What Is the Lightning Network and How Does It Work?

A Bitcoin payment can take place without becoming a new entry on the Bitcoin blockchain every time.That distinction is the key to understanding the Lightning Network.The Bitcoin network is designed to provide a secure, decentralised record of ownership and transactions. But asking the base layer to handle every small payment individually creates an obvious constraint: blocks have limited space, and every transaction competes for it.The Lightning Network takes a different approach. Instead of rep