You may have doubted its utility and ability to change the world of cryptocurrency... doubt no more. The Lightning Network, a solution to the scalability solutions of Bitcoin and other LN-capable coins, is working as intended in testing and is nearly ready for mass adoption. The importance of the Lightning Network should not be under-estimated. This solution to Bitcoin's currently slow and expensive nature will change how cryptocurrency is transacted. With LN, payments are virtually instantaneous and cost less than a penny. Here is a simple video demonstration of the Lightning Network in action:



In this demo video, Bitcoin is transacted to buy bird seed and is transacted instantly, at virtually no cost. Up until last year, Bitcoin was slowing under its own weight, too popular for its own good. Alternative currencies offered solutions to scaling issues. Traders began buying these alternative currencies for their speed and efficiency. Many of these alternative currency loyalists will argue against LN, critiquing the costly need to open channels or the possible susceptibility to centralisation, for example. Andreas Antonopolous, an expert authority in the world of Bitcoin, dispels these and other fears in a recent Q&A on Youtube:

