The Lightning Network is a second-layer protocol built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. It aims to improve Bitcoin's transaction speed by enabling off-chain transactions that are not recorded on the main blockchain. Instead of every single transaction being recorded on the blockchain, the Lightning Network allows users to create payment channels directly between each other, facilitating faster and cheaper transactions. This way, only the opening and closing transactions of these payment channels need to be recorded on the main blockchain, reducing congestion and increasing scalability of the Bitcoin network.
