The Lightning Network has faced criticism from pro-XRP advocate John Deaton.
John Deaton, a lawyer and cryptocurrency advocate, has criticized the Lightning Network for being less efficient than the “Spend The Bits” protocol on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). Lightning is a layer-2 scaling solution for Bitcoin. It is designed to improve the scale and efficiency of Bitcoin (BTC) transactions by enabling off-chain, peer-to-peer transactions.
In an Oct. 21 X (formerly Twitter) post, Deaton revealed that he is an angel investor and also the chief legal officer at Spend the Bits.
Deaton has previously touted Lightning as an alternative to the Bitcoin blockchain. In September, a pro-XRP (XRP) advocate praised the protocol, describing it as a more secure way to spend your bitcoins than Lightning.
Let me be clear and transparent: I am now involved with @Spend_The_Bits as an angel investor and serve as the Chief Legal Officer. So take my comments in mind. But the main reason I invested in @Spend_The_Bits or more accurately, I invested… https://t.co/aheyTxjGxp
— John E. Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) October 21, 2023
Dayton's Saturday disclosure was well timed to coincide with an X post from online crypto investigator WhaleWire. This Twitter has raised concerns about the latest discovery in Lightning, which suggests a significant security vulnerability, prompting a developer to withdraw from the project.
The developer claims there is a deliberate vulnerability in Lightning Network's code, which could give attackers complete control over the network. Major supporters of the Lightning Network are also involved in Tether, Bitfinex and BlockStream. This claim has raised questions about Lightning's safety and reliability.
Related: Lightning Labs Releases Taproot Assets Alpha, Brings Stablecoin to Bitcoin
At the time of writing, the Lightning Network has a network capacity of 5,338 BTC based on 1 ML. This payment protocol has seen a 15% drop in capacity over the past three months, raising doubts about the network's resilience and long-term viability.
Magazine: Frequent articles — Bitcoin ‘supercomputer' and BTC DeFi coming soon
