One Guy Controls the Lightning Network’s Biggest Node

BTC supporters were elated to discover recently that the Lightning Network’s (LN) capacity had spiked by 216 percent in just one day. Some individuals suspected the Build on Bitcoin conference had sparked more LN interest. However, onlookers have found the spike was due to a single node created by the owner of Shitcoin.com. According to LN explorers, the node holds more than 49 percent of the Lightning Network’s total funds.

Also read: Study Finds Cryptocurrency Rebalance Portfolios Outperform ‘Hodling’

Everyone is Talking About One Node That Holds More Funds Than 49% of the Entire Lightning network

There’s a new Lightning Network node on the block that has BTC supporters in a frenzy trying to figure out why one person has so much money on this nascent network. At the time of writing the so-called “?ƒÆ?LN.SHITCOIN.COM?ƒÆ?” holds 35.24 BTC or $220,000 USD at the time of writing. The node is operated by Andreas Brekken, the owner of Shitcoin.com who has detailed he plans on doing a review of the Lightning Network. Brekken’s Shitcoin.com reviews a wide variety of cryptocurrencies like IOTA, Tron, EOS, and Dash.

Brekken’s node is massive compared to the rest of the nodes across LN and on July 14 the node operator stated to his Twitter followers:

To make the Lightning Network truly decentralized, we must first become the Lightning Network.

Supporters Afraid the Node May “Reduce People’s Trust in the Lightning Network”, While Some Are Using the Node for Routing, Even Though They “Don’t Trust the Guy” Operating It

Of course, LN supporters had a lot to say about Brekken’s node as some believed it was just an expensive marketing attempt for his review website. Some users even argued that Brekken might try to attempt some sort of “attack”.

“If he could somehow crash or reduce people’s trust in the Lightning Network, that would be a plus for his side,” explains one Reddit user. Oddly enough, one user explained that even though he didn’t trust Brekken, he’s been using the node for liquidity.

“I opened a channel with this node — it routes payments very well (loads of liquidity),” reveals another Reddit user.

I will not be receiving (only spending) via this channel as I don’t trust this guy — If you spend only — there is no need for watchtowers, or zero risk to your money.

All Eyes on One Node

Brekken hasn’t disclosed when his official LN review will be published or what type of testing he has been doing. Just recently he revealed how much money he’s made so far from routing, which turned out to be around $0.028 USD worth of BTC. It’s likely Brekken will follow through with a detailed review, but in the meantime, it’s safe to say many bitcoiners will be watching this node closely.

What do you think about the Shitcoin.com node on the Lightning Network? Let us know your thoughts on this subject in the comment section below.

Images via Shutterstock, Twitter, Recksplorer, and Shitcoin.com.

Why not keep track of the price with one of Bitcoin.com’s widget services?

The post One Guy Controls the Lightning Network’s Biggest Node appeared first on Bitcoin News.