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Liquidity

Liquidity is the balance sitting on each side of a Payment Channel, and it decides the only thing that matters in practice: which direction money can move.

Why it matters

This is the recurring failure mode for anyone trying to receive Value 4 Value payments. A newly funded node can spend immediately and cannot be paid at all, because being paid requires someone else's sats already sitting on the far side of a channel — inbound capacity.

A podcaster who sets up a node, publishes a <podcast:value> block and waits will often find the boosts simply fail. Nothing is misconfigured; there is just nowhere for the money to land.

How it works

Opening a channel with 100,000 sats gives you 100,000 outbound and zero inbound. Inbound arrives when you spend, when someone opens a channel to you, or when you buy it — a liquidity provider opens a channel pointed at you for a fee.

Routing nodes face the same problem in both directions at once, which is most of what channel management in LND actually is.

Heard on the show

14 moments across 13 episodes.

  1. E114 · 23 Dec 2022 · Protoflexible

    • 52:32Inbound liquiditychapter

  2. E111 · 18 Nov 2022 · Pod Molly

    • 1:46:52Lightning liquidity checker?chapter

  3. E106 · 14 Oct 2022 · Steak & Eggs!

    • 26:24Lightning liquiditychapter

  4. E76 · 4 Mar 2022 · Pining for PodPing

    • Liquidity and feesshow notes

  5. E75 · 25 Feb 2022 · Liquidifying for Love

    • 25:29Article: Lightning in a liquidity networkchapter
    • Lightning Is a Liquidity Network | Breez Technologyshow notes

  6. E74 · 18 Feb 2022 · Confetti Canon

    • Lightning Is a Liquidity Network | Breez Technologyshow notes

  7. E15 · 11 Dec 2020 · We're with the Band!

    • Inbound liquidityshow notes

  8. E184 · 28 Jun 2024 · Donor Bone

    • 49:06liquidity that's why it can be a node or can be strike strike astranscript

  9. E183 · 22 Jun 2024 · Chain of Fraud

    • 1:17:24wallets only functioned as the liquidity provider. So and nottranscript

  10. E95 · 29 Jul 2022 · We Are The Jazz

    • 1:15:37the things is, is liquidity offers, and how you can just astranscript

  11. E47 · 23 Jul 2021 · Mongo in the Congo

    • 1:35:51of liquidity on the other end, and then somehow it's quite whentranscript

and 2 more episodes, back to E25 (19 Feb 2021).

Show all 14 moments across 13 episodes

  1. E184 · 28 Jun 2024 · Donor Bone

    • 49:06liquidity that's why it can be a node or can be strike strike astranscript

  2. E183 · 22 Jun 2024 · Chain of Fraud

    • 1:17:24wallets only functioned as the liquidity provider. So and nottranscript

  3. E114 · 23 Dec 2022 · Protoflexible

    • 52:32Inbound liquiditychapter

  4. E111 · 18 Nov 2022 · Pod Molly

    • 1:46:52Lightning liquidity checker?chapter

  5. E106 · 14 Oct 2022 · Steak & Eggs!

    • 26:24Lightning liquiditychapter

  6. E95 · 29 Jul 2022 · We Are The Jazz

    • 1:15:37the things is, is liquidity offers, and how you can just astranscript

  7. E76 · 4 Mar 2022 · Pining for PodPing

    • Liquidity and feesshow notes

  8. E75 · 25 Feb 2022 · Liquidifying for Love

    • 25:29Article: Lightning in a liquidity networkchapter
    • Lightning Is a Liquidity Network | Breez Technologyshow notes

  9. E74 · 18 Feb 2022 · Confetti Canon

    • Lightning Is a Liquidity Network | Breez Technologyshow notes

  10. E47 · 23 Jul 2021 · Mongo in the Congo

    • 1:35:51of liquidity on the other end, and then somehow it's quite whentranscript

  11. E32 · 9 Apr 2021 · Lightning in a Bottle

    • 34:23liquidity services. So as you will know, channel managementtranscript

  12. E25 · 19 Feb 2021 · Can't Drive 55

    • 1:04:12full node setup with channels and liquidity and everythingtranscript

  13. E15 · 11 Dec 2020 · We're with the Band!

    • Inbound liquidityshow notes

From chapter titles, show notes, the PC 2.0 Timeline and the clip notes. Where those say nothing, from the episode transcript — which reaches further but only records that a word was said. 214 of 266 episodes have curated notes; 177 moments come from transcripts.