Author: Andy Schroder 2017-12-27 05:58:29
Published on: 2017-12-27T05:58:29+00:00
In an email conversation, Andy Schroder raised questions about the maximum channel funding size for Bitcoin's Lightning Network. He noted that the upper 32 bits must be zero, limiting the maximum HTLC value to .04294967295 BTC. Schroder questioned why these upper 32 bits were being wasted and why the maximum channel size was limited when there were extra bytes set to zero. He speculated whether this low maximum channel size was to encourage decentralization or due to concerns about hot wallets. However, he did find in BOLT 2 that the maximum funding_satoshis must be less than 2^24 satoshi. Schroder also pointed out the inconsistency in using both satoshis and millisatoshis in the spec. Overall, Schroder's email raises important questions about the reasoning behind certain design choices in Lightning Network's protocol.
Updated on: 2023-05-24T17:17:10.879145+00:00