Timelocks

Timelocks are encumbrances that prevent a transaction or the spend of an output from being confirmed prior to a maturity time or block height.

This topic description is a stub. We would welcome a pull request providing more background information about the topic.

Primary code and documentation

• BIP65 OP_CHECKLOCKTIMEVERIFY for absolute timelocks in scripts
• BIP68 relative timelocks using consensus-enforced sequence numbers
• BIP112 OP_CHECKSEQUENCEVERIFY for relative timelocks in scripts

Optech newsletter and website mentions

2021

• Challenges related to timelocks when using CPFP fee bumping in LN

2020

• BOLTs #803 updates BOLT5 with recommendations for handling timelocks near maturity
• Research into conflicts between timelocks and heightlocks
• One-block relative timelocks to prevent pinning issues in coinswaps
• New cross-chain coinswap construction that only requires timelocks on one chain
• Using decrementing locktimes instead of eltoo for statechains

2019

• Fidelity bonds based on long-term timelocks
• Lightning Loop announce, using submarine swaps with onchain timelocks

2018

• Transaction pinning as a major challenge for protocols involving timelocks
• For BIP322 generic signed messages, unclear how to support timelocks

See also

• HTLCs

• PTLCs

  
  

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