One of the best parts of running Breez is the diverse range of people I meet and work with. We have partners from technology/building-on-lightning-flash-is-reinventing-caribbean-money-with-the-breez-sdk-d26ef8b81fb8?source=collection_home—5——1———————–“>Jamaicahe technology/the-breez-sdk-is-helping-crowdhealth-help-bitcoiners-help-each-other-9dd0e19e2c58?source=collection_home—5——3———————–“>USA, technology/its-a-relai-not-a-sprint-swiss-bitcoin-only-broker-opts-for-the-breez-sdk-9d05b7906715?source=collection_home—5——7———————–“>Swiss, technology/building-on-lightning-how-satimoto-is-beating-fiat-with-the-breez-sdk-88aa8252a994?source=collection_home—5——9———————–“>Germany, Canada, technology/bringin-bitcoin-to-retail-banking-with-the-breez-sdk-e4d5822dca5c?source=collection_home—2——1———————–“>Estoniaand who knows where else. We have users in technology/lightning-in-the-wild-a-budding-ecosystem-in-finland-8b0f971ebe4f?source=collection_home—5——18———————–“>Finland, technology/lightning-in-the-wild-3-a-creative-family-innovates-with-breez-732368a01d7d?source=collection_home—5——24———————–“>Welsh, technology/lightning-in-the-wild-fromthejump-podcast-fd90164b2146?source=collection_home—5——0———————–“>Namibia, technology/the-breez-release-candidate-getting-lightning-ready-for-the-global-takeover-b5d1f9756229″>India, and almost everywhere. The people behind Breez are spread across three continents and come from a wide range of national and ethnic backgrounds.
Agreeing on a communication platform (Telegram? Slack? Zoom? Discord?) sometimes requires a bit of coordination. However, what never needs coordination is the language we use to communicate. It is always automatically English. For many of us, English is our second (or third or fourth) language, and some parts of it are baffling, but it doesn't matter. Every initial contact is in English, all channels are automatically in English, and all public communication (like this blog) is in English. There is not even a contender for second place.
And there is basically no way to change this convention. No one could simply decree that we are all going to start speaking Mandarin, Esperanto or Inuktitut. Whether for convenience, actual utility, historical imposition, or simply numbers, English is locked up. But it works, so why mess with it?
This example demonstrates a few points. First, the interface between individual nodes in a network (whether people, nations, or communities) is in the form of a language. Secondly, there needs to be a common language. In fact, the limits of language are the limits of the network. In other words, the distribution of the language. defines the network. Finally, common languages are very complicated. Once everyone has adapted to a common language, you're basically stuck.
Now for a fact about the present that will irrevocably shape the future: lightning is emerging as the common language of the bitcoin economy.
A common language between subnets
technology/liquidity-on-lightning-moving-from-ux-to-economix-6e597d9e1abd”>We've spoken before on various last mile technologies. They are like local back roads that connect users to the higher-performing Lightning Network and ultimately to the bitcoin mainnet. Basically, they all work by grouping users and their transactions into subnets.
For example, Ark and Liquid convert incoming bitcoin into your own mechanisms (VTXO and L-btc, respectively) that users can send to each other according to their respective protocols without the need for further on-chain transactions. Alternatively, Fedimint Members effectively pool their bitcoins and exchange IOUs with each other, with transactions and financial status monitored by a federation of trusted gatekeepers. With CashewPeople exchange e-cash tokens and trust the issuing body.
Each type of subnet can use its own language. How nodes communicate with each other on these subnets is your business. The interesting thing is that these subnets communicate with each other via Lightningeven if we're just talking about, say, two different Cashu mints or when a Fedi interacts with an Ark. Lightning is the common language of all emerging and thriving bitcoin-based subnetworks.
Going back to the English analogy, I don't care what language you speak at home or in the supermarket. You can speak any obscure dialect you want with other people who understand it. But if you want to talk to me or pretty much anyone else on Telegram or Slack, English is really the only option. No one could change that even if they wanted to, and no one seems to want to. Like Lightning.
