Payment Channels
Payment channels are a blockchain scaling solution that allows two or more parties to conduct multiple off-chain transactions securely, with only the final settlement recorded on the main blockchain. They enable fast, low-cost, and private transfers by reducing on-chain congestion and fees. This concept is fundamental to layer-2 protocols like the Lightning Network for Bitcoin and state channels for Ethereum.
Developers should learn payment channels to build scalable decentralized applications (dApps) that require high transaction throughput, such as micropayments, gaming, or real-time financial services. They are essential for reducing costs and latency in blockchain systems, making them practical for everyday use cases like streaming payments or IoT transactions.