Topology and Network Dynamics of the Lightning Network: A Comprehensive Analysis
Danila Valko, Jorge Marx G\'omez

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.
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Taxonomy
TopicsAdvanced Optical Network Technologies · Complex Network Analysis Techniques · Network Traffic and Congestion Control
