Bitcoin Lightning Network.
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It was amazing for a while everything worked the price was rising Bitcoin looked unstoppable.
Then in 2017 the bitcoin network was being used so much that it started to slow down taking up to 3 days to send a transaction. You could not "buy your coffee" with Bitcoin. People would have to pay a higher and higher transaction fees to get there transaction processed quicker. People became disillusioned the price dropped. Accusations of spamming the network where levelled at governments and certain other crypto currency leaders. Blockchain is SLOW !Compared to a regular database blockchain is incorruptible but very slow. This applies to all Cryptos, so when people say this or that crypto is faster, its never been tried at scale. Different things have been invented like Dash's Master nodes, staking and bigger blocks, and for a while took some of BTC share of the market. This has caused all sorts of arguments - See Crypto Twitter where the arguments have raged.
See block formation in this great real time infographic. Fortunately the second layers on bitcoin like - LIGHTNING NETWORK & THE LIQUID NETWORK are now solving these issues. You CAN buy coffee & pay for it virtually instantly! It may not be as secure as using Bitcoin directly, but its fine for Coffee - and you can still send Bitcoin in its original form.
- So if I was buying coffee I'd use Lightning and it would cost virtually nothing and be instantaneous. - If I was sending $1,000,000 to Zimbabwe, I'D use the original blockchain and it would still cost a lot less than a wire transfer and still be way faster ( 1 Hr ). Lightning Network (current)
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Bitcoins Layer 1 is like a gold bar -
No good for buying coffee ! You have to take your bar or post it to a dealer who will have to verify it’s genuine. This process takes a day or 3, once confirmed the dealer can send you the cash. Cash 💰 £ $ fiat are second layers on gold. 
Bitcoins Layer 2
Is almost instantaneous perfect for buying coffee. Here's a very early snapshot of Lightning Network how it looked. 
Bitcoin is legal tender in El salvador ! El salvador's president Nayib Bukele has made Bitcoin legal tender. It is now accepted throughout Al Salvadore using the lightning network.
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Create a Lightning wallet the easy way
Blue Wallet
Down load Bluewallet (IOS and Android)
Fund it - Buy bitcoin "in app"
Move some of the bitcoin to a lightning wallet
Pros
Fund it - Buy bitcoin "in app"
Move some of the bitcoin to a lightning wallet
Pros
- Easy
- On your phone
- No node required
- Not very private
BTC Sessions
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Im no expert on lightning so here's a link to BTC Sessions with many excellent videos on all aspects of Lightning.
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What you can do with Lightning ?
And much more, watch the vid below. |
Crowd Funding
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Tallycoin is a crowdfunding platform built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain.
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Micro Payments via the Lightning network are now possible and the possibilities are endless.
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EG
A news website, say THE GUARDIAN could automatically charge you 0.5p for every article you read. Without you having to lift a finger. OR NETFLIX could charge you by the 2p per 10mins for watching content. Most people cant be bothered to sign up to various organisations for a monthly subscription so to funding a one size funds all Lightning channel as a one off - not a problem. |
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More!
If you still want to learn more about LN, check these links :- Live on CryptoPurchase Gift Cards or Mobile Refills from more than 1650 businesses in 170 countries. Get eGifts & pay mobile bills quickly, safely, and privately with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies https://www.bitrefill.com/ https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/future-bitcoin-what-lightning-could-look/ Messari.io👌 SPHINX Decentralise social media, and take back your data. sphinx.chat Heres deep dive into how lightning actually works
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/understanding-the-lightning-network-part-building-a-bidirectional-payment-channel-1464710791 |
Fun with LightningPlay Roulette online gambling for real sats !
Be careful (I've. lost sats switching from anon to twitter profile) Lightning Roulette 
Online Shops
Buy bitcoin merchandise.
Bitcoinshirt.co Shop Merchandise (Bitcoin Lightning only) https://store.coinkite.com/store Lightning enabled Bitcoin merchandise https://quinsolo.com/ |
Accepting Bitcoin Payments
Rapaygo is Everything you need to accept Bitcoin payments for your small business in one place.An inexpensive and simple way to use the lightning network to receive bitcoin payments in minutes.