Thread.
1) The Lightning Network (and multilayered protocols more generally) are a more complex to design and implement than a flood network, like the Bitcoin base layer.
1) The Lightning Network (and multilayered protocols more generally) are a more complex to design and implement than a flood network, like the Bitcoin base layer.
2) But it is the only technically viable approach to cheap, secure, and instant micropayments yet presented on Bitcoin I'm aware of that does not severely compromise Bitcoin's value proposition.
3) This is just from first principles in network engineering and computer science. It is the result of some fairly simple calculations of computational complexity.
4) Bitcoin was missold as a cheap, secure, instant payment network years ago, at a time when the transaction volume was very small and the market cap was FAR smaller than it is today.
5) Unfortunately, just like you cannot scale an ant to the size of an elephant without it getting crushed under its own weight, you cannot scale the original Bitcoin design by just doing more of the same thing.
6) Yes, this means a lot more work in infrastructure is necessary, as well as rethinking and redesign.
7) This might not seem as sexy as newer projects promising killer features in the first generation. Sure, you will probably not be able to heavily monetize the infrastructure itself right away.
8) You will also probably not be able to do $50m ICOs for it. And as an investor in this tech, you will probably not see massive short term ROI.
9) But make no mistake, the ability to trustlessly update state with only some participants of the network rather than requiring everyone to stay synched up with everyone always is nothing short of revolutionary.
10) This development is comparable to efficient power distribution networks that eventually made it unnecessary for every electrified house to be near a power plant.
11) It took quite a few years from the time of the earliest light bulbs until most homes had electric light fixtures with a constant power supply. A large, efficient distribution network was WAAY more complex than just hooking up the bulb directly to a battery or a generator.
12) Cryptospace, for better or worse, has been flooded by many folks motivated by quick, easy returns. Capital has gushed in.
13) This means that quite a few early adopters and innovators have been flush with cash, giving them the freedom to dedicate themselves fulltime to improving the space.
14) However, it also has attracted many opportunists, not all of whom have the best intentions. And the worst part is that telling these folks apart isn't always so straightforward.
15) Beyond a certain point, too much capital seems to make people lazy and highly prone to corruption.
16) Even if you believe yourself above this, if you have ever felt even a tiny bit of envy for someone who might have gotten more capital than you, yoy are already prime material for corrupting influence.
17) That's how corruption works. People will come at you with superficially very appealing offers - your ego will get pampered.
18) Eventually, you are in too deep and can no longer back out, even as things become more unpleasant for you. No, money will not buy you happiness here.
19) It is nice to not have to worry about how you will pay bills. It is nice to be able to afford luxuries. But too much comfort tends to lead to maladaptation.
20) Eventually, reality always has a way of creeping its way back in. When people become obsessed over grabbing as much of the pie as they can, they forget how to bake a nice pie in the first place.
21) THE END
