[![LN_Fotor8d917.md.jpg](http://www.steemimg.com/images/2017/01/13/LN_Fotor8d917.md.jpg)](http://www.steemimg.com/image/3y1zw)

### I feel like I’ve climbed out of the abyss of dark rooms, computer screens, white papers, articles and youtube videos and I’ve finally just begun to grasp this new concept.

Essentially the Lightning Network was developed to remedy the block size issue of Bitcoin, and to allow for micro payments- which are currently unable to be transacted due to the minimum requirement of current transactions, and the fact that the current transaction fees render micro payments useless.

## To put it very plainly, Bitcoin transactions take too long
Part of this is due to the amount of transactions taking place, along with the amount of information that is included in these transactions. 

As you may remember, I published a video a few days ago talking about segregated witness. That proposal would change how information from the transactions are stored, and the Lightning Network would change how many transactions themselves would be recorded onto the blockchain.

The best analogy that I’ve come across to describe the lightning network is this: Imagine you’re at a bar and you open a tab. The tab enables you to have many different transactions with the bartender, but you only settle the bill at the end of the night. 
### On the lightning network, only the initial and final transactions are recorded onto the blockchain. 

The lightning network would also enable micro payments by allowing for the minimum of 1 satoshi for a transaction, and the fees for that transaction would be incredibly tiny. This could revolutionize yet again the way we think of money. This would enable us to "stream money" much like how we stream videos and music, making money incredibly liquid and eliminating third party middle men.

https://youtu.be/kqwXEttuDg4

If I’ve officially peaked your interest and you’d like to learn more,
## Check out the links posted down below for a few articles and a great video where the bitcoin master Andreas Antonopoulos goes further into detail about this topic.

### Articles on the Lightning Network:
[General Look at Lightning Network](https://coincenter.org/entry/what-is-the-lightning-network)

[Explanation of Dependance of Segwit](http://www.coindesk.com/whats-left-bitcoins-lightning-network-goes-live/)

[The Future of Lightning Network](https://cointelegraph.com/news/lightning-strikes-more-than-once-alpha-release-available)

### [Andreas Antonopoulos Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l235ydAx5oQ)