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What is the reason behind the withdrawal of the Bitcoin core developer from the Lightning network? Security researcher and developer Antoine Riard withdraws from the development of the Lightning Network, citing security issues and fundamental challenges of the Bitcoin ecosystem. According to a thread on the Linux Foundation’s public mailing list, Rearard believes the Bitcoin community faces a “tough problem” as a new class of alternative cycling attacks puts Lightning in a dangerous position.
The Lightning Network is a second layer solution built on the Bitcoin blockchain. It was designed to improve the scalability and efficiency of Bitcoin transactions by enabling off-chain and peer-to-peer transactions. Through the Lightning Network, users can open payment channels, perform multiple transactions off-chain, and settle the final result on the Bitcoin blockchain.
An alternative cycling attack, the focus of Reard’s concerns, targets these payment channels. This is a new type of attack that allows an attacker to steal funds from a channel participant by exploiting inconsistencies between individual mempools.
Bitcoin core
Riard also noted that dealing with this new type of attack may require changes to the Bitcoin network itself. This type of moderation is important and requires transparency and consensus within the Bitcoin community. “These kinds of changes are the ones that require maximum transparency and buy-in for the entire community, because we’re changing the processing requirements of full nodes or the security architecture of the Bitcoin decentralized ecosystem in its entirety,” explains Riard. ”
In essence, addressing this security issue affects more than just the Lightning Network. But it also has broader implications for the entire Bitcoin ecosystem. Changes to the Bitcoin mainnet will affect all Bitcoin users, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive and broad community understanding of these proposed changes.
Developers in the Lightning Network community grappled with a variety of challenges, including criticisms of network complexity and demands placed on the user experience. According to data from DefiLlama, the Layer 2 network has grown in popularity since its launch in 2018. And its total value reached $159.5 million at the time of writing. However, this figure is still relatively modest compared to Bitcoin’s $587 billion market cap.
As Riard steps back from developing the Lightning Network to focus on developing Bitcoin Core. He also raises awareness of the challenges facing the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem. He emphasizes the need for a comprehensive understanding and scrutiny of changes that affect the entire Bitcoin network.
