# Getting Started Zion is a peer-governed social network where members are the true owners of their data. With Zion, you can [post content](/using-zion/conversations) to your friends and/or subscribers, [explore](/communities/communities-for-members) and [chat](/communities/openchat) in communities that are run and managed by Zion members, and view content from your favorite creator. Additionally, Zion sidesteps corporate profit motives and empowers every user with full sovereignty and irrevocable custody of their personal information and data. This creates a network free of targeted ads, centralized moderation, and arbitrary censorship. To get started with Zion, just download the Zion Client from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. Once installed follow the [account creation](/zion/account-creation) instructions, and [fund your wallet](/zion/funding-zion-wallet) with your preferred [Bitcoin Lightning Exchange](https://github.com/theDavidCoen/LightningExchanges). With Zion, creators can utilize communities to grow their audience and gain revenue from boosts on the content they post, and from community fees. To learn how to start earning with Zion, read the instructions for [subscribing to Zion,](/zion/upgrading-to-a-creator-account) [creating a community](/zion/community-creation), and [growing your community](/zion/growing-your-community). # Account Creation The first thing you will be asked when opening the Zion App is to login or create an account. A Zion account contains your [DID:ION](https://docs.zion.fyi/architecture/did), connects you to the Zion [DWN](https://docs.zion.fyi/architecture/decentralized-web-nodes), and [Zion Lightning Wallet](https://docs.zion.fyi/architecture/bitcoin-lightning-network). These three technologies allow you to not just use Zion, but use any [Web5](https://developer.tbd.website/projects/web5/) app and transact on the [Bitcoin Lightning Network](https://docs.lightning.engineering/the-lightning-network/overview). Zion stores account data in your [DWN](https://docs.zion.fyi/architecture/decentralized-web-nodes) which is stored on your phone and in Master Replicas. This means only the owner of a Zion account can edit or delete any data pertaining to the account, and that Zion or any other Web5 app cannot delete your data or account. 1. Open the Zion App and click "Create new account" 2. Click "Skip Access Code" Above Request for Access Code 3. Read the following information about creating a [DID](https://docs.zion.fyi/architecture/did) and check the boxes agreeing that you understand how a [DID](https://docs.zion.fyi/architecture/did) works.
4. Record 12 word BIP39 generated [DID](https://docs.zion.fyi/architecture/did) recovery phrase and store the phrase in a safe location, as Zion accounts can **only** be recovered with a recovery phrase. **Zion is not responsible for lost recovery keys.** \ \ We highly recommend storing your phrase physically in at least two secure locations, or in an encrypted file. * **DO NOT store your recovery phrase in a unsecure file on your device or in a cloud.** * **Unsecured recovery phrases on devices are often targeted by hackers.** 5. Input the recovery phrase correctly into the input screen to ensure it was recorded correctly.
6. Attach an email to your Zion account or click "skip" if you would prefer not to.
7. Create a numeric passcode to lock your Zion App. **Note: Your Passcode only locks the app on your device. Recovery keys are the only way to gain access to your account if you lose your passcode.**
8. Fill out the account creation information including your username, display name, profile picture(recommended size: 400x400), and bio.
# Funding Zion Wallet Zion utilizes [Bitcoin Lightning Network](https://docs.lightning.engineering/the-lightning-network/overview) payments for all transactions. Funds can be used currently for fees associated with communities that have monetization turned on and for boosting content of your favorite creators. ### Adding Funds To add funds to a [Zion Lightning wallet](https://docs.zion.fyi/social/zion-app/lightning-wallet): 1. Navigate to your Lightning Wallet page and click "Fund/Request" 2. Input the amount of SATS you would like to add and click "Continue" 3. Copy the generated Lightning Invoice and pay it with your favorite Lightning wallet or [Lightning supported exchange](https://github.com/theDavidCoen/LightningExchanges) * Examples: [Cash App](< https://cash.app/app/VQDSBQP>) & [River](https://river.com/signup?r=XHOYBCSI)
# Upgrading to a Creator Account Most features on Zion can be accessed just by creating an account. However, In order to in create a community, start conversations, or enable creator earning features, you must first upgrade your Zion account by subscribing. A Zion subscription costs $12.00 and requires a credit/debit card. To Subscribe follow the instructions below: 1. Navigate to your profile page and click the "..." on the top right-hand corner of your screen 2. Click "Subscription and Billing" and on the next screen click upgrade to a Creator Account 3. Fill out your payment and billing information. This can be changed at anytime After upgrading, all of the Zion app features will be unlocked and you can start earning as a creator. Please navigate to [Subscription Management](/zion-account/profile#subscription-management) for information on how to manage your subscription. # Community Creation Zion is a network of peer governed communities. With Zion you can create a community that fits your needs as a creator, or join communities created by others who share your interests. Each community is it's own social sphere where members can share content, or just stay up to date on what members are doing. For creators, Zion communities offers the unique opportunity to host content they want for their audiences without any moderation or censorship from centralized authorities. This gives full authority to content creators over what content they want to show as well as choose how they want to moderate their content and following. Zion believes trusted content aggregators have failed creators with their overzealous and overbearing moderation policies. It's time for a new paradigm Additionally, community owners who would like their members to have a vested interest in their community can turn on community payment features. These features allow community owners to monetize from community management while also adding safeguards from malicious actors and bots. ## How to Create a Community If you want to create a community follow these steps: 1. In your Zion app go to the communities splash page and click on the blue plus sign in the top right hand corner of the screen 2. If you are currently a free Zion member, you will need to upgrade your account and add a credit/debit card. 3. Fill out the following form and click create community.
