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Proof of Payment in Lightning

When using the Lightning Network the data is not recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain, but still there is a cryptographic proof of payment consisting of:

  • the lightning invoice - contents signed by the recipient node
  • the pre-image - which the payer only receives when the invoice is paid.

See the Blink FAQ answers for more general details:

List Invoices with Proof of Payment

Requests the two most recent transactions paid via a lightning invoice (could settle over the lightning network or internally).

query PaymentsWithProof($first: Int) {
me {
defaultAccount {
transactions(first: $first) {
edges {
node {
initiationVia {
... on InitiationViaLn {
paymentRequest
paymentHash
}
}
settlementVia {
... on SettlementViaIntraLedger {
preImage
}
... on SettlementViaLn {
preImage
}
}
}
}
}
}
}

Variable to Show the Two Most Recent Transactions

{
"first": 2
}

Sample Response Showing the Invoice, Payment Hash and Pre-image

{
"data": {
"me": {
"defaultAccount": {
"transactions": {
"edges": [
{
"node": {
"initiationVia": {
"paymentRequest": "lntbs320n1pjehuh8pp5cf6ckqv265qu6ppul0mhv4qpw4zkmd6rcxx080f8cqaz3w5p5m2qhp5ermsf933ju2t2vzpehcndlf8kpjqa780h6kzaa5eevpq6s8a7t9qcqzpuxqyz5vqsp5xs2v586kum4lu7exwskukkf0wjyw29l50293c8scdetlvszdgdds9qyyssqgzxzle9hz6384qt8uzh74wy3ylp6g3yw74q06zelxuhxtgwk9ehxvgtmqh53furqceecm22jsv2aypcangdn2tayl0vl095qx0wh3hqpwrfl8j",
"paymentHash": "c2758b018ad501cd043cfbf776540175456db743c18cf3bd27c03a28ba81a6d4"
},
"settlementVia": {
"preImage": "9e92a2d24e89c92c93d2c63ffe126605bcd3bf614c727a1f6e3f52064b83c2ec"
}
}
},
{
"node": {
"initiationVia": {
"paymentRequest": "lntbs10n1pjehukhpp57ngk3ddxtmytqdzcyqa4l2e87ny29rwjsqx46g6m0pvpj7tvp6vshp5at629lcgdgt53gsapw77s59ykxxn7lkxyfk4n7zdx78c65s9502scqzpuxqyz5vqsp5nru4r9hu7asuvn86euyuskzdppl3lt4xue5wl8jxawaxc5rmzynq9qyyssq4c0d6lmszx6udlw8elv6dcawlsu7069fqd60wc4xxc3v6h5lmag45f8ks9lrdwnajysc0ka3lmgchfwrjjlgx4a8dg8g7gjlqaezecgqn706p3",
"paymentHash": "f4d168b5a65ec8b03458203b5fab27f4c8a28dd2800d5d235b785819796c0e99"
},
"settlementVia": {
"preImage": "f3a2290961be4b91bb230cfe7ae9d8159667dd9da33ca95b7c609bf82034285c"
}
}
}
]
}
}
}
}
}

Verify the Proof of Payment

Decode the Invoice

The invoice can be used to identify the destination node, obtain the payment hash and analyze other contents by decoding it for example in:

Verify the Pre-image

The payment hash is the sha256 hash of the binary form of the preimage which can be verified in:

  • dev.blink.sv/decode

  • or in linux terminal:

    $ echo -n '<preimage_in_hex>'| xxd -r -p | sha256sum

To use the preimage as a proof of payment the calculated hash must match the payment hash in the invoice.


tip

To test the GraphQL requests further use the GraphQL playground at api.blink.sv/graphql for mainnet or api.staging.blink.sv/graphql for staging.
Check out the Galoy API Postman collection to find examples in multiple programming languages.