RE: Bitcoin's Lightning Network - How Does It Work and How to Test It
Thanks nastyneste. Really appreciate the feedback.
It is a very heated debate in the Bitcoin community - like modern day politics it has all become a little tribal; the truth and the technology matter less than what team you are on.
When I look at the facts (say https://bitinfocharts.com/ and a fee comparison) other altcoins, such as Etherium and Litecoin are faster and the fees are similar to BCH (BCH fees are a little lower at the moment given the transaction volumes/traffic are also the lowest). So if fees and speed are our primary concern, BCH is not necessarily the answer and as noted above, it's only a short term solution, eventually 8MBs will not be enough.
The real value of Bitcoin Cash comes from the fact that it forked from Bitcoin, so it is compatible with existing Bitcoin infrastructure and uses the Bitcoin brand and logo. It also has powerful commercial interests backing it - Roger Ver (owner of Bitcoin.Com) and Jihan Wu (largest producer of mining equipment) own substantial amounts of BCH and openly disagree with Bitcoin's "core" development team.
I personally support Segregated Witness and I am excited about Lightning, so I favor Bitcoin and do not see BCH as a long term solution in its current form. I do consider it to a threat though - given the brand overlap, powerful resources and constant attacks on Bitcoin - I don't think newbies are properly able to differentiate between the two. I hate seeing Roger Ver on CNBC criticizing Bitcoin or BCH supporters attacking Nick Szabo, Adam Back etc (some of the greats that were involved in the very beginning).
I do not want to leave you with a biased opinion though so I suggest you also look at this article from Bitcoin.Com (owned and managed by Roger Ver, so pro-BCH) and suggest you do some of your own research to balance the view. Good luck!
P.S. if you have the time this is an interesting insight into the intensity of the debate!