Adam Gibson proposes Lichen for Bitcoin-enforced hub exits
Lichen explored whether users could obtain an enforceable exit from a hub-based payment arrangement using Bitcoin contracts and a BitVMX dispute mechanism.
Adam Gibson presented Lichen on October 11, 2026, as an experimental approach to Bitcoin-enforced exits from a hub arrangement. The design combined user-hub two-of-two contracts with a BitVMX dispute path intended to support redemption.
A hub can make payments easier to coordinate, but the ability to leave becomes central if its operator stops cooperating. A two-of-two arrangement ordinarily requires both participants to sign. Lichen investigated additional contract and dispute machinery to make the user's redemption claim enforceable under the proposed design rather than dependent solely on the hub's goodwill.
The proposal built on the LN-GAP line of work while changing assumptions about exits. Sequencer behavior, redemption limits and proof assumptions remained important to assessing its protections.
Lichen was a proof of concept, not a generally deployed Bitcoin payment network. Its contribution was a concrete attempt to explain how a hub's convenience could coexist with a constrained, independently enforceable path back to on-chain control.