Currently it cost $0.000116736 USD (1 satoshi) fee to make a transaction on lightning. What are some other scaling solutions to lower the fees? Can we just increase the decimals and have sub-satoshi fees for lightning?
asked Jul 11, 2019 at 19:50
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As far as I know, individual Lightning nodes can set their own policy on absolute and relative fees charged for routing. How much you pay depends on the route you take.– Pieter WuilleCommented Jul 11, 2019 at 20:35
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1 Answer
Currently it cost $0.000116736 USD (1 satoshi) fee to make a transaction on lightning.
This is incorrect; there is no set price for sending a LN transaction. Each node can define its own policy for forwarding a payment through the network (base fee rate, plus a small percentage of the amount forwarded), so the fee paid will depend on the payment route taken.
In some cases (eg you have a channel open directly with your counterparty) there will be no fee for the LN payment itself.
Anecdotally, I think the most fees I have paid for a LN transaction is still in the range of single digit satoshis.
Can we just increase the decimals and have sub-satoshi fees for lightning?
LN nodes already track sub-satoshi amounts, with a resolution of 1/1000th of a satoshi. Note that these sub-satoshi amounts cannot be reconciled onto the base chain in the event of a channel closing, but they are still tracked by LN nodes, and in aggregate many sub-satoshi amounts can add up to whole satoshi values (which could then be settled on-chain).
What are some other scaling solutions to lower the fees?
The current LN fees are entirely defined by the network’s nodes. So it is a free market, wherein nodes can charge a small amount for the use of their liquidity in forwarding payments. If you want, you can run a node with zero fees, but many users will likely want some compensation for their liquidity availability.
