Sort:  

Ahem...…. Lightning Network..... Scalable, Instant Bitcoin/Blockchain Transactions. Bitcoin developers are doing what they can. https://lightning.network/ I hope you guys can be a bit more positive in the future. :D

Yeah, yeah...we’ve heard about Lightning for how long now? And what are the odds of this happening any time soon?

Also - will Lightning make those transactions fee-less? If not, Bitcoin is still at a disadvantage when it comes to transacting.

That was an old post of mine. Sorry this response took so long. The Lightning network has already been implemented on the bitcoin network but many users don't know it...

From Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_Network

From April 2018 to August 2018, the Bitcoin Lightning Network had a monthly growth rate of about 15%. The number of nodes increased from 1,500 to 3,000, and the number of channels increased from 4,000 to 11,000.[5]

Lightning Network
The Lightning Network is a "second layer" payment protocol that operates on top of a blockchain (most commonly Bitcoin). It theoretically enables fast transactions between participating nodes and has been touted as a solution to the bitcoin scalability problem. It features a peer-to-peer system for making micropayments of digital cryptocurrency through a network of bidirectional payment channels without delegating custody of funds.
Normal use of the Lightning Network consists of opening a payment channel by committing a funding transaction to the relevant blockchain, followed by making any number of Lightning transactions that update the tentative distribution of the channel's funds without broadcasting to the blockchain, optionally followed by closing the payment channel by broadcasting the final version of the transaction to distribute the channel's funds.

O.K. :D Thank you @wikitextbot !!

I'm with ya.

Bitcoin may just be the trojan horse to make a cheaper, faster digital payment solution like Steem a major player in global trades, or payments in general.

I'm aware of the lightning network. I'm also aware that free transactions (Steem) beats transactions with a fee (lightning network), albeit much cheaper than bitcoin's current transaction fees.

I, unlike some people (bitcoin maximalists), believe that there's room for many cryptos to serve a purpose well into the future. I can forsee Steem and Bitcoin and Etherium and many other current "altcoins" co-existing, offering us many different options for payment, each having their own specific strengths.