Nostr Web Client

There's a saying within privacy spaces that every cypherpunk knows about:

"If the service is free, then you are the product."

However, I have made my own twist to this saying:

"If the service knows you are here, then you are the product."

This is true especially considering the number of public channels on the Lightning Network versus private channels, with estimates ranging between 28% to 41% of channels are private, and public channels accounting for 88% of all Bitcoin locked, meaning public channels may be much larger.[1][2]

LN Public channel operators are prone to be used to collect data and spy on their users because despite the LN employing onion routing, metadata is still not completely protected, and as a result, information can still be revealed and collected by malicious actors such as:

- Previous and next nodes

- Amount forwarded

- Time payment was forwarded

- Channel balances before and after payment[3]

The fact that public channel transactions are visible on the BTC blockchain for on-chain to Lightning transactions and vice versa could also potentially deanonymize users due to on-chain BTC being completely transparent.

With all these facts in mind and the custodial nature of the LN, threat actors could easily build up information on Lightning users, presenting major linkability, identifiability, non-repudiation, and detectability threats.

Luckily, Monero's nodes are the solution to this dilemma. Unlike BTC's blockchain, XMR is not transparent and its nodes simply relay information about encrypted transactions, no middlemen required. Metadata is concealed using various techniques and IP addresses are concealed with its own garlic routing system called Dandelion++ and integrations with I2P such as Kovri.

[1] https://blog.bitmex.com/lightning-network-part-7-proportion-of-public-vs-private-channels/

[2] https://cointhinktank.com/upload/Lightning%20Network%20-%20Usage%20Statistics.pdf

[3] https://aftsib.com/papers/SIB24_paper_2.pdf

#Memes #Memestr #Nostr #Zap #Bitcoin #BTC #Lightning #LN #Monero #MoneroBullish #XMR #Privacy #Agorist #Propertarian

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Lynn Kertzmann 7mo ago

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