# Growing your Community The best ways to grow and retain your community is by creating new content and rewarding those who join your communities with exclusives. Creating image and video posts that are exclusive to your community helps you retain and grow your membership count. \ \ You can also encourage community members to create their own posts that fit community guidelines. This allows others to showcase their own content to the community, and for communities with fees, allows owners to profit from these posts. If a post violates those guidelines you can take them down with your community administrator tools. You retain post fees of posts that are removed this way.\ \ [OpenChat ](/communities/openchat)allows your community to communicate directly with the community owner as well as other members securely in real-time. This allows you to build relationships with members, and also for connections to be made within the community. Additionally, with [OpenChat](/communities/openchat) you and members of your community can post pay to view posts. These [paid messages](/communities/openchat#paid-messages) allow Creators to monitize content in a way that doesn't force people to pay for full subscriptions. With Zion, you choose how to run your community. Creators from all walks of life can create and grow communities of people who share specific interests, want to follow their favorite creator, or want to organize and build networks based on common goals.
# Creator Monetization Zion is for Creators. We strive to build tools that allow Creators to capitalize on their following. As a Creator you can monetize your following and content in the following ways: * Add [Community fees](/communities/communities-for-creators#community-fees) to your Community. This allows you to add a one time non-refundable membership fee, a non-refundable posting fee if members want to post their own content in your community, and a staking fee for every comment and post. Staking fees are return after a set period of time if you do not remove them for violating Community rules. * Post [paid messages](/communities/openchat#paid-messages) in OpenChat to collects for content you wish to be pay to view. * Get Boosts from your most loyal followers on content you post which are sent directly to your [Zion Wallet](/zion-account/lightning-wallet). # Profile With Zion, your profile is your hub for all of your activity and connections on Zion. On your profile page you can do the following: * Edit/Delete your Profile * Manage your followers and and who you follow * Manage your community memberships * Manage Conversations * Manage profile settings and account details
### Edit Profile To Edit or delete your profile follow the instructions below: 1. Navigate to your profile page and click the "..." on the top right-hand corner of your screen 2. Click Edit Profile
### Managing followers/following Managing your followers and who you follow is simple with Zion. To manage them follow the instruction below: 1. Go to your profile and click on followers or following 2. Click on a follower or person you follow 3. For Followers you can then click to remove them from your followers list without sending them a notification. For people you follow you can then click to stop following them.
### Managing Conversations To manage your non-community conversations on your profile follow the instructions below: 1. Navigate to your profile page 2. Click the "..." on the top right of a conversation to edit, share, or delete a conversation. ![](/files/CdSFh2UTOy2XJtXfcp3M) **Note: Once conversations are deleted there is no way to recover them as you own all content on your profile and it is stored on your personal DWN.** ### Subscription Management #### Subscribing with iOS on v2 1. Click the 3 dots on the right-hand corner of the app. 2. Click "Become a creator" 3. Click "Upgrade" 4. Double-click to subscribe 5. Click OK
#### Canceling a subscription on iOS with v2 To manage your iOS subscription, such as cancellation, please follow Apple's support guide at: . 1. Open the Settings app. 2. Tap your name (top right) 3. Tap Subscriptions 4. Find the Zion Subscription 5. Tap Cancel Subscription. You might need to scroll down to find the Cancel Subscription button. If there is no Cancel button or you see an expiration message in red text, the subscription is already canceled.

