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lightning / bolts

bolts

BOLT: Basis of Lightning Technology (Lightning Network Specifications)

14Distinct people
23Mentions
0Explicit recommenders
2.3KGitHub stars
REPOSITORY AT A GLANCE

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What it is

BOLT: Basis of Lightning Technology (Lightning Network Specifications)

GitHub

Where it is used

No documented product use was verified in the last source check.

What people are saying

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Also in these discussions

Mentioned in the same Hacker News threads. That is not proof they are substitutes.

This week on Hacker News

Nov 8–Nov 15 UTC · Direct repository links and separately labeled related project stories. Indexed through 11/15/2026, 12:45:45 PM UTC.

No direct repository links were found in the indexed HN discussions over the past seven days. Older discussions are available below.

Mentions over time

HN mentions by year23 dated mentions

Observed mentions: 2017-07-13 09:05:59 UTC to 2024-07-16 00:26:21 UTC.

0369122017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 8 mentions; 0 submissions, 8 comments20172018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 11 mentions; 1 submissions, 10 comments2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 1 mentions; 0 submissions, 1 comments20202021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 1 mentions; 0 submissions, 1 comments2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 1 mentions; 0 submissions, 1 comments2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 1 mentions; 0 submissions, 1 comments2024

Counts come from the repository’s dated source evidence. Index cutoff: 2026-11-02 08:16:59 UTC.

View mention counts and date ranges
UTC ranges include their start and exclude their end. Select a period to filter the source evidence.
PeriodStart (UTC)End (exclusive, UTC)MentionsSubmissionsComments
20172017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC808
20182018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC11110
20192019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC000
20202020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC101
20212021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC000
20222022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC101
20232023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC101
20242024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC101

