Comparing Lightning Routing Protocols to Routing Protocols with Splitting
D. Andreescu (TU Delft - Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)
O. Ersoy – Mentor (TU Delft - Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)
S. Roos – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)
G.J.P.M. Houben – Coach (TU Delft - Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)
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Abstract
The largest payment channel network, Bitcoin Lightning, shows a potential alternative to cur- rent financial systems, overcoming the scalability limitations of blockchain. Source onion routing is used to route payments, but novel routing protocols claim improved effectiveness by employ- ing strategies not compatible with the current state of affairs. In this paper, we compare the current implementations deployed in the Lightning Network, with a novel routing algorithm with splitting and local routing. We find the latter option to significantly boost the success ratio of payments, while inducing some monetary overhead. Then, we propose future directions of research on Lightning protocols to boost their performance.