Cancelling a Subscription

See [Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202039) for more information. ### v1 Version (deprecated) Note: The following instructions apply to the v1 version of the app. Please see above for the most up-to-date information. To manage your subscription follow the steps below 1. Navigate to your profile page and click the "..." on the top right-hand corner of your screen 2. Click "Subscription and Billing" 1. To cancel your subscription click "Cancel Subscription" 2. To view your payment invoices click "View Invoices" 3. To change your subscription payment information click "Update Payment Details" * Click the "..." on any of your cards under "Payment Methods" to edit/delete your payment information * Click "Add Card" to add a new card * Click the "..." on your billing details to edit your payment details
### Profile Security and Settings To manage your profile settings and to view your security details follow the instructions below: * Navigate to your profile page and click the "..." on the top right-hand corner of your screen * Click "Security and Settings" #### Email Address 1. To change your email address click "Email Address" 1. Input your new email address and click enter 2. Check your email inbox for a verification email to verify your new email address
#### Change Pin Code 1. To change your pin code click "Change Pin Code" 1. Input your current pin code 2. Input your new pin code 3. Confirm new pin code by re-inputting your new code
#### Recovery Phrase 1. To view your 12 word recovery phrase click "Recovery Phrase" and enter your pin code.
#### Boost Settings 1. To manage your boost settings click "Boost Settings" and input your new default boost amount
#### Delete Profile 1. To delete your profile click "Delete Profile" 1. You will be reminded to save your 12 word recovery phrase if you ever want to recover your account 2. Input you username to confirm you want to delete your profile and hit enter
### Blocking/Reporting Another Profile To Block another profile follow the instructions below: * Navigate to the user profile you wish to block by clicking on their name in a conversation, on a follower/following list, or on a community member list * Click "..." on the top right hand corner of the screen * To block a profile click "Block USERNAME" * To report a profile click "Report USERNAME"
# Lightning Wallet Zion Social utilizes Bitcoin Lightning Wallets for all transaction on the application. To interact with others on Zion social you must have funds in your wallet. For more information on how to fund your wallet navigate to [Funding Zion Wallet](/zion/funding-zion-wallet). ### Sending Funds To request funds follow the instructions below: * Navigate to your Lightning Wallet page and click "Send" * Enter the Lighting invoice address or scan the invoice QR code * Click "Send"
## Receive Funds To add receive to a [Zion Lightning wallet](https://docs.zion.fyi/social/zion-app/lightning-wallet): 1. Navigate to your Lightning Wallet page and click "Request" 2. Input the amount of SATS you would like to add and click "Continue" 3. Copy the generated Lightning Invoice and pay it with your favorite Lightning wallet or [Lightning supported exchange](https://github.com/theDavidCoen/LightningExchanges) * Examples: [Cash App](< https://cash.app/app/VQDSBQP>) & [River](https://river.com/signup?r=XHOYBCSI)
### View Transactions * Navigate to your Lightning Wallet page * Below "Send"/"Request" is a list of your wallet transactions from newest to oldest
# Communities for Members Communities are the best way to interact with other members who share your interests. Communities are completely self governed which means they are only moderated by community admins, rather than a centralized authority. As a community member you can do the following: * Share content within your community * Comment on community content * Boost content within your community * Chat with other members using OpenChat ### Joining a Community To search for and join a community follow the instructions below * Navigate to the search page * Enter the name or use a keyword to search for the community you want to join * Click on the community you want to join and click the "Join" button * For community that have community fees turned on may charge a one time join fee which you must pay before joining. *Note: this fee is not refundable*
### Posting in a Community To post a conversation in your community follow the instructions below: * Navigate to community you want to post a conversation in * Click the blue "+" at the top left of the screen * If you community has fees turned on, you be asked to pay a non-refundable posting fee, and a staking fee that can be returned if your post does not break the rules. * Input your desired information for the post and click enter. Currently, conversations support text, images, links, and videos. Note: Make sure your posts follow your community rules as all posts must follow the community rules or be subject to be taken down
### Commenting in a Conversation To comment on conversations in your communities follow the instructions bellow: * Navigate to your community page to access your community feed. * Find the post you would like to comment on and click on the comments button * Fill out your comment in write a message and click send * If community fees are turned on you will be asked to pay a staking fee that can be returned if your comment does not break the rules.
