Lightning Labs has released a beta version of the lnd client for the main bitcoin network
Lightning Labs introduced lnd 0.4-beta, a beta version of the Lightning protocol implementation, which developers consider to be sufficiently functional and safe to use in the core bitcoin network. The startup also said that it attracted $ 2.5 million of financing from a number of investors, including CEO Jack Dorsey. "We call this release a beta because it has security, fault tolerance and security features that we deem necessary for early users to experiment with small amounts of real bitcoins and lightcoins," said Olaoluwa Osuntokun of CTO Lightning Labs ). In general, the Lightning network is available for use since December, but all nodes in it (which are already more than 1000) are working in test mode and full loss of funds is not excluded. Now those people who have opened payment channels with the help of previous releases of Lightning, must close these channels before updating to the latest version. A significant difference in the new version was the fact that it is compatible with various implementations of bitcoin. If alpha versions relied on btcd to interact with block bitcoin, then lnd 0.4-beta allows users to use their preferred server, including bitcoind, Bcoin and others. Among other innovations, a new format for private key sides is being developed, designed specifically for Lightning; increased fault tolerance; Improved payment routing, as well as fixed bugs and other changes. In addition to launching a beta version of its software, Lightning Labs also announced the attraction of $ 2.5 million from investors, including Litecoin's creator Charlie Lee, BitGo's technical director Ben Davenport; the head of Twitter and Square Jack Dorsey (Jack Dorsey), the former chief operating officer of PayPal and the founder of Yammer David Sacks (David Sacks) and others. CEO of Lightning Labs Elizabeth Stark is confident that the release of the beta version of the software and the funding received will allow the Lightning Network technology to move to a new level of development. At the same time, she added that Lightning is not just about scalability, but is also a platform for application development. In the future, Lightning Labs plans to introduce in Ind a number of new functions, including atomic multi-channel payments, routing tools for site operators and others. And although the software is already compatible with Bitcoin, and with Litecoin, these networks are not yet compatible with each other. The developers also intend to solve this problem with time. It is worth noting that although the output of lnd 0.4 marks an important milestone in the development of the Lightning Network, it is still a beta version of the software, so its use is risky because of the possible presence of bugs. "So right now, users should not invest in Lightning more money than they are willing to lose," warned Stark. In Lightning Labs note that the version of lnd 0.4-beta is targeted primarily at developers and advanced users.
All details of the release can be found on the link.