How will the Lightning network change bitcoin?

Although it may be too early to find out, everyone seems to be questioning about subsequent tests that recall the launch of the long-awaited technology. The network has enjoyed its share of enthusiasm in recent months, to the point that individuals and businesses seek to take advantage of its quick and cheap payments.

From here comes a small Japanese startup called Nayuta, who experimented with the addition of Lightning payments to the Internet of Things, where everything from door locks to BMWs is connected to the Internet to increase # 39; s efficiency.

With this experiment, Nayuta explores some of the implications of technology.

First, the start-up believes that Lightning could bring value to the Internet of Things in a way that old payment systems and bitcoin could not offer because that they are just too slow.

Second, it's one of the first serious companies to work on a Lightning-based product, showing that the off-grid network could have a commercial proposition, even if early.

Lightning + IoT

Nayuta started in 2015 by adding normal bitcoin transactions to the Internet of Things in a range of prototypes.

But, like other Bitcoin users, they were disappointed by its limitations. They found that instant "zero confirmation" transactions were not secure enough and that 10 minutes were too long to wait for a transaction to be secure.

Then Lightning has arrived, the idea being that it is possible to make instant payments safer (although there are still some caveats). Since it is faster than traditional payments, Nayuta decided that it was the "only" solution to Thing's desire for Internet payments as fast as the Internet connections that power them. .

A recently popular Internet of Things product is the "SmartLock". Rather than requiring the metal keys that we are all used to (just one more thing to remember), the legitimate owner can use his smartphone to unlock it.

Showing the company's shift to Lightning, they released a proof of concept of such a lock that only opens once it's received a payment Lightning.

None of these things are particularly helpful, at least in the current form (why would anyone want a payment to unlock something?). But, as Nayuta sees it, these proofs of concepts demonstrate how real-time payments can more broadly for the Internet of Things, one of the millions of examples being a sensor collecting data on an ocean, and a researcher directly paying the sensor on the Internet to obtain this information.

The test payment was made between the implementation of Nayuta's Lightning software, dubbed "Thunderbird", and c-Lightning, a software implementation by starting the Blockstream bitcoin infrastructure.

Thus, not only does Nayuta "open the door" to Lightning's flash use cases, but he also diversifies the number of Lightning software implementations, which the company considers important because, according to him , some features are missing. current implementations of Lightning.

"We do not think Lightning is ready," Kenichi Kurimoto, Nayuta's CEO, told CoinDesk.

Lighting companies emerge

All this feeds on the second interesting thing that Nayuta is doing: It's one of the first companies to start a business around Lightning, showing that maybe Lightning has a proposal d & # 39; business.

The handful of Lightning startups, such as Paris-based Lightning Labs and ACINQ, are focusing on low-level technology, not building a product that their company uses around a particular Lightning application.

However, Kurimoto admitted that they are not really sure what to do with all the prototypes they have launched in recent years.

"We have not decided on the future of the product, we are currently focusing on software development [Lightning Network]," said Kurimoto, adding that a company can not not disclose his software because of the NDAA.

Still, Nayuta sees promises of business in this area. Internet of Things payments have been launched for a long time, with even the giant payment processor Visa launches payment solutions in this area.

But, for Kurimoto, the current financial infrastructure is late.

If refrigerators want to pay for groceries and users want to use micropayments to pay for video, payments often have to be very small and fast. The current financial infrastructure would not be able to handle it.

Kurimoto said:

"The Lightning Network is the only solution for real-time transactions."

The matches via Shutterstock

Leader in blockchain information, CoinDesk is an independent media company that strives to achieve the highest journalistic standards and adheres to a strict set of editorial policies. Do you want to offer your expertise or ideas for our reporting? Contact us at news@coindesk.com.

