This episode is sponsored by Nexo.io, KuCoin and DeFiHorse. The Lightning Network is arguably the most anticipated scaling solution for Bitcoin to date. Why isn’t everyone using it? “Speaking of Bitcoin” hosts Adam B. Levine, Andreas M. Antonopoulos and Stephanie Murphy are joined by Rene Pickhardt, Bitcoin and Lightning Network Developer. The four lead a conversation on the still in development yet rapidly growing Lightning Network. It's a second-layer network that enables fast, secure, private and inexpensive payments that don't make sense to store on bitcoin's base layer. But while that might sound ideal, it's not simple in practice. A scrappy community of companies and developers have been pushing the tech consistently forward as the number of hard problems still to solve ticks down. Even as early as we are, Lightning has proven to be a radical improvement on the user experience of bitcoin. On the bitcoin network, fees vary but typically range from $1–5 and complete with confirmation in an average of ten minutes. With Lightning, fees and transaction times drop dramatically: the transaction fees are generally 1/100th or 1/10th of a penny and take just seconds.  If the improvements of Lightning are clear, why isn’t everyone using it today? Listen to hear more about the challenges and solutions coming to this rapidly-evolving aspect of bitcoin. Additional reading: Mastering the Lightning Network Security and Privacy of Lightning Network Payments with Uncertain Channel Balances Optimally Reliable & Cheap Payment Flows on the Lightning Network Include the Uncertainty Network into the Payment Session and potentially acrosse payment sessions Rene's Lightning Test Tweets Zero Base Fee graph Support Rene's Work - Nexo is a powerful, all-in-one crypto platform where you can securely store your assets. Invest, borrow, exchange and earn up to 12% APR on Bitcoin and 20+ other top coins. Insured for $375M and audited in real-time by Armanino, Nexo is rated excellent on Trustpilot. Get started today at nexo.io. - KuCoin was listed on Forbes Advisor’s “The Best Crypto Exchanges Of 2021,” which highlighted hundreds of tradable coins, low fees, plus automated and margin trading. Sign up NOW to claim a $500 welcome bonus at KuCoin.com. - DeFiHorse’s races start in Q1/2022. This GameFi project has premium graphics and highly competitive gameplay. DeFiHorse beams you to a cyberpunk world, providing you with legendary steeds to top the leaderboards and become the ultimate champion. For more info visit bit.ly/DeFiHorse. - Album art created using AI by Adam Levine/Pixelmind.ai See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.