The Lightning Trifecta

Question: what do Twitter, Square and Lightning Labs all have in common?Answer: Jack Dorsey and the future of the Lighting Network. Jack Dorsey is the CEO of Twitter, CEO of Square/Cash App, and a major investor in Lightning Labs. On February 5, 2020 Lightning Labs announced a $10 million Series A investment round. Lightning Labs has three products: a lightning network server (LND), a lightning network client specification (Neutrino), and a lightning payment channel service (Loop). The combination of consumers from Twitter, merchants from Square, and technology from Lightning Labs should be the perfect trifecta for sparking significant growth in…
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Welcome

Welcome to the Flashstarts Crypto microsite. The goal for this microsite is to provide executives and managers with all the information they need to understand and deploy Bitcoin, Lightning, and Ethereum in their organizations. Effectively deploying any emerging technology within an existing organization requires that you become a "product champion". We will provide you with the knowledge and tools to become that champion. Bitcoin, Lightning, and Ethereum are the leading blockchain technologies that offer a vast new array of exciting business opportunities. We hope this site will educate you on the underlying technology and where it may or may not…
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BitPay Considers Adding Lightning

BitPay Considers Adding Lightning

BitPay, the leading bitcoin processor for business, recently indicated that it is considering adding Lightning Network functionality. This would be a big win for LN, as BitPay has thousands of customers. https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitpay-ceo-platform-will-support-more-cryptocurrencies-and-possibly-lightning-network
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Congress considers Bill enabling tax-free Lightning Network Bitcoin transactions

The Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act of 2020 is a bipartisan (3 page!) bill that will create a de minimus exemption for crypt currency capital gains below $200. If this bi-partisan bill is passed it will be an enormous boost for the Lightning Network and indirectly for the value of bitcoin as the underlying currency. Please tell your congressperson to vote yes and you will contribute some satoshis to their next campaign.
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Lightning Network Books

The Bitcoin Lightning Network, Poon & Dryja, Jan 2016, pdf. This is the seminal white paper that launched the concept of the lightning network. The early sections are invaluable for understanding the problems that the lightning network was designed to address. Required reading. Hacking The Lightning Network – A Protocol to Scale Bitcoin, Jan 2019, Rene Pickhardt, pdf. This is a Creative Commons licensed open source book available on Github. Good section on electronic cash. While still useful, it has not been updated since January 2019. Mastering the Lightning Network, Andreas Antonopoulos et al, not yet published (Late 2020). This…
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Lightning Conference 2019

Lightning Conference 2019

Here are notes and links to recommended sessions from the first global lightning network conference held in Berlin October 19-20 2019. About 500 people attended. Here’s a review of the conference from Bitcoin Magazine. Day One October 19 Main Stage Video, 8 hours. Day Two October 20 Main Stage Video, 8 hours. Much more digestible single-session versions, ~20-40 minutes each.  Here are some specific sessions recommended for executives and managers. Building Lighting Businesses, Ryan Gentry, 20 minutes, This session focused on business opportunities, with an eye to startup opportunities. Investing in Lightning, panel, 40 minutes. Enterprise Lightning, Lopp, 3 minutes. A too-quick discussion…
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Bolt-a-Thon Virtual Lightning Conference

Bolt-a-Thon Virtual Lightning Conference, 3-day online hackathon, December 6-8 2019. Here’s the YouTube Channel with recordings of many of the sessions. The first Bolt-A-Thon conference was held in April 2019. There are none currently scheduled for 2020. Recommended sessions. Listed below are the top three hackathon winners with their timecodes. Though somewhat technical, they do provide an interesting range of possible lightning projects. Litreon - 4:18; Lightning Search Ads - 17:11; SatsHunter - 1:04:23
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