Lightning is the common language of emerging subnets. It is the language of bitcoin.
Why Lightning is the optimal language for bitcoin
TO common Language is not necessarily a optimum language. It simply has to work and be widely accepted. Just as the bitcoin mainchain has certain advantages (e.g. immutability, openness, borderlessness, etc.) that recommend it for certain uses, Lightning is the best choice for a common language between subnets for at least three reasons.
Lightning is bitcoin and bitcoin is the trustless bearer asset
The first, and probably most important, reason why Lightning is the best common language is that technology/lightning-btc-iou-62e3a712c913″>use bitcoins. The subnets simply may not trust each other and have no reason to. But since bitcoin and, by extension, technology/the-only-thing-better-than-minimal-trust-is-none-at-all-34456f650332″>Lightning avoids trust, subnets can interact without trust. bitcoin is the only viable bearer asset and Lightning is the language of bitcoin, so Lightning is the best common language for subnetworks to interact with each other.
Furthermore, Lightning, like bitcoin, also avoids leverage. The entire business model of fractional reserve banks is based on a hole in their balance sheets. In contrast, each session in Lightning is counted at every moment. A balance sheet showing all positions on the network would be perpetually balanced. No gaps, no overlaps. Lightning resists imbalances due to arrogance, incompetence, and villainy, which is a necessary trait in a trustless environment.
Lightning is inherently transactional and interoperable
Second, Lightning is a transactional protocol designed to facilitate flow. For normal payments, there is no mempool and no delay until the next block is mined. x.com/Breez_Tech/status/1632387594486009859″>Payments take seconds, if that. And transactions (money in motion) are what make Lightning valuable. technology/lightning-is-a-liquidity-network-550896ca27ea”>Literally. Static satellites in the network do not make any profit. For Lightning liquidity to grow, it has to flow. A common language will not be used much if it rewards silence. It should promote communication, which is exactly what Lightning does.
Additionally, Lightning technology is detailed. in bolt specifications catalog It is inherently interoperable. It was designed to allow multiple Lightning node deployments with different layouts, offsets, and programming languages. However, all of these nodes can interact in a common network because they all support the same pins. Being interoperable by design makes it easy for other technologies to add Lightning as another interface.
Lightning has critical mass
Finally, a common language needs a considerable community of speakers. Try to say “skibidi rice”in a nursing home or, better yet, in a nursing home in Cambodia. Perhaps the greatest advantage of English is simply its popularity: more people speak english than any other language on the planet. And although only a quarter of people in many countries speak English, you can still find someone who speaks English at the next table in virtually every bar and restaurant on the planet. Try that with Catalan.
The lightning bolts have already reached critical mass. It is already obvious how a Cashu subnet and a Fedimint:Lightning subnet will communicate with each other. That's how they were designed, so changing the common language between networks would require rebuilding most of their parts. Like English, whatever language the subnets use internally, Lightning is the language they use to talk to each other and it's already locked down.
The permanence of the lightning
Actual lightning, the kind that comes from storm clouds, is a notoriously brief phenomenon. Flashing momentarily and disappearing is all. But the Lightning Network (the interface between any number of nodes, subnets, and the main bitcoin chain) isn't going anywhere. Common languages tend to maintain that status for centuries.
bitcoin is the best currency in the world. Lightning is the common language of the bitcoin world and is here to stay. For those of us already established in Lightning, this is very good news. Lightning being locked down means our first-mover advantage will be very valuable.
But it's also good news for those who are just getting into Lightning now or considering it. Eliminates uncertainty about which technology to support and which technology to invest in. Lightning isn't going anywhere but up, so there's never a bad time to start. Better yesterday than todayBetter today than tomorrow, but tomorrow is also good.
technology/sdk/”>The best time to get into Lightning is now. Always has been.
This is a guest post by Roy Sheinfeld. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of btc Inc or bitcoin Magazine.
