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Ethereum’s Raiden Network Is on the Testnet

 JP Buntinx  September 8, 2017  Crypto, News            Tweet Share12 +1 Share4 PinShares 16The  Ethereum ecosystem is scheduled to undergo some big changes over the  coming months. The first part of the Metropolis hard fork is scheduled  to go into effect in a few weeks from now. Additionally, the Raiden  scaling solution is now available on one of the testnets. This is  another major step in the right direction for Ethereum, as there is  growing demand for a better-scaling network. 

Raiden Goes Through Extensive Testing

We touched upon Raiden  quite some time ago. Similar to Bitcoin and Litecoin, Ethereum needs  its own scaling solutions to allow for more transaction throughput and  less blockchain bloat. For Ethereum, that solution is called Raiden, a  protocol which has been in development for quite some time now. It  appears the developers are ready to take things to the next level, as  Raiden is now available through one of Ethereum ecosystem’s test  networks. This test will provide critical data before Raiden is brought  to the main network. Depending how the testing  of Raiden goes, we may see the Ethereum protocol handle millions of  inquiries per second in the near future. Raiden allows for  micropayments, similar to how the Lightning Network will operate  with both Bitcoin and Litecoin. Moreover, the scaling solution  introduces lower transaction fees and virtually instant settlements. All  of these developments are intriguing for Ethereum.  Many people feel the potential of  Ethereum has yet to be fully unlocked. Although the ecosystem has been  around for a few years now, there is still a fair bit of room for future  improvement. That is the case with all cryptocurrency protocols in  existence today, but it appears these changes will be introduced in  Ethereum much quicker compared to other currencies. Focusing on a  growing amount of transaction throughput requires a proper scaling  solution, and Raiden seems to provide exactly that at this point in  time.     Although Raiden is only just now on  the testnet, the expectations for this scaling solution are pretty high.  Ever since the launch of cryptocurrency ICOs on the Ethereum network,  the ledger has been bogged down  by an influx of new transactions. They even virtually crippled the  Ethereum blockchain on more than one occasion, although things smoothed  out eventually. Allowing for faster transactions and an increased  throughput will bring major improvements to Ethereum as a whole.  Raiden introduces off-chain  transactions through state channels. These state channels are built  using Ethereum executable distributed code contracts, more  commonly known as smart contracts. There will be dedicated nodes for the  Raiden protocol, which will be more-than-welcome additions. Those nodes  will communicate with other Raiden nodes yet still run alongside  regular Ethereum nodes moving forward.  Vitalik Buterin has commented in the  past on the importance of state channels. They have the potential to  “greatly improve the scalability and privacy of blockchain  applications.” Considering how the Ethereum developers are currently  working on the integration of zk-SNARKS, the launch of Raiden will help  pave the way. State channels are a vital part of achieving the  properties that mainstream users expect and deserve. A lot of people are  looking forward to seeing what this protocol is capable of.  

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