Re:Avg. Transaction Fee of Bitcoin Surpassed the Peak from 2017
by gruez on Thursday April 22, 2021 @07:24PM
(#26909329)
>I'm a long-time bitcoin skeptic, and I don't really understand the lightning network. If the lightning network doesn't depend on PoW for every transaction then how is it different than a normal database-backed payment network? I read that it involves smart contracts, have those been sufficiently audited against bugs?
tl;dr: you and the counterparty negotiate a series of transactions that represent the final closing balance. As funds are sent/received the transaction is updated. There's various mechanisms in there to prevent a misbehaving peer from broadcasting an older transaction, running away with the funds, or having your funds frozen if they ghost you.
https://wiki.ion.radar.tech/tech/lightning/lightning-network
tl;dr: you and the counterparty negotiate a series of transactions that represent the final closing balance. As funds are sent/received the transaction is updated. There's various mechanisms in there to prevent a misbehaving peer from broadcasting an older transaction, running away with the funds, or having your funds frozen if they ghost you.