rj123

Segwit was just activated on Bitcoin around two weeks ago. Among other things, segwit includes a fix for txn malleability needed to facilitate a lightning network implementation on bitcoin. The lightning network alpha release has been implemented on Litecoin, and has been on the Bitcoin testnet since the beginning of the year. My guess is it will go live before the end of the year, and adoption will ramp up next year.

They discovered this on July 29, the CFO and two other senior executives sold shares 3 days later. They are just now reporting it (when most of the news coverage is focused on the hurricanes). What are the odds they get their day in court?

That's unlikely. Bitcoin cash isn't accepted anywhere yet, and unlike Bitcoin it does not have Segwit, and thus no layer2/lightning network support. It's 8MB blocks only up the on-chain scaling from like 3 tx/sec to ~20tx/sec. That's a negligible difference when compared to credit cards, paypal, etc. Bitcoin will only ever reach that kind of capacity with 2nd layer lightning network, or something like it.

The main use case is small payments. You open a channel locking X amount of funds, and then can send or receive small payments to/from other parties on the network without broadcasting those transactions to the blockchain or paying fees. The only thing that is required is a route connecting payment channels from sender to recipient. For example, if A has a channel with B, B has one with C, and C with D, then A can transact with B, C or D.

I think you misread my response, or maybe I wasn't clear, since I agree with you. I said the lightning network has no security on it's own. It requires an underlying blockchain on which to lock funds. Those underlying locked funds are what effectively secure the payments made on the lightning network channel.

The lightning network has no security (protection against double spend) on it's own. It relies on the underlying blockchain for that.