Channel close

Settling a Lightning channel back on the main Bitcoin chain. Cooperative closes are fast and cheap; force closes are expensive.

Closing a Lightning channel is the act of settling its final balance on the Bitcoin blockchain. There are two kinds: cooperative and force.

A cooperative close happens when both parties agree to close. Both sign one final transaction, it goes on-chain, and the funds are settled within the next block. Cheap, fast, no drama.

A force close happens when one party can't reach the other (offline, unresponsive, or worse — trying to cheat). The party still online unilaterally publishes the channel's most recent state to the chain. Force closes are slower and more expensive (more transaction outputs), and there's a delay before funds are spendable to give the other party time to challenge if the published state was outdated. Force closes are normal when they happen — Lightning is designed to handle them — but they're the pricier option.

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Lightning Network

Send Bitcoin instantly with near-zero fees. Here is how it works and how your family can use it today.

Related terms

Glossary

Channel

A two-party Lightning payment connection. Open it once, exchange thousands of payments off-chain, close it when done.

Glossary

Lightning Network

A second-layer Bitcoin payment network that enables instant, low-fee transactions.

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