Author: Rusty Russell 2016-08-18 06:47:49
Published on: 2016-08-18T06:47:49+00:00
The Lightning Network, which is designed to improve Bitcoin's scalability and speed, uses a protocol that can transmit transactions without revealing their contents. Two approaches are available: the non-encrypted design, which is more efficient, but difficult for observers to understand; and encrypted data, which can be decrypted by a key that identifies the channel and reveals meaningful data. However, in the case of Hashed TimeLock Contracts (HTLCs), which involve multiple nodes, it is easy for an observer to access information about them. HTLCs would therefore need to be in some kind of encrypted form to be sent to an observer. An issue with the system is that padding and timing make hiding the channel tricky, especially for HTLCs.
Updated on: 2023-05-24T00:16:09.303872+00:00