Torq (formerly LN Capital)
LN Capital

https://ln.capital

Liquidity management & analytics software for large Lightning nodes.⚡️

Public Key

npub1kn860wn93ky8vnnzm5x5pdkl8npemzn3lcdagj9zdwf98ytwd89sxgxkhm

NIP-05 Address

torq@nostrplebs.com

NIP-57 Address

irksomepump02@walletofsatoshi.com

Profile Code

nprofile1qqstfna8hfjcmzrkfe3d6r2qkm0nesua3fclux75fz3xhyjnj9hxnjcldvw5p

Author Public Key

npub1kn860wn93ky8vnnzm5x5pdkl8npemzn3lcdagj9zdwf98ytwd89sxgxkhm

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Last Notes

2023-10-03 17:01:50

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nice, yeah all of those solutions are awesome. especially phoenix with splicing🔥🔥🔥

2023-10-03 17:00:54

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hmmm ok good to know. it's certainly a daunting task at first

2023-09-29 14:59:49

Do you run a Lightning node?
Why or why not?

2023-09-26 16:07:08

⚡️TORQ DEMO⚡️
Ever wondered what Torq's Lightning node automation & logging system looks like?
In this video, our CEO Henrik Skogstrøm walks you through a quick demo.
Check it out!
https://youtu.be/SgA2eknhSvY

2023-09-24 17:18:44

One of the biggest problems in Lightning finally has a solution.
CHANNEL JAMMING–
A Hybrid Approach:
Firstly, what is channel jamming?
Jamming is a type of denial of service (DDoS) attack on Lightning channels.
The goal of the attack is to make a Lightning channel unusable.
To execute this attack, a malicious actor sets up two nodes and sends payments between them.
However, they don’t release the preimage (the secret number that unlocks funds across the route) for each payment promptly, leaving the payment stuck “in flight”.
By sending a payment to themselves, and never releasing the secret, the attacker can let payments “hang” in flight, until the timelock on the HTLC (hashed timelock contract) expires.
This is a problem because each channel can only have a fixed number of in-flight payments: 483.
Side quest:
Why only 483 max “in flight” HTLCs?
Well, it has to do with the maximum size of an on-chain BTC transaction.
If you had more than 483 HTLCs and needed to close the Lightning channel, the transaction would be too large to enforce on-chain.
So, to summarize:
Jamming is a DDoS attack that makes Lightning channels unusable.
Victims of channel jamming cannot send and receive payments or earn routing revenue.
But how big is this problem?
To put it in perspective, an attacker could potentially jam the entire LN for only 500,000 to 3M sats per month (according to Antoine Riard and Gleb Naumenko)
By jamming only 20% of the channels (14,000 channels), the attacker could make the entire network unusable(1).
As you can see now, this is a pretty serious issue.
So what’s the solution?
We are not cavemen, after all!
Channel jamming has been a known problem in LN since 2015.
As you can imagine, there are many ideas about how to properly solve it.
But for this thread, we’re going to focus solely on Carla Kirk-Cohen, Clara Shik, and Sergei Tikhomirov’s “hybrid” approach.
Their approach is a combination of two main ideas:
1. Unconditional fees2. Reputation scheme
Each idea solves a different type of jamming:
Unconditional fees for “fast” jamming.
Reputation scheme for “slow” jamming.
Just to clarify real quick,
Fast jamming is a constant stream of HTLCs that fail instantly (think of a machine gun).
While slow jams remain “in flight” for hours or even days (more like a hostage situation).
1/ Unconditional fees
A fee should be paid unconditionally, regardless of whether the payment fails or succeeds.
Ideally, this would make fast-jamming attacks prohibitively expensive.
However, that may impose too much of a burden on honest users.
A more realistic goal is to compensate the routing node under attack for the lost revenue.
According to a simulation Clara & Sergei built, if we increase the fees paid by just 2%, routing nodes would be fully compensated for any jamming attacks.
So for example, if a normal payment fee was 100 sats, an additional 2 sats upfront on all payments would be sufficient.
2/ Reputation scheme
While fees are great for addressing fast-jamming attacks, they are ineffective against slow-jamming attacks.
For this reason, the hybrid approach incorporates a reputation scheme.
The reputation scheme is local.
Nodes only assign reputation to their peers.
This reduces a ton of complexity, as local reputation requires no coordination across the network.
So how does the reputation scheme work?
Nodes keep track of their peers’ past history.
If a peer forwards honest payments that bring in sufficient fee revenue, the node considers that peer “high-reputation”.
If a peer constantly forwards jams, the node considers it “low reputation”.
Nodes also have the option to “endorse” payments that they forward.
So for example, a payment endorsed by a high-reputation peer is considered *low-risk*.
While an un-endorsed payment from a low-reputation peer may be considered *HIGH* risk.
By using slot bucketing in combination with this reputation scheme, we can limit the number of “in-flight” high risk payments at any given time.
This prevents a malicious actor from fully jamming a channel.
So let’s say the 4 general slots are all jammed.
If an HTLC isn’t endorsed, we fail it.
We don’t allow the un-endorsed HTLC to use up more of our liquidity.
However, if a payment is endorsed from a high-reputation peer, we will forward it along.
Each node can create their own custom parameters for these slots & reputation based on their risk tolerance.
High risk tolerance? Maybe you allocate more slots toward un-endorsed HTLCs.
Low tolerance? Maybe you only forward endorsed HTLCs.
It’s up to the individual to decide.
TLDR;
The hybrid approach combines unconditional fees (for fast-jamming), and a reputation scheme (for slow-jamming).
An upfront fee increase of 2% can effectively repay routing nodes for fast-jamming attacks, and the local reputation scheme takes advantage of HTLC endorsement and slot bucketing to ensure that a given channel can never be fully jammed.
Resources/Further information:
If you’re running a Lightning node, you can help this research effort!
Fill out their survey here:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScm2xs4hNsrkI8UCBS4aTdO03YrmWT2X0-j6zXWpkZ7keKiUw/viewform?usp=send_form
Check out the BOLT PR here:https://github.com/lightning/bolts/pull/1071
And here’s a summary of the full research paper:https://research.chaincode.com/2022/11/15/unjamming-lightning/
Sources:(1): https://jamming-dev.github.io/book/2-costs.html
That’s it!
We hope you learned something new.
Special thanks to Carla, Clara, Sergei, and Chaincode Labs for their awesome work on this🙏🏻
Follow us for more!

