Hello,
Lightning Network is being used for some years now, but only this year it become normal to use it for payments.
What is Lightning Network?
It works as a Layer 2 solution for Bitcoin, bringing the transactions fees to zero or almost zero, El Salvador adopted this to make Bitcoin legal tender in the country and people are paying close to no fees by paying with Bitcoin.
What are the advantages?
You know that the transactions fees for Bitcoin can become extremely high, lightning network solves this problem, you get to use Bitcoin without having to deal with this fees. If a coffee costs 1$ using LN you will only pay 1$ converted in Bitcoin.
The interface is easy to use and a QR code is the only thing you have to worry about, so nothing hard in that.
As you can see this allows for a easier adoption for people to pay with their Bitcoin and to be used as a Countries currency.
What are the disadvantages?
Bitcoin is clear about decentralization and self custody of coins, these are core fundamentals of Bitcoin. The Lightning Network is a Layer 2 solution and is extremely centralized, this means that it goes against all the fundamentals of Bitcoin. In this network you have a middle-man between your BTC and the transaction you are making.
It's also to note that some Lightning Network wallets are custodial (some ask for this, some don't), this means that you have to give personal information to use it, once again this makes no sense when you know what BTC is all about. A government that adopts this will see every transaction made by you and where you have spent your BTC.
Is it worth giving up some concepts to use LN?
In my opinion, no it's not worth it. Bitcoin was created to fight this type of things, you are using a Network that gives all the data a government wants, to control you. With this type of network the financial system will stay the same and will favour the same. By not using it you are favouring decentralization and equality.
There's a need to find a decentralized solution for Bitcoin fees or you can accept that Bitcoin is digital gold and can't be used for normal transactions.
I think Bitcoin Cash found a good solution to lower this fees and this is the type of evolution we need to look at. Although the transaction time in BCH is still not fast enough, but lets take one step at a time.
In conclusion, I find Bitcoin to be great and a good help to evolve our financial system to another level, but you have to be carefull with what's going on with this very centralized projects, they are not as great as they seem to be when you research the technology behind it.
Best Regards,
Cryptopeach