### Leaving a Community To leave a community follow the instructions below: * Navigate to the community page your wish to leave and click the "..." on the top right-hand corner of your screen. * Click leave community * You will be reminded that you will not be returned your membership fee if you leave. * Click "Leave Community"
### Reporting a Community To report a community follow the instructions below: * Navigate to the community page your wish to leave and click the "..." on the top right-hand corner of your screen. * Click report community * Click the violation category that best suits your report
# Communities For Creators Community Owners have a variety of tools that let them manage their communities, interact with members, and to monetize their content. On Zion Social, Community Owners can do the following: * Set community rules * Approve/Deny join requests * Manage and remove members * Manage and delete conversations and comments that violate community rules * Manage community fees * Manage OpenChat ### [Creating a Community](/zion/community-creation) ### Managing Conversations and Comments To manage Community posts follow the instructions below: * Navigate to the Community page you manage * Click the "..." on the top right-hand corner of your screen and click reports * View all reports from members about content they think violated the rules * Click on a conversation or comment you would like to manage. Choose whether to delete the post, remove the user from the group, or to ban the user from the group ### Managing Members To manage current community members follow the instructions below: * Navigate to the Community page you manage * Click the "..." on the top right-hand corner of your screen and click reports * Click on the member you would like to manage and click on their name * Choose to remove or ban the member and click on your choice
### Join Requests To manage join requestions follow the instructions below: * Navigate to the Community page you manage * Click the "..." on the top right-hand corner of your screen and click reports * Navigate to through the list and click "Confirm" to approve requests and "Delete" to delete them
### Community Fees Communities can have three fees to help Community Owners profit from their communities while also using fees to help reduce chances of malicious users in a Community as well as spam. These fees are: * **Membership Fee:** One time membership fee for all Community members when joining the Community. This is not refundable if a member is kicked or leaves * **Posting Fee:** A non-refundable fee for creating a post in a community feed. This makes members choose what content they feel is important enough to invest in a post creation. * **Staking Fee:** A refundable fee for posting content. This is a tool to prevent spam posts and malicious members from using sock puppets and bot accounts. Staking fees are kept for up to 8 hours and returned if the post is not taken down by community admins. Members who's posts that are penalized for breaking the rules will not be returned their staking fee. #### Setting Community Fees To set up your Community fees follow instructions below: * Navigate to the Community page you manage * Click the "..." on the top right-hand corner of your screen and click "Edit Community" * Input the fees you would like to set for each type of fee in it's respective input boxes and click "Save"
### Deleting Your Community To delete your community follow the steps below: * Navigate to the Community page you manage * Click the "..." on the top right-hand corner of your screen and click "Delete Community" * You will be promoted with a message asking you again if you wish to delete your community. Click "Delete Community" to confirm **Note: Once a Community is deleted it cannot be recovered. Additionally, all data from that community will be deleted, unless it is content shared from somewhere outside the Community.**
# OpenChat Each Community has a chat feature called OpenChat where community members can safely converse with each other in a group chat setting that is only viewable by community members. With OpenChat, members can network, share interests, communicate with community owners, and share information in real-time. ### Accessing OpenChat To access OpenChat in your community follow the instructions below: * Navigate to the community page you wish to chat in * Click "Open chat" to open the chat screen * Input messages in "write a message" and click the send icon to post in the chat * In the bottom left corner of the screen click the gray "+" to access your camera and your gallery, to post a gif, and to post a [paid message](#paid-messages)
### Message Types With OpenChat you can post almost anything in real-time conversations with other community members. These message types include: * Text * Photos taken and Videos recorded in real-time, as well as those saved on your device * Photo and Video uploaded from phone gallery * Web Links * OpenGraph Links ### Message Threads Every message in OpenChat acts similar to a [Conversation](/using-zion/conversations) on Zion. Every message can get reacted to with an emoji, boosted, an commented on in a thread. Comments on message threads can be any type of media accepted in OpenChat messages. To comment, react or view a message thread please follow the instructions below: * Navigate to the community page where the message you would like to interact is * Click "Open chat" to open the chat screen * Navigate to the message you would like to review and double tap it. This will give you the option to: * React with an emoji * Reply to the message * Copy * Pin the message(Community Administrators only) * Copy the link to the message to send in the Zion app or outside of Zion * Report content that