One of the biggest Bitcoin's flaws is the transaction cost. There is also the PoW part which is incresaingly worrying, but for the layman user, the fact that sending money on the Bitcoin network can sometimes be more expensive than sending through VISA or MasterCard is a big adoption problem.

Among the "layer two" initiatives aiming to mitigate this, the Lightning Network, proposed and implemented by a company called Lightning Labs, is probably the most popular. For those not knowing how this works, Lightning Network facilitates the creation of peer-to-peer, off-chain channels between two actors, making payments for both very fast and cheap. Transactions are validated on chain only at certain intervals, not for every transaction.

Today Lightning Labs announced the first version of their desktop app for the Bitcoin mainnet. The alpha release is available for Windows, Mac and Linux from the [company Github repository](https://github.com/lightninglabs/lightning-app/releases).

First impressions are positive, here's a screenshot for the "deposit funds" feature:
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![Screen Shot 2019-04-24 at 11.33.34 AM.png](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmdYMrcWVo33kiai5LxkcPNbSGe6FudtXpM78pAEsnEm38/Screen%20Shot%202019-04-24%20at%2011.33.34%20AM.png)
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The app also uses the "Neutrino" protocol, which only requires a small part of the blockchain to be downloaded on the client, as opposed to having 200Gb worth of data on your HD, just to be able to send and receive Bitcoin.

Word of caution: the app is still "alpha" which means there are associated risks and the intended audience for this release is mainly formed by users willing to test.
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_I'm a serial entrepreneur, blogger and ultrarunner. You can find me mainly on my blog at [Dragos Roua](http://dragosroua.com) where I write about productivity, business, relationships and running. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me @dragosroua._
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