BOLT12 Implementation Technical Summary

Overview

We have implemented the BOLT12 (Offers Protocol) for the Anya-core Lightning Network integration. This implementation enables offers, invoice requests, payments, and refunds as outlined in the BOLT12 specification. This is a critical component for Layer 2 interoperability.

Components Implemented

  1. Bolt12Offer
  2. Creation and serialization of BOLT12 offers
  3. Support for amount, description, expiry, and issuer specification

  4. Deserialization from raw bytes

  5. Bolt12InvoiceRequest

  6. Generation from offers
  7. Support for payer identification and notes

  8. Serialization and deserialization

  9. Bolt12Invoice

  10. Creation from invoice requests
  11. Payment hash support for secure payments

  12. Node identification

  13. Bolt12Payment

  14. Creation from invoices with payment preimages
  15. Full payment lifecycle management

  16. Serialization and deserialization

  17. Bolt12Refund

  18. Support for refunding payments
  19. Partial and full refund capabilities
  20. Serialization and deserialization

Usage Examples

Creating an Offer

let offer = Bolt12Offer::new(
    100_000, // 100k sats
    "API Service".to_string(),
    3600,    // 1 hour expiry
    "Service Provider".to_string(),
)?;

let serialized = offer.serialize()?;

Complete Payment Flow

// 1. Create an offer
let offer = Bolt12Offer::new(
    150_000, // 150k sats
    "Digital Product".to_string(),
    3600,    // 1 hour
    "Merchant".to_string(),
)?;

// 2. Create invoice request from offer
let request = Bolt12InvoiceRequest::new(
    &offer, 
    payer_id, 
    Some("Order #12345".to_string()),
)?;

// 3. Create invoice from request
let invoice = Bolt12Invoice::from_request(
    &request, 
    payment_hash, 
    node_id,
)?;

// 4. Create payment from invoice
let payment = Bolt12Payment::new(
    &invoice, 
    payment_preimage,
)?;

// 5. For refunds if needed
let refund = Bolt12Refund::new(
    &payment, 
    refund_amount,
)?;

Testing

Comprehensive tests have been added that verify:

  1. Offer creation and serialization/deserialization
  2. Invoice request flow
  3. Complete payment flow including refunds

Integration with DAO

The BOLT12 implementation enhances the DAO functionality by enabling:

  1. Micro-payments - Efficient handling of small value transfers for DAO operations
  2. Off-chain Voting - Support for off-chain voting mechanisms
  3. Instant DAO Actions - Reduced latency for DAO operations
  4. Cross-layer Interoperability - Seamless interaction with the Lightning Network

Next Steps

  1. Integration Tests - Add more comprehensive integration tests
  2. Performance Optimization - Optimize for high-volume transaction scenarios
  3. Documentation - Add usage guides for developers
  4. Security Audit - Conduct a thorough security review

References