Author: David A. Harding 2022-11-27 16:34:57
Published on: 2022-11-27T16:34:57+00:00
In a discussion on Lightning-dev mailing list, the risk of loss of reputation of Lightning Service Providers (LSP) due to competitors is discussed. ZmnSCPxj raises the concern that if he knows his competitor's credentials distribution method, then he can apply to be a spoke on his competitor and jam up their node, thus reducing their reputation. However, Riard explains that credential tokens are blinded so forwarding nodes can't use them to determine the origin of payment and assign blame. Credential tokens prevent DOS by allowing only one-time creation of HTLC, which reduces the sender's supply of tokens with any failed payment. The attack on LSPs should not be economically rational as Bob can limit the damage by not giving more tokens after too many failures. If Bob obtained his tokens at low cost and Alice has to pay higher costs to become a client of Bob's, the attack should not make sense. Reputation still rests with ultimate senders who have to convince LSPs to sell their reputation to them because they might secretly be competitor LSPs who have an incentive to drain their reputation. It is also possible for clients to receive more credential tokens than they need by allowing LSP to use those tokens for other clients instead of paying for upfront fees. LSPs can prevent clients from using too many tokens and require them to pay inescapable costs. This makes it difficult for competitors to substantially drain the token capital of an LSP without losing a substantial amount of its own money.
Updated on: 2023-06-03T10:43:57.233657+00:00