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> I don't see how this is any different than an app with "gems" you can buy and re-sell back to the app.

The difference is that the Bitcoin transaction will cause millions of computers to waste a serious amount of electricity calculating hashes over and over.

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It uses the Lightning network, which is a separate network using off-chain transactions. The Lightning network crams upwards of infinite transactions into a single on-chain transaction, called a payment channel.

IIRC lightning network transactions only use as much electricity as 10 emails, although I guess at some point a real Bitcoin transaction will happen eventually.

Yeah pretty much. A lightning channel is a bit like putting money down as a retainer for a lawyer, or putting a deposit down in a hotel.

The real transaction happens at the beginning, and another transaction happens at the end when the channel closes and we settle out who gets the remainder.

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