BOLT 12 Offers have been formally built-in into the specification of Bitcoin’s second-layer community protocol, Lightning Network. This development allows a extra personal and user-friendly option to ship and obtain funds by way of Lightning.
BOLT 12 introduces a set of enhancements and new functionalities, amongst which the Offers (or in English Offers).
This expertise permits customers to create reusable cost requests and everlasting in QR code format, as an alternative of producing a brand new bill for every transaction, creating a proposal that can be utilized a number of instances. This might be helpful for donations, subscriptions, and different recurring funds.
The information has been obtained with enthusiasm by the group of Lightning Network builders and customers. In a current put up on X, consumer niftynei, a number one determine in Lightning growth and a professor at Base58, highlighted the significance of enhancing privateness and value on the community.
“Big news: BOLT12 has officially been merged into the BOLTS repository and is now part of the official Lightning specification. currently three implementations support it: core-lightning, LDK and éclair/phoenix. “This is the first new BOLT added since 2017!”
Niftynei, X consumer.
BOLT (for its acronym in English, Basics of Lightning Technology) is a sequence of paperwork describing the technical specs of the Lightning Network protocol, just like the Bitcoin Best Proposals (BIP).
What does BOLT 12 provide to the Lightning Network?
The BOLT 12 replace introduces a number of options that make transactions on the Lightning community simpler. In addition to reusable cost requests, this software results in a enchancment within the privateness of the recipient of the transaction.
It achieves this via the usage of what is named “blinded routes.” This approach hides the id of the recipientdefending your private and monetary data from potential observers.
On the opposite hand, it additionally supplies larger resistance to censorship. The new specification facilitates the receiving funds with out the danger of blocking by centralized cost providers. This is particularly necessary in contexts the place monetary censorship is a priority.
In brief, BOLT 12 choices are extra adaptable and reusable than standard invoices, enabling automated invoices, recurring funds, and larger privateness.