breaks community rules * Boost the message to give SATS to the post's owner * Delete the message if you are a community admin, or if you sent the message
### Paid Messages In communities where owners have turned on payed messages, members can post messaged where community members must pay to view. To create a paid message follow the intstructions below: * Navigate to the community page where the message you would like post a paid message in * Click "Open chat" to open the chat screen * In the bottom left corner of the screen click the gray "+" * Click "Paid message", * Enter the amount of SATS you want members to pay to unlock your message content and click "Continue" * Input messages in "write a message" and click the send icon to post in the chat. Additionally, make sure the send icon is gold and not gray. **If your send icon is not gold then the message will not be a paid message**
# Zion Feed The Zion Feed aggregates all the conversations in from your profile, your communities, and people you follow. Zion does not use any algorithms that modify the Zion feed in anyway to favor certain conversations. ### Navigating the Zion Feed To navigate your Zion feed follow the instructions below: * Navigate to your Zion Homepage * Scroll up and down to view posts aggregated from communities you are a part of, from people you follow, and (need more information) * to make a post to all your followers click the "+" symbol in blue in the top right hand corner
### Posting a Conversation * Navigate to your Profile or Zion Feed * Click the blue "+" at the top left of the screen * Input your desired information for the post and click enter. Currently, conversations support text, images, links, and videos. ### Blocking Accounts/Communities To remove someone from your feed, click on their name in your feed and follow the instruction on [how to block profiles](/zion-account/profile#blocking-reporting-another-profile). \ \ To remove a community from your feed follow he instructions for [leaving a community](/communities/communities-for-members#leaving-a-community). # Searching With Zion Search features you can search for the following: * Profiles * Communities ### How to Search by Name To search for specific communities and profiles follow the instructions below: * Navigate to the search page * Type in the search bar the name of the person/community you are looking for and click enter * For profiles click the "People" tab * For communities click the "Communities" tab
# Conversations On Zion Social, you can post conversations to either community feeds or to your Zion account for your followers. Currently conversations support the following dataypes: * Text: Up to 2000 characters * Images: 30MB max size * Videos: 500MB max size and 90 seconds max duration * Links
# FAQ **Why is it called Zion?** \ \ Zion is often used to share a peaceful ideal place for society, it stands for a utopian place of unity, peace and freedom. For the Matrix fans, it is also the last city NOT controlled by machines, the last remaining human city. We thought it fitting for what we have built. ## Profile/Account #### If I lost my recovery key phrase, is there anyway to recovery my account if I have been locked out? No, this is because Zion utilizes DID technology for encryption and verification which means that we do not store your recovery phrase. Check out [Account Creation](/zion/account-creation) for more information #### If I delete my account can it be recovered? Once an account is deleted it cannot be recovered. Once an account is deleted, all associated data is lost as well #### Does Zion store recovery phrases? No, all recovery phrases are randomly generated are not stored by Zion. ## Communities #### If I leave or am kicked out of a community, do I get my membership fee back? No, membership fees are non-refundable #### My post was taken down by a community administrator. Can I get my post fee back? No, All post fees are non-refundable. Please check the community rules before posting. All posts can be taken down at the discretion of a community administrators. #### I never got my staking fee back. Why did I not get it returned? If your post/comment violated community rules and was taken down before the time limit for staking has been reached then your staking fee will not be returned #### My post was taken down by a community administrator, can I appeal the takedown with Zion? No, all Zion communities are self governed and members are subject to the rules made by community owners. Community owners can take down any post for any reason.\ \ **What happens to Zion/**[**Bitcoin**](https://cash.app/bitcoin/my-first-bitcoin) **if the internet goes down?**\ We get asked this question often and we’ll be honest: It’s a vast question with many hypothetical situations and answers, much too complex to answer in a simple Q\&A style answer. With that being said, our company focuses on cloud-hosting and we only operate on the lightning network and bitcoin. If the internet were to “go down” for any reason, you would not lose your channel state or bitcoin. **What is staking for Anti-Spam?** \ If a creator has staking turned on for the community, when you make a comment inside the community a certain amount SATS, which is outlined in the stake contract when you join the community, will be held in escrow. If the creator of the community deems your comment Spam they will delete the comment from the thread and you will lose your stake. If you comment stays on the community page for the duration of the staking contract you funds will be returned. This is how we use SATS to prevent spam. \ \ **Do users have to pay for Zion?** \ No, we have free member accounts when you sign up! \ \ **Why do you use AWS to store your files?