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Bolt12

Definition

Bolt12 is a new protocol in the Lightning Network designed to enable more flexible payment channel management and interaction. The Lightning Network is a Layer 2 scaling solution built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain, aimed at improving Bitcoin's scalability and transaction speed while reducing transaction costs.

Features

Bolt12 is an updated version of Bolt (the Base Lightning Protocol), introducing new features and improvements. Here are some of the key features of Bolt12:

  1. More Flexible Payment Channel Management: Bolt12 allows greater flexibility, making it easier for users to manage their payment channels. This includes the ability to expand or shrink channel capacity without needing to close the channel.

  2. Simplified Invoices: Compared to Bolt11, Bolt12 introduces a more simplified invoice format, making it easier for users to create, understand, and process invoices for payments.

  3. More Metadata: Bolt12 allows more metadata to be included in invoices, which can be used to add supplementary information about payments or provide additional context.

  4. More Secure Protocol: Bolt12 introduces improvements to enhance payment security and reliability, including support for Atomic Multi-Path Payments (AMP).

It is important to note that Bolt12 is a continuously evolving protocol, and new improvements and features may be added in future versions.