Lightning Network faces criticism from pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton

John Deaton’s remarks come amid concerns about alleged backdoors in the Bitcoin Lightning Network’s code.

Lawyer and cryptocurrency proponent John Deaton has criticized the Lightning Network, deeming it less effective than the ‘Spend The Bits’ protocol on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). The Lightning Network is the second-layer solution built over the Bitcoin blockchain. It is designed to improve the scalability and efficiency of Bitcoin transactions by enabling off-chain, peer-to-peer transactions.

Deaton expressed his choice on Saturday, Oct. 21, through a tweet, revealing his role as an angel investor in ‘Spend the Bits’ and his recent appointment as its chief legal officer.

It’s worth noting that this isn’t Deaton’s initial endorsement of ‘Spend The Bits’ as a viable alternative to the well-known Lightning Network on the Bitcoin blockchain. In the previous month, the Ripple-supporting attorney commended the protocol, characterizing it as a more secure method for using your Bitcoin in comparison to the Lightning network.”

Let me be clear and transparent: I am now involved in @Spend_The_Bits as an angel investor and serve as its Chief Legal Officer. Therefore, please accept my comments with that in mind. But a major reason I invested in @Spend_The_Bits, or stated more accurately, invested in… https://t.co/aheyTxjGxp

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) October 21, 2023

Interestingly, Deaton’s Saturday disclosure was well-timed, aligning with a tweet from the crypto investigator ‘WhaleWire.’ This tweet raised concerns about a recent discovery in the Lightning Network, indicating a notable security vulnerability that prompted a prominent Bitcoin developer to withdraw from the project.

As per the tweet, the developer alleged the presence of deliberate vulnerabilities in the Lightning Network’s code, which could potentially provide attackers with complete network control. Notably, major backers of the Lightning Network encompass Tether, Bitfinex, and BlockStream. This claim has raised inquiries and apprehensions regarding the network’s security and trustworthiness.

Related: Lightning Labs releases Taproot Assets alpha, bringing stablecoins to Bitcoin

At present, the Lightning Network can handle transactions involving just 5,338 BTC, as reported by ‘IML,’ constituting only 0.025% of Bitcoin’s total supply. This significant trend has sparked doubts regarding the network’s resilience and long-term viability. Furthermore, this alarming figure is worsened by a recent 15% reduction in the capacity of the Layer 2 payment protocol over the past approximately three months.

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