Author: Mats Jerratsch 2015-11-27 06:14:54
Published on: 2015-11-27T06:14:54+00:00
The Lightning Network is a protocol designed to improve Bitcoin's scalability and speed. One of the issues it faces is the inability to make micropayments or payments less than 546 satoshis, which are too small to be considered valid outputs in transactions. The problem arises when these payments are made through an HTLC output, which is not recognized by the network as a legitimate payment. This issue can be addressed by adding two HTLCs to the commit, so that both parties pay each other, but with different amounts. This would effectively allow microtransactions to be made, but with the drawback of increasing fees and possibly not translating well over many hops.Another solution proposed is to weaken the dust protection in the network and allow users to clear the dust after three months if it isn't claimed. However, this approach may be more costly due to additional fees. Ultimately, culling these outputs and letting them go to fees seems to be the most viable option. While there is no easy solution to this problem, tracking it and finding workarounds is important for the success of the Lightning Network.
Updated on: 2023-05-23T21:43:56.826578+00:00