The beneath is a direct excerpt of Marty’s Bent Problem #1264: “Don’t underestimate human creativity.” Join the e-newsletter right here.
It is true what they are saying: Bear markets are for constructing. Here is a shining instance of that through the Sphinx crew displaying that their Lightning node is leveraging the Validating Lightning Signer structure, which separates the keys from the Lightning node utilizing a devoted signing system. That’s what is pictured above: the small system hanging out of the wall outlet.
“Why the hell does this matter?” Superb query, freak. Up till this level (nicely actually earlier this 12 months when Nodl got here out with their Nodlito undertaking), working a Lightning Community node has been a really cumbersome course of as a result of want for 100% uptime to facilitate funds. This want for uptime has pushed many enterprise-level Lightning customers to run their nodes within the cloud utilizing server farms that may meet the uptime calls for. It is a bit worrisome as a result of it results in these Lightning nodes being considerably of sitting geese. Because it has been widespread observe up up to now to deal with the node and the keys that grant customers entry to their Lightning channels in the identical {hardware}, it will be trivial for a motivated attacker to establish and confiscate devoted Lightning {hardware} sitting in server farms internationally, successfully permitting the attacker to confiscate a person’s bitcoin.
Enter schemes like Nodlito and Validating Lightning Signer, which deliver a brand new approach of doing issues to the market. As an alternative of housing the keys and the node in the identical {hardware}, thus making a central level of failure, these tasks purpose to equip customers with the means to separate the 2 capabilities and provides these customers again full management of their bitcoin by making certain they’ll bodily possess their keys utilizing devoted {hardware} that communicates with the node working within the cloud. Sure, the {hardware} working the node at a specific server farm may be shut off, however the person will nonetheless have their keys and, due to this fact, entry to their bitcoin.
Here is how the structure for the Validating Lightning Signer seems:
through Validating Lightning Signer GitLab
If this sort of Lightning node setup turns into commonplace, it might actually open up the doorways for extra people to take part in constructing out the community with out having to fret about working their very own node {hardware}. Clearly, essentially the most sovereign approach to take part within the Lightning Community could be to run your individual node, however the uptime demand to be a official node operator prevents a big quantity of individuals from taking part absolutely. It appears to me that it is a respectable tradeoff to get extra individuals working their node software program within the cloud. Sure, these cloud suppliers are centralized entities. Nonetheless, if you’ll be able to maintain your keys, you possibly can function with the peace of thoughts that you simply all the time have entry to your cash. And with extra freedom-focused cloud suppliers like Nodl coming to market, the choices accessible to Bitcoiners appear to be increasing.
Regardless, this sort of structure could be very encouraging to see and it highlights one thing that I feel many individuals who critique Bitcoin and lots of die-hard Bitcoiners overlook: The creativity of the individuals constructing on Bitcoin, Lightning and another a part of the stack will proceed to shock us. There isn’t a one on the planet who can inform you what the stack will appear like and precisely what it should present sooner or later. For this reason I typically discover it foolish when individuals take a snapshot of the exercise throughout the stack right now and try to undertaking out future exercise on the community. We do not know what we do not know. And what we do not know will proceed to push the design panorama of what can and will probably be constructed on Bitcoin sooner or later. And that future appears to be very vibrant!
