Raiden Network: What It Is and Why It Matters for Ethereum Scaling

When you think of Ethereum, you probably think of smart contracts, DeFi, and NFTs—but Raiden Network, a layer-2 scaling solution built to handle fast, low-cost transactions on Ethereum using off-chain payment channels. Also known as Raiden, it was designed to solve the problem of slow, expensive transfers on the main chain—without requiring you to trust a third party. Unlike sidechains or rollups, Raiden doesn’t move assets to a separate network. Instead, it lets users open direct payment channels between each other, settle transactions instantly, and only record the final balance on Ethereum when they’re done.

This approach is called payment channels, a method where two parties lock up funds on-chain and conduct unlimited off-chain transfers between them. Also known as state channels, they’re the backbone of technologies like Lightning Network for Bitcoin and, in Ethereum’s case, Raiden Network. The idea is simple: if you pay your friend $10 every day for coffee, you don’t need to broadcast that transaction to the whole blockchain each time. You just update a shared ledger between you two. When you’re done, you close the channel and settle the net result on Ethereum. That’s how Raiden cuts fees and speeds up transfers—by removing the need for constant on-chain confirmation.

Raiden also supports multi-hop payments, a feature that lets you send money to someone you don’t have a direct channel with, by routing through intermediaries. This turns a network of individual payment channels into a web of connected paths—like a decentralized version of PayPal’s payment routing, but without any central server. It’s why Raiden was once seen as a serious contender for scaling Ethereum’s payment use cases, especially for micropayments, gaming, and real-time services.

But here’s the catch: while the tech worked, adoption didn’t keep up. By 2023, most projects moved to rollups like Optimism and Arbitrum, which offered broader compatibility with DeFi apps and better developer tools. Raiden’s complexity—setting up channels, managing liquidity, and keeping nodes online—made it harder for average users and smaller dApps to adopt. Today, you’ll find fewer active Raiden-based apps, but the concept still lives on in other layer-2 solutions and even in newer payment channel designs.

The posts below explore what happened to Raiden, how it compares to other scaling tools, and why some projects still experiment with its ideas—even if the original network isn’t the main player anymore. You’ll find real reviews of platforms that tried to use it, breakdowns of why it faded, and lessons learned that still apply to today’s blockchain infrastructure. If you’ve ever wondered how Ethereum handles fast payments without drowning in gas fees, this collection gives you the full picture.