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> I don't see how this is any different than an app with "gems" you can buy and re-sell back to the app. The difference is that the Bitcoin transaction will ca
by xigoi 4y ago
> I don't see how this is any different than an app with "gems" you can buy and re-sell back to the app.
The difference is that the Bitcoin transaction will cause millions of computers to waste a serious amount of electricity calculating hashes over and over.
- channel_t 4y agoIIRC lightning network transactions only use as much electricity as 10 emails, although I guess at some point a real Bitcoin transaction will happen eventually.
- philihp 4y agoYeah pretty much. A lightning channel is a bit like putting money down as a retainer for a lawyer, or putting a deposit down in a hotel. The real transaction happens at the beginning, and another transaction happens at the end when the channel closes and we settle out who gets the remainder.
- ursuscamp 4y agoIt uses the Lightning network, which is a separate network using off-chain transactions. The Lightning network crams upwards of infinite transactions into a single on-chain transaction, called a payment channel.