2023-09-18 13:41:45

does anyone know a client with good account management?
i.e, switching between nsecs easily and quickly?
thanks😄 #asknostr

2023-09-18 13:36:37

gm nostr

2023-04-25 20:49:29

https://void.cat/d/512as1REQh1Pm7kEP4JRRh.webp

2023-04-24 13:57:28

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ahh, ok. next time we'll just a make a long note. the problem is using the images and links. sometimes the client won't relay it

2023-04-16 14:16:54

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The BIP still needs to be tested, but once approved by consensus, the community can begin to activate it.
The activation will ultimately be decided by the nodes on the network.
We hope to see key aggregation in the wild soon!

2023-04-16 14:15:52

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So can we use key aggregation today?
A draft BIP was just submitted to the Bitcoin Core repository.
https://twitter.com/real_or_random/status/1640337134199640065

2023-04-16 14:13:57

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And since LN channels inherit the privacy of the UTXOs used to fund them, this will be a huge improvement.

2023-04-16 14:13:45

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Schnorr sig aggregation is also a huge improvement to the Lightning Network.
The LN relies on 2-of-2 multisig transactions for channel opening.
With Schnorr aggregation, LN channel opens will look exactly the same as any other single-sig output on-chain.

2023-04-16 14:13:25

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*evil laugh*, cypherpunks win again, Monero shills in disbelief, etc..etc..

2023-04-16 14:13:12

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With Schnorr Signature key aggregation, multi-sig outputs look exactly the same as single sig outputs on-chain.
This makes it impossible for chain analysis firms to distinguish between multi-sig and single-sig spends.

2023-04-16 14:12:59

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Essentially, key aggregation is a way for multiple parties to combine their public keys/signatures into a single public key/signature.
The privacy implications here are mind-blowing.

