In this week’s podcast, we introduce listeners to the Lightning Network – what is it and why is it important to Bitcoin owners. Nate & Derek also give tips for investors that are evaluating banks.  The lightning network is a second layer of technology on top of Bitcoin. It was developed in 2015 to try and solve the major critiques of Bitcoin – it has 10-minute transaction times and lacked global transactional reach. An easy way to think about the role the lightning network plays is the example of cash and gold. The primary goal of cash was to improve the monetary system and make it easier to transact between people and businesses. Sounds a lot like the role banks play – the banks are there to validate the transactions and make sure the money is exchanged. Most stocks are evaluated using PE ratios but we caution you to use those same criteria for banks – here’s why! Earnings statements! Banks make money by lending and that is largely influenced by interest rates. They also prepare for losses – meaning they evaluate if they feel confident whether people can / cannot pay loans back. Both of those reasons can lead to a sudden increase or decrease in earnings, depending on what is happening in the market.