A Technical Introduction to The Lightning Network

In this developers-oriented video, Bitcoin educator and entrepreneur Andreas M. Antonopolous delivers a technical introduction to the Lightning Network. The recording took place at the We Are Developers conference on May 25, 2020.

If you want an understanding of how bitcoin and the lighting network actually work behind the scenes then this presentation was made for you.

Video timeframes:

0:00 A technical introduction to the Lightning Network
0:19 Download the slides and use them under a Creative Commons license
0:36 Book: Mastering Bitcoin 2nd Edition, where to find it
1:21 Book: Mastering the Lighting Network, where to find it and how to collaborate
1:52 40+ ad-free videos on the Lightning Network
2:19 What is the Lightning Network?
2:40 BOLT Standard
2:57 Overview of the presentation: Bitcoin transactions, Bitcoin scripts, Multi-signature scripts, Timelocks, and Payment Channels
3:45 How Bitcoin transactions are structured
7:55 Simple script execution in Bitcoin (pushing and popping things from the stack)
11:20 Multisignature and Bitcoin
13:42 2-of-2 Multisig EXAMPLE in Bitcoin
14:22 Timelocks
16:04 Simple payment channel EXAMPLE - Emma and Fabian
17:35 Security primitives of payment channels
19:12 Emma and Fabian and their one-way bitcoin payment channel
19:41 Streaming money - streaming services and streaming payments
20:37 Commitment and funding transactions for a lightning network payment channel
25:20 Settlement transactions
26:18 Bi-directional payment channel EXAMPLE - Alice and Bob
27:47 What about cheating? How can Alice and Bob trust one another to be honest?
30:32 Nuances in bi-directional payment channels
31:38 Hash time-lock contracts
32:17 If-Else statements
33:49 Lightning network routing and payment channels
34:31 Lighting network EXAMPLE Alice pays Eric
36:38 Lightning network invoices for bitcoin amounts
36:58 HTLC Hash lock-time contract example
41:13 HTLC nuances, amounts are different
42:20 Onion-routed privacy on the lightning network
43:03 Closing and support my free ad-free work on Patreon