Author: Ruben Somsen 2022-10-20 14:14:14
Published on: 2022-10-20T14:14:14+00:00
The discussion on Bitcoin-dev revolves around the risks associated with accepting Bitcoin payments. Sergej Kotliar identifies FX risk as a greater concern for merchants than zeroconf risk, which can be managed easily unless the transaction signals RBF. Kotliar warns against an "easily accessible in the wallet" feature to cancel transactions, as it can be abused to cause losses on many payments. He suggests using a 2-of-2 multisig with a timelock and locking up funds with a counterparty to get eventual settlement assurance prior to confirmation.Kotliar acknowledges the benefits of Lightning Network and notes that it currently accounts for around 15% of total Bitcoin payments. However, he argues that disabling on-chain commerce to encourage Lightning adoption is not a viable solution. Instead, he believes that rejecting all RBF payments and directing those users to custodial accounts is a more reliable solution. While Kotliar predicts exponential growth in Lightning adoption, he points out that it will take years to reach 80%+ of all Bitcoin transactions.The conversation also touches on the efficacy of RBF (replace-by-fee) and CPFP (child-pays-for-parent) as solutions to unstuck stuck transactions. It is noted that most users do not have access to RBF functionality, and even those who do often find it challenging to understand how to use it. CPFP is somewhat more viable but requires careful handling to avoid abuse vectors.Overall, the discussion emphasizes the need for continued development and improvement of Bitcoin's infrastructure to provide users with better options for transacting on the network. Making Lightning work better is a challenging problem that requires constant attention and improvement. The benefits of Lightning are many and obvious, and there is no need to limit on-chain to make it more appealing.
Updated on: 2023-06-16T00:49:59.254890+00:00