pull/518/head
Andreas M. Antonopoulos 4 years ago
parent 5ccba9e889
commit 88fa517036

@ -280,7 +280,12 @@ Let's review the definition of a "Lightning Network Channel" at this point, to m
The wallet or _node_ that Alice opens a channel to is called her _channel peer_. Once "opened", a channel can be used to send many payments back and forth between Alice's wallet and her channel peer.
Furthermore, Alice's channel peer can _forward_ payments via other channels further into the Lightning Network. This way, Alice can _route_ a payment to any wallet (e.g. Bob's Lightning wallet) as long as Alice's wallet can find a _path_ made by hopping from channel to channel, all the way to Bob's wallet.
Furthermore, Alice's channel peer can _forward_ payments via other channels further into the Lightning Network. This way, Alice can _route_ a payment to any wallet (e.g. Bob's Lightning wallet) as long as Alice's wallet can find a viable _path_ made by hopping from channel to channel, all the way to Bob's wallet.
[TIP]
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Not all channel peers are _good_ peers for routing payments. Well-connected peers will be able to route payements over shorter paths to the destination, increasing the chance of success. Channel peers with ample funds in their other channels will be able to route larger payments.
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In other words: Alice needs one or more channels that connects her to one or more other nodes on the Lightning Network. She doesn't need a channel to connect her wallet directly to Bob's Cafe in order to send Bob a payment, though she can choose to open a direct channel too. Any node in the Lightning Network can be used for Alice's first channel. The more well-connected a node is the more people Alice can reach. In this example, since we want to also demonstrate payment routing, we won't have Alice open a channel directly to Bob's wallet. Instead, we will have Alice open a channel to a well-connected node and then later use that node to forward her payment, routing it through any other nodes as necessary to reach Bob.

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