Payment channel networks (PCNs) such as the Lightning Network offer an
appealing solution to the scalability problem faced by many cryptocurrencies
operating on a blockchain such as Bitcoin. However, PCNs also inherit the
stringent dependability requirements of blockchain. In particular, in order to
mitigate liquidity bottlenecks as well as on-path attacks, it is important that
payment channel networks maintain a high degree of decentralization. Motivated
by this requirement, we conduct an empirical centrality analysis of the popular
Lightning Network, and in particular, the betweenness centrality distribution
of the routing system. Based on our extensive data set (using several millions
of channel update messages), we implemented a TimeMachine tool which enables us
to study the network evolution over time. We find that although the network is
generally fairly decentralized, a small number of nodes can attract a
significant fraction of the transactions, introducing skew. Furthermore, our
analysis suggests that over the last two years, the centrality has increased
significantly, e.g., the inequality (measured by the Gini index) has increased
by more than 10%.
Authors
Philipp Zabka, Klaus-Tycho Foerster, Stefan Schmid, Christian Decker