The Lightning Energy Market with Austin Mitchell - WBD579

Austin Mitchell is the Co-Founder and CEO of Synota. In this
interview, we discuss his plan to use the Lightning Network to
settle transactions in the energy industry, and how this should
bring greater equality to the energy market whilst also enabling
the whole energy economy to move to the Lightning Network.


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Bitcoin is prospectively the best version of money, worldwide
instant payments rail, market-based accelerant for energy
production, and energy grid stabiliser. It’s infuriating that
more people aren’t waking up to its potential. Perhaps it’s the
FUD, the passive damage caused by dysfunction in the crypto
industry, or the ignorance of there being bitcoin the money and
Bitcoin the network.


But Bitcoin’s story is still being written; as many keep saying -
it’s still early. We all know that there are nascent layer 2
innovations that are taking Bitcoin in new directions. But even
hardened advocates continue to be amazed at the use cases being
developed using Bitcoin’s various characteristics.


Take the Lightning Network: the game-changing payment protocol.
It is the layer that enables Bitcoin to scale. But what does that
actually mean? Well, quite a lot. Bitcoin is fast becoming an
integral part of the energy industry. In addition to the known
functions comes a new one: the Lightning Network’s instant
settlement facility and distributed payment network is set to
transform energy finance.


The current system is predicated on old analogue payment
processes, full of inefficiencies that unnecessarily bloat costs
for producers and consumers. The prize is a real-time payment
system that simplifies energy finance whilst enabling greater
functionality. It could make the market more flexible, dynamic
and equitable. The result could be that it draws the whole energy
economy onto the Lightning Network.


It’s a lightbulb moment given how big that industry is: $4.5
trillion is spent on energy a year. There are additional services
that could be included. The lightbulb fuses when you think about
what other industries could find similar utility. The lightbulb
explodes when you remember Lightning is just one of many layer 2
innovations. We’re still so very very early.