lightning-dev

Combined summary - Proposal: Bundled payments

Combined summary - Proposal: Bundled payments

Thomas Voegtlin has proposed a third strategy for Just-In-Time (JIT) liquidity in the Lightning Network by suggesting changes to BOLT-11 invoices to include bundled payments, designed to cater to non-custodial exchanges that require prepayment of fees.

This approach would help protect service providers from denial-of-service attacks and on-chain fee incurrence. The receiver would be required to wait for all HTLCs related to the prepayment and main payment before proceeding, which mitigates but does not eliminate the risk of theft.

Bastien Teinturier recommends instead extending BOLT-12 with this feature, as it would fit naturally with its new sender code requirements and maintain backward compatibility. Matt Corallo expresses skepticism about modifying BOLT-11, considering the difficulty of gaining consensus for such changes and questioning the necessity given existing solutions like splice-out. Nonetheless, Thomas contends that his proposal's simplicity would ease adoption, citing potential support from Lightning Labs, ACINQ, and confirmation of Electrum's commitment to implementation.

The discussion also considers technical specifics, such as the semantics of bundled payments requiring two preimages and amounts for prepayment and main payment, and the use of keysend payments as an interim solution until a more comprehensive update can be made to BOLT-11 or BOLT-12. The goal is to balance innovation with backward compatibility and afford equitable opportunities for service providers within the ecosystem.

Voegtlin's vision emphasizes streamlining non-custodial pay-to-open services while adhering to regulatory guidelines and safeguarding against mining fee attacks. His preference is to update BOLT-11 rather than rely on BOLT-12 or onion messages, avoiding unnecessary complexity and facilitating immediate improvements.

Furthermore, the potential for submarine swaps to broaden reach without local LND instances is discussed, alongside standardization efforts for Lightning Service Provider (LSP) protocols. ThomasV aims to provide a competitive edge for companies offering non-custodial services and ensure compliance with regulations like the European MICA, highlighting the need for practical updates to the Lightning Network's payment protocols.

Discussion History

0
Thomas VoegtlinOriginal Post
June 13, 2023 08:10 UTC
1
June 14, 2023 02:56 UTC
2
June 14, 2023 08:09 UTC
3
June 14, 2023 17:28 UTC
4
June 15, 2023 08:22 UTC
5
June 15, 2023 09:01 UTC
6
June 19, 2023 20:29 UTC
7
June 20, 2023 07:32 UTC
8
June 20, 2023 08:45 UTC
9
June 20, 2023 16:44 UTC
10
June 20, 2023 16:49 UTC
11
June 20, 2023 17:00 UTC
12
June 20, 2023 17:16 UTC
13
November 10, 2023 12:54 UTC