LND Channel Rebalancing Strategies -- Keep Routing Profitable

Channel imbalance reduces your routing capacity. Rebalancing moves liquidity to restore inbound and outbound capacity.

Method 1: Circular Rebalance with lncli

lncli payinvoice --allow_self_payment \
  --fee_limit_sat 50 \
  $(lncli addinvoice --amt 100000 | jq -r .payment_request)

Method 2: bos Rebalance (Balance of Satoshis)

bos rebalance \
  --in <incoming_channel_peer_pubkey> \
  --out <outgoing_channel_peer_pubkey> \
  --amount 500000 \
  --max-fee-rate 50

Method 3: Loop Out (On-chain Swap)

loop out --amt 500000 --addr <your_onchain_addr>

Loop Out moves sats from channel to on-chain, freeing up inbound capacity.

Method 4: Peer-Assisted Rebalance

Coordinate with a peer to open channels in opposite directions, or use a rebalancing service like Magma or Amboss.

When to Rebalance

Rebalance when: outbound < 20%, inbound < 20%, or routing fees collected drop significantly.

Fee Calculation

Rebalancing costs fees. Only rebalance if expected future routing revenue exceeds rebalancing cost.