An achilles heel of the original Bitcoin network is that it can only process 7 transactions per second which is far too few. For a little context, Visa can process 2000 per second. Hence the Lightning network was created to massively increase then speed and capacity of Bitcoin transactions.
Now if like me you have a new found interest in all things Crypto, then reading simple guides like this one from www.hackermoon.com is invaluable education, and gives you a firm grasp on how transfers are processed. Not only that, but you run your own Lightning node, easily and cheaply from home.......that will be my next share, but for now, get the main principles in your head and who knows, this might be first step to your own, home run Steem witness node one day!
