<p>If a channel is announced a multisig output - which encodes the capacity of a channel - is linked to two nodes on the lightning network. This mutltisig output is obviously onchain and can be seen as onchain funds. </p>

<p>This does not mean that we know directly who funded the channel and how the funds are split between nodes in the commitment / settlement transaction. </p>

<p>However the funding transaction was consuming some other outputs. They might have come from the settlement transaction of another channel. This links two funding transactions. The node that takes part in both payment channels is the one who funded the second channel. Currently lightning nodes reuse outputs and do not mix / coinjoin them. Thus the analysis is rather straight forward. </p>

<p>However it seems that if nodes never reuse outputs and if channels never close it will be much harder to link funds to a single node.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-16T16:04:01.307Z
Is it possible that the funds received by an address from a settlement transaction are then used to open another channel that has no node in common with the previous one? In other words, the node ID changes, but the wallet does not.
M_R
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-17T17:14:03.223Z
Theoretically yes. But you'd have to customize your ln node as I think that currently all addresses and nodeid are all derived from a master secret. So switching the node is will not be so easy
Rene Pickhardt
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-14T09:17:47.460Z
2020-04-14T09:17:47.460Z
Rene Pickhardt
<p>In René Pickhardt's <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-eyceLlSmcLpbPJLzj6_CnVYQdo1AUP3y5XD716U-Lg/edit" rel="nofollow noreferrer">presentation</a> (slide 166) (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaFB_ww07rw" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a> is the interesting talk), it's written that on-chain funds and addresses can be linked to LN nodes. How can this be achieved?</p>

<p>From my understanding, it is possible to link funds of a channel to two LN nodes, but it's not possible to tell which node funded the channel and how the funds get split among nodes in the settlement transaction.</p>

<lightning-network><privacy>
Is it possible to link one single LN node to Bitcoin addresses?
M_R
# Is it possible to link one single LN node to Bitcoin addresses?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-04-14)

In René username_1's [presentation](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-eyceLlSmcLpbPJLzj6_CnVYQdo1AUP3y5XD716U-Lg/edit) (slide 166) ([here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaFB_ww07rw) is the interesting talk), it's written that on-chain funds and addresses can be linked to LN nodes. How can this be achieved?

From my understanding, it is possible to link funds of a channel to two LN nodes, but it's not possible to tell which node funded the channel and how the funds get split among nodes in the settlement transaction.

**Tags:** lightning-network, privacy


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-04-14. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

If a channel is announced a multisig output - which encodes the capacity of a channel - is linked to two nodes on the lightning network. This mutltisig output is obviously onchain and can be seen as onchain funds.

This does not mean that we know directly who funded the channel and how the funds are split between nodes in the commitment / settlement transaction.

However the funding transaction was consuming some other outputs. They might have come from the settlement transaction of another channel. This links two funding transactions. The node that takes part in both payment channels is the one who funded the second channel. Currently lightning nodes reuse outputs and do not mix / coinjoin them. Thus the analysis is rather straight forward.

However it seems that if nodes never reuse outputs and if channels never close it will be much harder to link funds to a single node.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Is it possible that the funds received by an address from a settlement transaction are then used to open another channel that has no node in common with the previous one? In other words, the node ID changes, but the wallet does not.  
> **username_1**: Theoretically yes. But you'd have to customize your ln node as I think that currently all addresses and nodeid are all derived from a master secret. So switching the node is will not be so easy  

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