µRaiden, a Simpler Version of the Raiden Network, Launched on Ethereum Testnet

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by Polina Chernykh · 3 min read
µRaiden, a Simpler Version of the Raiden Network, Launched on Ethereum Testnet
Photo: µRaiden

The team behind an ethereum scaling solution is launching an off-the-chain micropayment system that is designed to address the scalability and latency problems of the network.

The Raiden Network has announced the launch of a test version of µRaiden, a new micropayment system based on the Raiden technology. The solution enables users to conduct instant micro transfers directly between each other.

“Talking to Dapp developers, we noticed that many of them just want to use the Raiden Network as a robust many-to-one payment channel system; one service provider offering services to many recurring customers,” the Raiden Network said in a blog post. “Such systems do not require a full-blown network but instead already benefit greatly from direct payment channels. For these, we have designed µRaiden.”

µRaiden is an easy-to-use, open source platform that is set to transform ERC20-based micropayments. Instead of using bidirectional token payment channels emloyed by the Raiden Network, µRaiden will use unidirectional payment channels to enable quick and free payments between two users. The feature will allow system participants to charge for their services on a pay-per-use basis.

“Applications that encourage recurring customer payments or even micropayments can greatly benefit from a µRaiden setup. Examples include paywalls for news articles, pay-per-request APIs, micropayments for storage, bandwidth, and computations, livestream tipping, etc.”

µRaiden will also be used as a distinct entity in the Raiden Network to pay auxiliary contributors for their services, including path finding or channel monitoring.

The official date of the release has not been unveiled yet. According to the developers, µRaiden is now undergoing an external security audit and will be available for use on the ethereum network “very soon”.

The Raiden Network is an ethereum analogy of bitcoin lightning network that is expected to solve ethereum scalability issues. With the new solution, there is no need for global consensus to confirm transaction between participants. The Raiden Network leverages off-chain state networks, allowing users to privately exchange messages via peer-to-peer network. A testnet for the project was launched on September 6th, 2017.

The ethereum developers have recently unveiled that the long anticipated Metropolis upgrade is now being tested on the network. The first part of the hard fork, called Byzantine, is expected to be launched in the next few weeks.

Announced in August, the Metropolis update will bring significant improvements to the network, such as higher security of the system, easier programming and an increased anonymity of transactions. Besides, after the update, smart contracts will automatically settle fees, without the need to be approved by users.

According to ethereum creator, Vitalik Buterin, the network holds great potential and will likely be able to compete with such giants as Visa and Mastercard in the next two years.

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