What Hacker News says

8 sources
Lightning Labs | Crypto Protocol Engineer, Frontend Developer | Remote | Fulltime https://angel.co/lightning https://lightning.engineering/ At Lightning Labs, we scale blockchains. Our current focus is the development and deployment of the Lightning Network[1], an open blockchain scalability protocol[2] primarily being developed for Bitcoin. Lightning allows for high volume, low fee, instant payments on top of Bitcoin. We strive to continually push the edge of innovation w.r.t blockchain scalability, advanced privacy-preserving smart contracts, and cryptocurrency UX. Amongst our team include applied cryptographers, the designers of the Lighting Network protocol, and several Bitcoin developers making key contributions to the open source Bitcoin eco-system such as roasbeef[3]. Cryto Protocol Engineer: We're looking for an experienced softwa
Read the rest
re engineer well versed in applied cryptography, peer to peer networks, distributed systems, open source software collaboration, and cryptocurrencies. Your job description would include working on lnd[4] the most feature-complete implementation of the Lighting Network, neutrino[5] an advanced lite client operating mode for Bitcoin, conduct novel research into cryptocurrencies (and related areas), and helping to design the next generation of smart contract applications on Bitcoin. Frontend Developer: Our work on the second-layer of blockchains presents a number of UI/UX challenges, as we lift traditional wallets to the next layer creating a new application platform on top Lightning. As a result, we're also looking for a frontend developer that is able to pick things up quickly, develop skills in our interdisciplinary space, and has strong implementation ability. Applicants should be Javascript experts an eye for design, that have experience building applications with React and React Native. You can contact me directly at roasbeef@lightning.engineering with some, or all of the following: link to your github account, resume, a brief cover letter detailing your past experience in the areas listed above, and some relevant work you've done. [1]: http://lightning.network/ [2]: https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lightning-rfc/ [3]: https://github.com/roasbeef/, https://twitter.com/roasbeef [4]: https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/ [5]: https://github.com/lightninglabs/neutrino
In Ask HN: Who is hiring? (December 2017)
Lightning Labs | Crypto Protocol Engineer, Frontend Developer | Remote | Fulltime https://angel.co/lightning https://lightning.engineering/ At Lightning Labs, we scale blockchains. Our current focus is the development and deployment of the Lightning Network[1], an open blockchain scalability protocol[2] primarily being developed for Bitcoin. Lightning allows for high volume, low fee, instant payments on top of Bitcoin. We strive to continually push the edge of innovation w.r.t blockchain scalability, advanced privacy-preserving smart contracts, and cryptocurrency UX. Amongst our team include applied cryptographers, the designers of the Lighting Network protocol, and several Bitcoin developers making key contributions to the open source Bitcoin eco-system such as roasbeef[3]. Cryto Protocol Engineer: We're looking for an experienced softwa
Read the rest
re engineer well versed in applied cryptography, peer to peer networks, distributed systems, open source software collaboration, and cryptocurrencies. Your job description would include working on lnd[4] the most feature-complete implementation of the Lighting Network, neutrino[5] an advanced lite client operating mode for Bitcoin, conduct novel research into cryptocurrencies (and related areas), and helping to design the next generation of smart contract applications on Bitcoin. Frontend Developer: Our work on the second-layer of blockchains presents a number of UI/UX challenges, as we lift traditional wallets to the next layer creating a new application platform on top Lightning. As a result, we're also looking for a frontend developer that is able to pick things up quickly, develop skills in our interdisciplinary space, and has strong implementation ability. Applicants should be Javascript experts an eye for design, that have experience building applications with React and React Native. You can contact me directly at roasbeef@lightning.engineering with some, or all of the following: link to your github account, resume, a brief cover letter detailing your past experience in the areas listed above, and some relevant work you've done. [1]: http://lightning.network/ [2]: https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lightning-rfc/ [3]: https://github.com/roasbeef/, https://twitter.com/roasbeef [4]: https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/ [5]: https://github.com/lightninglabs/neutrino
In Ask HN: Who is hiring? (November 2017)
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
In The Bitcoin Apocalypse Is Coming in Mid-November
Lightning Labs | Crypto Protocol Engineer, Frontend Developer | Remote | Fulltime https://angel.co/lightning At Lightning Labs, we scale blockchains. Our current focus is the development and deployment of the Lightning Network[1], an open blockchain scalability protocol[2] primarily being developed for Bitcoin. Lightning allows for high volume, low fee, instant payments on top of Bitcoin. We strive to continually push the edge of innovation w.r.t blockchain scalability, advanced privacy-preserving smart contracts, and cryptocurrency UX. Amongst our team include applied cryptographers, the designers of the Lighting Network protocol, and several Bitcoin developers making key contributions to the open source Bitcoin eco-system such as roasbeef[3]. Cryto Protocol Engineer: We're looking for an experienced software engineer well versed in appl
Read the rest
