Author: Gregorio Guidi 2019-08-14 14:12:13
Published on: 2019-08-14T14:12:13+00:00
The discussion between ZmnSCPxj and Gregorio is about a paper that argues that in a network of n connected nodes, there is a tendency towards a state where exactly n-1 channels have perfectly balanced flows in the two directions. These "self-balancing" channels form a spanning tree of the network graph, which is called the "core spanning tree" of the payment network. It has been observed that more than n-1 channels are expected to be used even in the steady-state scenario described in the paper, although intermittently. However, it is noted that no steady state will ever exist in practice. The shifting patterns of demand and supply in a dense web of channels will naturally cause agents to add traffic to channels that were previously not used, resulting in a continuous shift in equilibrium. It is also mentioned that having many channels helps the general resilience and flexibility of the network.
Updated on: 2023-06-02T19:49:58.726674+00:00