Closing channels

There are several ways of closing a channel. In general: a friendly and unfriendly way.

The friendly way: Mutual close

If two parties consent to close the channel, they broadcast the spend of a Funding transaction.

The unfriendly way way: Forced close

Closing a channel using "--force" results in a unilateral close. This makes the funds (temporarily) unavailable to the closing party, there is a delay.