Some say that the Lightning Network is centralized, but from my point of view, it's still a decentralized solution to scale Bitcoin as anyone would be able to run a Lightning node at will. The huge advantages that it provides for Bitcoin such as dirt-cheap fees, and instant transactions would be too hard to ignore to implement in the future.
However, if the Lightning Network turns out to become a centralized solution for Bitcoin (like many claims it will), then it would be doomed as only those with a lot of wealth and power would be able to participate in this ecosystem.
What are your thoughts about this? Is Lightning really centralized? Or Decentralized?
However, if the Lightning Network turns out to become a centralized solution for Bitcoin (like many claims it will), then it would be doomed as only those with a lot of wealth and power would be able to participate in this ecosystem.
What are your thoughts about this? Is Lightning really centralized? Or Decentralized?
I think large hubs appear because people want to connect to nodes that are always online and already have many connections, since it can result in shorter routes and thus cheaper fees. So, if we think about nodes/hubs as some sort of payment processors, there are still a lot of differences between them and traditional payment processors - they can't freeze or steal your coins easily, because Lightning protocol has strong anti-cheating mechanisms. You don't have to use hubs if you don't want to, you can always choose some alternative routing or just connect with someone directly - this is not possible with fiat, since you can't just start your own small bank.