Bitcoin proponent Paul Sztorc sparked discussion by attributing Bitcoin’s initial exclusion from President Donald Trump’s proposed crypto reserve to the Lightning Network’s technical failures, citing a trove of critical assessments from industry experts.
Drivechain Developer Points to Lightning Network as Trump Embraces Altcoins
The inclusion of XRP, ADA, and SOL in a crypto reserve proposal linked to President Donald Trump drew backlash from several bitcoin (BTC) advocates, who argued it unfairly favored “crypto socialism.” Later on, Trump included bitcoin and ether in his announcement, hours later. Paul Sztorc, creator of Drivechain and a longtime developer, claimed the snub stemmed from bitcoin’s reliance on the Lightning Network (LN), which he called “fake” and dysfunctional.
“I know bitcoiners don’t want to hear this, but it is the truth: This is the lightning network’s fault — because LN doesn’t work. LN breaks Bitcoin,” Sztorc wrote on X. He alleged Trump witnessed LN’s shortcomings firsthand, calling it a “cover-up grift,” and argued bitcoin’s adoption of BIP300, his sidechain proposal, could resolve scalability without altering Bitcoin’s core protocol.
Sztorc added:
Bip300 is not a matter of changing BTC, it is just a matter of miners choosing to make more money—But lightning coin is as fake as any Alt.
Sztorc directed critics to his “LN Blackpill” file, compiling years of warnings from LN developers. Tadge Dryja, LN’s co-creator, admitted in 2019 that LN “can’t actually do” what proponents claim. Matt Corallo, a Bitcoin Core contributor, called LN “kinda a joke” in 2023, citing issues like unpaid invoices due to liquidity gaps. Other experts, including Lightning Labs’ Alex Bosworth, highlighted unsolvable pathfinding challenges and scaling limits.
Many people point to the fact that lots of data showcases concerns: Less than 0.025% of bitcoin’s circulating supply is on LN, with capacity stale and consolidated since October 2022. Most transactions rely on custodial services or centralized liquidity providers, contradicting LN’s decentralized ethos.
Of course, critics dismissed Sztorc’s claims as hyperbolic. One rebuttal stated, “This kind of nonsense dilutes any good points you make,” to which Sztorc simply replied with the LN Blackpill document. Over the last year, LN proponents have argued ongoing upgrades address flaws, but skepticism persists amid high-profile exits, including developer Antoine Riard, who halted LN work in 2023.
The debate reflects broader tensions in Bitcoin’s evolution: balancing innovation with decentralization. As Trump’s proposal ignites scrutiny over crypto reserves, LN’s viability remains a flashpoint for bitcoin’s future while altcoins like XRP, ADA, and SOL leap ahead.