Abstract
The rapid increase in popularity regarding cryptocurrency and specifically Bitcoin has been unprecedented over the past number of years. However, scalability has become a major barrier keeping it from gaining wide spread mass adoption. The purpose of this paper will be to investigate the potential effect off-chain instant payments will have on cryptocurrency scalability issues, with a focus on the Lightning Network. This will be achieved by means of a quantitative study through the process of testing various factors associated with the Lightning Network against another potential scalability solution, increasing block size limit. This study will provide comprehensive insight into off-chain instant payments generally and the Lightning Network specifically. This research paper will, therefore, primarily add to the body of knowledge indicating whether the Lightning Network is a potential solution to scaling the Bitcoin blockchain. In addition, it will lay a foundation for future research into the scalability of cryptocurrency.
Recommended Citation
Bellagarda, Jagger S., "The potential effect off-chain instant payments will have on cryptocurrency scalability issues – The Lightning Network" (2019). CONF-IRM 2019 Proceedings. 2.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/confirm2019/2