HTLC (Hash Time-Locked Contract)
Layer 2● Common
A conditional payment requiring the recipient to provide a secret preimage matching a hash before a timeout. If not claimed in time, funds return to sender. Used in Lightning Network for trustless multi-hop payments and in atomic swaps.
Technical Notes
Script: IF <hash> EQUALVERIFY <pubkey> CHECKSIG ELSE <timeout> CHECKLOCKTIMEVERIFY <pubkey> CHECKSIG. Payment hash: SHA256(preimage). Preimage revelation propagates back, settling all hops atomically. Being replaced by PTLCs for better privacy.
Metadata
Visibility: Public
Created:1/3/2026by System