The Bitcoin Lightning Network: Scalable On-Chain Instant Payments

The bitcoin protocol can encompass the global  finanancial transaction volume in all electronic payment systems today, without a single custodial third party holding funds or requiring participants to have anything more than a computer using a broadband connection. A decentralized system is proposed whereby transactions are sent over a network of micropayment channels (a.k.a. payment channels or transaction channels) whose transfer of value occurs off-blockchain.