2023-04-16 14:12:47

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3/
Key aggregation is like making that big magic key.
People have special codes (keys) that they use to show they agree on something, like moving bitcoins.
Key aggregation lets them mix their codes together and make one big code that works the same way.

2023-04-16 14:12:34

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2/
Now, imagine there's a new way to open the toy box.
Instead of carrying all the magic keys separately, you can mix them together to make one big magic key.
This big key can open the toy box just like all the little keys could, but now it's easier to carry and use.

2023-04-16 14:12:22

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Here’s a quick explanation of key aggregation:
1/
Imagine you have a special toy box that can only be opened with a magic key.
You and your friends each have your own magic key, and when you want to open the toy box together, you need to use everyone's magic keys.

2023-04-16 14:12:12

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Schnorr signatures offer many advantages over ECDSA, including space and fee savings.
But the most significant advantage offered by Schnorr signatures is key aggregation.

2023-04-16 14:11:58

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Until November 12th, 2021 (block 709,632), ECDSA was the only signing algorithm that Bitcoin used.
However, on that day, Taproot was activated, which allowed for the use of Schnorr signatures.

2023-04-16 14:11:43

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In this thread, we’ll just focus on Schnorr Signatures (BIP 340), as they are the main contributor to the privacy benefits.

2023-04-16 14:11:24

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So how does Taproot solve part of this problem?
Taproot introduced three individual BIPs:
-Schnorr Signatures (BIP 340)
-Taproot (BIP 341)
-Tapscript (BIP 342)

2023-04-16 14:10:47

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It’s well known that Bitcoin has a privacy problem.
Tracking UTXOs from KYC exchanges is trivial, and specialized firms like Chainalysis have cropped up for this very purpose.
As Bitcoiners, we should care A LOT about privacy.
It’s a fundamental human right, after all.

2023-04-16 14:10:23

Taproot unlocked the future of Bitcoin Privacy
But most Bitcoiners have no idea why it’s so important.
A KEY AGGREGATION THREAD:
https://media.nostrgram.co/i/5a/media_5ad699c10c346.jpg

2023-02-19 16:03:29

Lightning took Nostr to the next level.
But BOLT 12 will take it even further.
BOLT 12 + NOSTR = THE EVERYTHING APP
Nostr Thread:
https://void.cat/d/Trsk2DRaQxSzao5H2m5ViT.webp
If you didn’t already know, BOLT stands for Basis of Lightning Technology.
BOLTs are like BIPs for the Lightning Network.
BOLT 12 is already supported experimentally on Blockstream’s Core Lightning and is also being actively implemented by the teams at Acinq, LDK, & Lightning Labs.
BOLT 12 is distinct from BOLT 11 (the current invoicing spec on LN) in a bunch of different ways.
The main component of BOLT 12 is a new type of invoice called an “offer”.
An offer can be thought of as a ‘meta’ invoice- an invoice on top of an invoice.
Offers are useful because they are persistent and static.
This means that you can use them for donation pages, billboards, and zapping fellow plebs on Nostr!
BOLT 11 invoices, on the other hand, can only be used once, and must be generated in real-time.
BOLT 12 offers also allow you to create recurring subscriptions denominated in sats OR dollars.
This could be used to fund paid relays or creators (Patreon style), and for other subscription services.
BOLT 12 is Lightning native, which means that it’s different from LNURL/Static LN addresses because you aren’t required to run a web server to generate invoices.
Your Lightning node handles all the work.
This allows for fully self-custodial zapping⚡️
TLDR;
BOLT 12 would be a dramatic improvement for Lightning and Nostr.
BOLT 12 allows for:
-Subscriptions denominated in USD (but settled in sats)
-Static Zapping
-Self-Custodial Zapping
Thanks for reading.
We’re going to start posting all our threads on here.
Follow for more!
Also, if you run a large Lightning node and you haven’t tried Torq yet, you’re seriously missing out!
Check it out on Umbrel & Btcpayserver or download it straight from GitHub:
https://github.com/lncapital/torq

2022-12-22 15:58:59

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good to know!

2022-12-22 15:53:56

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astral

2022-12-22 15:52:08

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astral

2022-12-22 15:50:27

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Definitely slow to load. Do more relays = more speed?