**\ \ This is the best and most viable option offered to us at this time. We aim to transition away from AWS down the road. \ \ **Do you have your own Zion Token?**\ \ No, we only operate on Bitcoins Lightning Network.\ \ **Can I use my account on 2 different devices?**\ \ Yes, as long as you use your seed phrase. \ \ **Can I use Zion on my computer/desktop/browser?**\ \ No, Zion is only available via the app on Apple & Android at this time. \ \ **Can I own more than 1 DID account?**\ \ Yes, you can own more than 1 DID Account. You can sign up for as many DIDs & Lightning Wallets as you like. \ \ **Is Zion available on Android & iPhone?**\ \ **iOS -->** \ **Android -->**[**https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.getzion.zion\&hl=en\_US\&gl=US**](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.getzion.zion\&hl=en_US\&gl=US) \ \ **Is Zion available worldwide?** \ \ Yes!\ \ **Why does this cost money?** \ \ When you join Zion as a creator we are assigning you a DWN to build a community. Since we also don't allow for advertisements, therefore offering monthly subscriptions is our way of generating revenue and keep the company alive. We hope to be able to offer our services at a reduced price in the future when technology allows us to do so. **What happens if my monthly payment fails?**\ \ If your payment fails, you will receive an automatic email notification. You have 5 days within the time of your first failed payment notification to update your payment.\ \ **What if I want to cancel, am I locked in?** \ \ You are not locked in, you can cancel anytime but you will lose your community and all the data on the community if you decide to cancel. \ \ **Do you have a trial/ testing option to try Zion before we pay?**\ \ At this time, Zion is not available for trial before payment. \ \ **Am I charged for viewing content, ie. videos?** No, but there might be costs depending on the settings of the community owner. **I don’t want to give away my personal information or card details. How can I still join Zion?**\ \ To have a creator account to upgrade, members will have to share their credit card information and email. \ \ **Can I pay for Zion membership with Bitcoin?** \ \ Not yet! At this time, you can pay for Zion with credit card but we aim to offer monthly payments via bitcoin in the near future.\ \ **What do you do if there are illegal activities being shared on Zion?**\ \ There's a line between being censorship-resistant and illegal activities. We take this matter seriously and any illegal activities will be pursued to the full extent of the law. When it comes to illegal matters that are reported within communities, authorities will be involved. \ **I’m new to the world of Bitcoin! Do I need to own bitcoin to get started on Zion?** \ \ Yes, you need to fund your wallet which you can find information in the [`funding wallet section` ](/zion/funding-zion-wallet)
**What happens if you can de-platformed from the Apple Store or Android Play Store?**
We’re aware that our app making our app available on Google Play Store or Apple Store always has a risk. We’re looking at other venues to mitigate this risk down the road!\ \ \ **Can I buy Bitcoin through Zion?** No, Zion is not an investment platform. You will have to purchase Bitcoin outside of Zion and then fund your Zion wallet.
**Why does Zion only have a 100,000 satoshi max balance?** Security is of our utmost concern and we want to ensure that you don't keep too many SATs in your community wallets. They are designed only for small sending of SATs for content. **Does Zion collect any data on me?** \ Zion does NOT collect or store any usage data on members of the community. Not because we don’t want to — because we *can’t*. You full custody over all of your data, including posted content, messages, payment information and activity. You and you alone have access to your private keys. This is the way. **Why is Zion built on Lightning, instead of another blockchain?** \ The innovation of the Lightning Network is the use of time­-locked transactions and cryptographic nonces to allow many two ­party payment channels to form a connected network where payments can be sent over many channels without trusting the intermediate nodes. The topology is similar to IP networks (the internet): packets of information are routed over many physical links, and the communicating end nodes don't worry about the route as long as data gets to the destination. This works via a decrementing time­ lock that permits every intermediate node along the routing path to accept funds only if they forward it along to the next participant, using disclosure of pre images of cryptographic hashes. In the Lightning Network, nodes are not able to seize funds traveling through their channels even if they fail to forward payments or refuse to perform any actions. A node operates without custody of third party funds, which is enforced by a time­ limited cryptographic script. Zion uses these same cryptographic functions to move data across the same packet layers. **What is the Lightning Network, and what does it have to do with Bitcoin?** \ Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that allows participants in the network to send and receive payments without relying on a third party (i.e. a bank). First introduced in 2008, the Bitcoin protocol’s scalability is hampered by its relative latency and high transaction fees. The Lightning Network was proposed as a solution to Bitcoin’s scalability issue by enabling a high volume of participants to transact micropayments instantly. The Lightning Network is a “Layer 2” solution, which means that users can exchange funds internally and only pay settlement costs when they want to withdraw the money. See more info on the story of Bitcoin from our friends at Cash App here -->