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If Bob and Alice often have business dealings, the settlement method is btc. However, the block packaging time of btc takes 10 minutes. Generally, after 6 blocks are confirmed, the transaction is considered not to be rolled back. That is, they need to wait at least 1h for each transaction to confirm whether the transaction is successful. For scenarios with high real-time requirements and high transaction frequency, 1h is obviously too long. At this time, someone asked whether it is possible to establish a separate channel for Bob and Alice. Frequent transactions between them will not be recorded on the chain first, and then settled on the chain when they want to end the business? The Lightning Network was born in this context.
The architecture diagram of the Lightning Network is roughly as follows:
Architecture diagram of Lightning Network
Take the transaction steps between Bob and Alice:
First, we need to build a two-way transaction channel between Bob and Alice
Second, we need to solve the trust problem that Bob and Alice face in transactions in the channel
If there is another third party, such as Jack, how to realize the transaction between the three
Next, I will elaborate on the architecture and principles of the Lightning Network based on the construction steps.