Introduction to the Lightning Network

Understanding the Lightning Network as a rapidly growing second-layer protocol for Bitcoin payments

A foundational work authored by internationally recognized experts that addresses the technology promising to solve the critical problem of Bitcoin scalability. It is aimed at developers, system architects, investors, businesses, and anyone interested in cryptocurrencies.

The Lightning Network (LN) is a rapidly growing second-layer payment protocol built on Bitcoin that enables nearly instantaneous transactions between two parties. In this practical book, authors Andreas M. Antonopoulos, Olaoluwa Osuntokun, and René Pickhardt explain how this advancement facilitates the next level of Bitcoin scalability, increases speed and privacy, while simultaneously reducing fees.

This book is ideal for developers, system architects, investors, and entrepreneurs seeking a better understanding of LN. It demonstrates why experts view LN as a crucial solution to Bitcoin's scalability problem. After reading, you will understand why LN is capable of processing far more transactions than today's financial networks.

This book covers:

• How the Lightning Network addresses the challenge of blockchain scalability
• The BOLT standard documents (Basis of Lightning Technology)
• The five layers of the Lightning Network protocol suite
• LN fundamentals, including wallets, nodes, and how to operate them
• Lightning payment channels, onion routing, and the gossip protocol
• Routing over payment channels to send Bitcoin off-chain from sender to receiver.