, and is targeted at testers as well as developers willing to experiment with the software powered by Neutrino light client technology.
Also, due to the app’s early stages, users are warned not to put more funds into the app than they are willing to lose.
Moreover, the Lightning App is currently only supported for macOS, Windows, and Linux. However, the team notes they are working as quickly as they can to get the mainnet iOS and Android apps out soon, as they continue to invest in performance and stability.
According to Lightning Labs, the release of their Lightning App is driven by the same core principles of Bitcoin (BTC): privacy, security, and self-determination. With these principles in mind, they explain that they need to release an easy-to-use solution that goes beyond custodial solutions.
“Scaling Bitcoin and Lightning to everyone means not requiring people to follow complex setup processes or hand over control of their funds to trusted counterparties.”
Helping them achieve an easy and scalable solution is the Neutrino Bitcoin light client. Neutrino reportedly allows non-custodial Lightning wallets to verify Bitcoin transactions with minimized trust and improved privacy, without having to sync to the full Bitcoin blockchain (200 MB).
“Instead, apps only need to download and verify tens of megabytes worth of filter headers in a matter of minutes. This enables non-custodial solutions on mobile phones as well as other low-powered devices.”
If the lightning network honors Bitcoin’s core principles and proves to be successful, it could be a complete game changer that leads to the mass adoption of Bitcoin.
As put by Frank Erdman, a Bitcoin enthusiast and lightning network fan, LN will completely revolutionize BTC, making it a viable cryptocurrency that everyday people can use.
Comparing the lightning network with HTML, Erdman said:
“LN is to BTC what HTML was to Internet – we had ‘internet’ since 1969, but not until HTML / world wide web came along in 1989 could it be used by regular people. LN makes BTC available to everyday people who are less technical.”
Do you think the Lightning Network is the solution to Bitcoin’s scalability problems? Will LN be a success and drive mass adoption? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.
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