This article is the first (out of two) concerning Onion Routing. It is also the first of the Routing Series, where I'll try to cover in depth how routing works in the Lightning Network, and how it could work differently (ever heard this story about an ant jumping on a trampoline?). This article is an introduction to Onion Routing, and offers a "high level" view of how it works. The second article will go deeper into the inner workings of Onion Routing in the Lightning Network....
A (heated) discussion on a specific piece of regulation and its application has quickly spread through Bitcoin Twitter in the last hours, following a tweet by shaquille o’atmeal (@crypt0e): https://t.co/uKQJ7r3uUn It's more than just Trezor: pic.twitter.com/6fOn2LRTy3 — shaquille o'atmeal (@crypt0e) January 27, 2022 I found the topic interesting enough to wrap up my thoughts on the matter in a short article. I hope it will also help the reader quickly get grasp of what is at stake here....
If the Lightning Network is so useful today, it is in great part thanks to the fact that payments can be routed inside the network: if Alice wants to pay Bob, it isn’t necessary that she has a direct channel with him. Instead, she can have a channel with Carol and, if Carol has a channel with Bob, use Carol’s channel to reach Bob. With this mechanism arises a new question: how can such payments, that rely on the benevolence of third parties such as Carol, be achieved in a trustless way?...
The last two “long” articles of this blog were dedicated to special kinds of Lightning channels that seek, each in their own way, to enhance the user experience on the Lightning Network. This week, we will dive into anchor outputs, which aim to ensure channel closings are settled quicly, even in the case of a force close. This article will go into details as to how Lightning works in this regard, what are the issues and how anchor outputs can solve them....
Black squares on a white background You are either freedom or subjection Message to come or prison of paper Strange chessboard without pawn or king Deceitful sésame, Or key to millions. Each point on this map is a nail in the coffin We always bury something. In the end we are all smiths, All cartographers, all kings and pawns And it’s up to us to ignore the jesters And their black squares on a white background