ied cryptography, peer to peer networks, distributed systems, open source software collaboration, and cryptocurrencies. Your job description would include working on lnd[4] the most feature-complete implementation of the Lighting Network, neutrino[5] an advanced lite client operating mode for Bitcoin, conduct novel research into cryptocurrencies (and related areas), and helping to design the next generation of smart contract applications on Bitcoin. Frontend Developer: Our work on the second-layer of blockchains presents a number of UI/UX challenges, as we lift traditional wallets to the next layer creating a new application platform on top Lightning. As a result, we're also looking for a frontend developer that is able to pick things up quickly, develop skills in our interdisciplinary space, and has strong implementation ability. Applicants should be Javascript experts an eye for design, that have experience building applications with React and React Native. You can contact me directly at roasbeef@lightning.engineering with some, or all of the following: link to your github account, resume, a brief cover letter detailing your past experience in the areas listed above, and some relevant work you've done. [1]: http://lightning.network/ [2]: https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lightning-rfc/ [3]: https://github.com/roasbeef/, https://twitter.com/roasbeef [4]: https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/ [5]: https://github.com/lightninglabs/neutrino
In Ask HN: Who is hiring? (October 2017)
Lightning Labs | Crypto Protocol Engineer, Frontend Developer | Remote | Fulltime https://angel.co/lightning At Lightning Labs, we scale blockchains. Our current focus is the development and deployment of the Lightning Network[1], an open blockchain scalability protocol[2] primarily being developed for Bitcoin. Lightning allows for high volume, low fee, instant payments on top of Bitcoin. We strive to continually push the edge of innovation w.r.t blockchain scalability, advanced privacy-preserving smart contracts, and cryptocurrency UX. Amongst our team include applied cryptographers, the designers of the Lighting Network protocol, and several Bitcoin developers making key contributions to the open source Bitcoin eco-system such as roasbeef[3]. We're looking for an experienced software engineer well versed in applied cryptography, peer to
Read the rest
peer networks, distributed systems, open source software collaboration, and cryptocurrencies. Your job description would include working on lnd[4] the most feature-complete implementation of the Lighting Network, neutrino[5] an advanced lite client operating mode for Bitcoin, conduct novel research into cryptocurrencies (and related areas), and helping to design the next generation of smart contract applications on Bitcoin. Our work on Layer 2 presents a number of UI/UX challenges, as we lift traditional wallets to the next layer creating a new application platform on top Lightning. As a result, we're also looking for a frontend developer that is able to pick things up quickly, develop skills in our interdisciplinary space, and has strong implementation ability. Applicants should be Javascript experts an eye for design, that have experience building applications with React and React Native. You can contact me directly at roasbeef@lightning.engineering with some, or all of the following: link to your github account, resume, a brief cover letter detailing your past experience in the areas listed above, and some relevant work you've done. [1]: http://lightning.network/ [2]: https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lightning-rfc/ [3]: https://github.com/roasbeef/, https://twitter.com/roasbeef [4]: https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/ [5]: https://github.com/lightninglabs/neutrino
In Ask HN: Who is hiring? (September 2017)
8MB block means the block chain grows by 1,207,959,552 (~1GB) per day, or ~365GB per year. This means that now not everyone has the internet connection or the disk space to keep a copy of the block chain, and more control is in the hands of the miners. I understand the reason for a larger block - it seems like it's pure profit for the miners (should we just refer to it as greed?), but I do not understand the objection to SegWit which is essential for lightning to work. I am fairly convinced at this point that off-chain transactions as described in the lightning docs [1] is the future. The block chain cannot possibly support all the transactions, there could be millions per second if micropayments do take off, and that will most likely happen via the channels as described in the lightning docs. [1] https://github.com/lightningnetwork/light
Read the rest
ning-rfc/blob/maste... Edit: If you're not familiar with lightning, you should read up on it. The gist of it (my understanding, I am not exactly a bitcoin expert) is that if I trust someone, there is no need to announce to the whole world that I just gave my kids ice cream money, it's between me and them. And it's instant. The blockchain is used only as last resort, when one of the parties does not cooperate as as agreed.
In Bitcoin Cash: Why It's Forking the Blockchain and What That Means
I referred to Blockstream and this is their patent front announcement, > Today we are excited to announce some important steps we are taking on the patent front, why these defensive steps are necessary, and our hope that others will see merit in our approach and follow our lead. ... > Our Patent Pledge assures developers and users of our technology that we will not sue them for patent infringement, provided they comply with the terms and conditions of our pledge... https://blockstream.com/2016/07/19/blockstream-defensive-pat... Edit: Here is a discussion of Blockstream's patent application for side car design, > The application, submitted on 9th May and published earlier this week, outlines “systems and methods...for transferring an asset from a parent chain to a sidechain”. http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-blockstream-patent-sidechain...
Read the rest
Here is blockstream talking about Lightening, > Blockstream’s work on the Lightning protocol began two years ago with the intention of enabling new applications and developing new use cases that could help further the adoption of Bitcoin and related technologies https://blockstream.com/2015/09/01/lightning-network.html Also presumably if segwit activates then Liquid is no longer needed? Edit: The relationship between Blockstream and Lightning is underscored, by the fact that the largest contributor to the specification is a Blockstream employee (Rustee Russell), https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lightning-rfc/graphs/con...
In Bitcoin – Potential Network Disruption on July 31st

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