How does the Bitcoin network work?

The Lightning Network is connected to the Bitcoin blockchain, existing as a layer on top of it. The connection means that the Lightning Network still benefits from Bitcoin’s security protocols.

The bitcoin network is a peer-to-peer payment network that operates on a cryptographic protocol. Users send and receive bitcoins, the units of currency, by broadcasting digitally signed messages to the network using bitcoin cryptocurrency wallet software .

How can I join the network? That’s the spirit. All you need to do is download (and run) a bitcoin client . When you run the client it will connect to other nodes and start downloading a full copy of the blockchain (the file that contains all the verified transactions).

Just like nobody owns the email technology, nobody owns the Bitcoin network . As such, nobody can speak with authority in the name of Bitcoin.