Topology and Network Dynamics of the Lightning Network: A Comprehensive Analysis

TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the Lightning Network's topology and dynamics over five years, offering insights into its structural evolution and implications for routing protocols.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed characterization of Lightning Network snapshots, computing 47 metrics to analyze its structure and temporal changes, enhancing understanding of Payment Channel Networks.

Findings

Quantifies the network's topological stability over time

Corroborates prior topology studies with deeper insights

Provides a detailed characterization supporting future research

Abstract

Leveraging a validated set of reconstructed Lightning Network topology snapshots spanning five years (2019-2023), we computed 47 computationally intensive metrics and network attributes, enabling a comprehensive analysis of the network's structure and temporal dynamics. Our results corroborate prior topology studies while offering deeper insight into the network's structural evolution. In particular, we quantify the network's topological stability over time, yielding implications for the design of heuristic-based pathfinding and routing protocols. More broadly, this work provides a detailed characterization of publicly available Lightning Network snapshots, supporting future research in Payment Channel Network analysis and network science.