Scaling · Modern Bitcoin

Payment channels

A payment channel lets participants update balances off-chain while retaining the ability to settle the latest valid state on Bitcoin.

Context

Why it matters

A payment channel lets participants update balances off-chain while retaining the ability to settle the latest valid state on Bitcoin.

Canonical knowledge

What California Bitcoin maintains

A payment channel lets participants update balances off-chain while retaining the ability to settle the latest valid state on Bitcoin.

Primary and technical sources

Evidence before assertion

The Bitcoin Lightning Network

Joseph Poon and Thaddeus Dryja

Tier 1 · primary

Related concepts

Continue through the knowledge graph

Lightning Network HTLCs Lightning liquidity On-chain versus Lightning

Machine accessAgent-ready

https://californiabitcoin.org/api/agent/v1/topic/payment-channelshttps://californiabitcoin.org/api/agent/v1/search?q=Payment%20channelshttps://californiabitcoin.org/api/agent/v1/coveragehttps://californiabitcoin.org/api/agent/v1/sources