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RE: What is the Lightning Network
Exactly what i'm worried about, the lightning network might look perfect on the outside but the chance that this could potentially centralise bitcoin is very worrying and could completely ruin the coin once people find out that could or might be the case. Great run down on the lightning network though.
What I like about lightning network when compared to Ethereum's proof-of-stake plans is that LN is open and explicit about the centralization risks and is an opt-in mechanism. If you don't want to use payment channels you don't have to.
Ethereum's proof-of-stake is just another "rich get richer" scheme, where ethereum whales get to stake their ETH and earn the profits. And then we're suddenly in a situation where instead of requiring 51% hashpower to hack the network you simply need to have 51% market cap. Which, if history teaches us anything, will happen sooner or later.
just read between the lines here: https://ethereum.stackexchange.com/questions/11182/will-a-higher-stake-make-more-money-in-pos
speaking of centralization: https://rados.io/posts/sell-bch-before-it-s-too-late
I share your worries, and I believe most of the active crypto community members do. I think it'll be a niche thing targeted at mass market. Think cheap (or even free to the consumer) bitcoin/litecoin paypal, so that people can pay for coffees, clothes, food and what not.
For more complex transactions you can still use either the traditional bitcoin blockchain, or just abandon bitcoin in favor of an altcoin that emphasizes decentralization and trustless economy.