Reputation-Aware Routing in Payment Channel Networks via Secure Multiparty Computation

Abstract

Payment Channel Networks (PCNs) offer a scalable solution for off-chain cryptocurrency transactions, but suffer from low success rates and security challenges. A key issue lies in the lack of visibility into channel balances during route discovery, which prevents senders from reliably assessing whether a route can support the payment. To address this, we propose a routing protocol that integrates Secure Multiparty Computation (MPC) with a node reputation system. Our method enables senders to privately verify route feasibility before initiating Hash Time-Locked Contracts (HTLCs), reducing transaction failures. The node reputation system identifies and avoids unreliable nodes based on historical behavior, enhancing routing reliability even in adversarial settings. Experimental results on real Lightning Network snapshots across diverse parameter settings demonstrate that our approach substantially outperforms both the baseline shortest-path approach and the routing scheme used in the current Lightning Network implementation.