Topology and Network Dynamics of the Lightning Network: A Comprehensive Analysis

Leveraging a validated set of reconstructed Lightning Network topology snapshots spanning five years (2019-2023), we computed 47 computationally intensive metrics and network attributes, enabling a comprehensive analysis of the network’s structure and temporal dynamics. Our results corroborate prior topology studies while offering deeper insight into the network’s structural evolution. In particular, we quantify the network’s topological stability over time, yielding implications for the design of heuristic-based pathfinding and routing protocols. More broadly, this work provides a detailed characterization of publicly available Lightning Network snapshots, supporting future research in Payment Channel Network analysis and network science.