lightning

I'm not sure if you're trying to imply that Lightning Network is vaporware, but there are currently three implementations that pass the integration tests: https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd https://github.com/ElementsProject/lightning https://github.com/ACINQ/eclair https://cdecker.github.io/lightning-integration/

That is a very pessimistic view on the current state of LN. There are three independent open-source LN implementations [1, 2, 3] out there that are being worked on and already implement basic functionality. All three contribute to an document, called Basics Of The Lightning Network (BOLT) [4], which forms an open standard for LN. I wouldn't call it vaporware. Yes, there are unsurprisingly open questions. But nothing which can't be solved. 1: https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd 2: https://github.com/ACINQ/eclair 3: https://github.com/ElementsProject/lightning 4: https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lightning-rfc

> [..] there is no 'payment layer' on top of it, only pie-in-the-sky designs. That is completely false. Development of Lightning Network and other solutions by multiple teams has been steady and robust. To cite a few working on LN: * https://github.com/ElementsProject/lightning * https://github.com/acquia/lightning * https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd

> the Lightning network, which is currently a white paper Lightning is working code, not a white paper: https://github.com/elementsproject/lightning

Lightning implementations exist and are fairly usable (although I've found there is some disagreement on e.g. public key format for peers). Check out the following: * Lit: https://github.com/mit-dci/lit * Eclair: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fr.acinq.eclai... * lnd: https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd * lightning-c: https://github.com/ElementsProject/lightning Do these projects have the nicest UX? No. Is it fairly trivial to hook up a shiny UI to their RPC interfaces? Yes. It's going to take a bit to roll out the infrastructure necessary, but a 1.7 MB block size is good enough until then. Especially if miners stop using ASICBOOST and mining near-empty blocks.

> and it's not bitcoin; it doesn't have the same assurances, there are some third-party channels that route the transactions. (I admit, I haven't studied LN in detail.) lightning clients pass around bitcoin transactions to each other, check the protobufs: https://github.com/ElementsProject/lightning/blob/2bf92c9063... admittedly the protobufs have changed since i last looked, here's the canonical diagram describing the hashed timelock bitcoin transaction concept: https://github.com/ElementsProject/lightning/blob/2bf92c9063... or read the paper https://lightning.network/lightning-network-paper.pdf > LN specifically requires segwit false, see http://diyhpl.us/wiki/transcripts/scalingbitcoin/hong-kong/o...