By Susie Violet Ward · Forbes · 3 October 2023
The article asks whether bitcoin’s Lightning Network could support payments without an internet connection, which could help regions with poor connectivity or areas hit by disaster. Dr Ahmet Kurt, whose PhD research in Dr Kemal Akkaya’s ADWISE Lab looked at the problem, found that receiving payments offline was more feasible than sending them. His approach combined an intermediary node that holds payments until the recipient is back online with mesh networks using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, achieving success rates of up to 95% in some settings.
Ben Arc of LNbits highlighted the trust problem when both parties are offline, and suggested that federated eCash, such as Fedimint, might be the simplest short-term solution, while noting the risk if a majority of a federation acted dishonestly. He also cited Hal Finney’s view that computers could be used “to liberate and protect people rather than to control them.”