What Is A Lightning Wallet?
A Lightning wallet is a specific type of bitcoin wallet that uses the lightning network to facilitate near-instantaneous peer-to-peer payments at a lower cost than on-chain transactions.
Lightning wallets can be run on a mobile device or desktop computer.
There are several different types of Lightning wallets available, each offering its own set of features and advantages/disadvantages. Some wallets are custodial and are best suited for small amounts of bitcoin and learning how to receive and send payments on the lightning networkWhat Is The Lightning Network? The lightning network is a layer 2 payment protocol that enables near-instant, low-fee, private payments on the Bitcoin network. It is intended to enable scalable,.... Other lightning wallets provide high levels of functionality such as increased privacy, both on-chain and off-chain payments, streaming satsWhat Is A Satoshi? A Satoshi (sat or sats for short) is the smallest unit of a bitcoin. 1 Satoshi is a hundred millionth of a BTC (1 sat =..., smart contractsWhat Is A Smart Contract? A smart contract is a digital contract that is enforced by code rather than a trusted third party. Smart contracts are executed automatically when the..., signing in to a website, 2FAWhat Is 2 Factor Authentication? 2 Factor Authentication or 2FA for short is a method of adding a second layer of security to an account such as a social media..., and more.
Benefits Of Using A Lightning Wallet
Bitcoin Lightning wallets offer a number of advantages over standard bitcoin wallets. Payments on lightning are designed specifically for fast, low-cost payments with unique privacy features.
Here are the primary benefits of using a lightning wallet to send payments.
– Near instantaneous payments: You can send bitcoin on lightning and the recipient will receive the payment within seconds without having to wait for on-chain transaction confirmations.
– Low fees: When demand for limited on-chain payments increases, miner fees naturally rise but lightning fees work differently. Fees on the lightning network stay low as routing nodes compete to offer you the lowest fee to route your payment. This competition between lightning nodes keep fees reliably low.
– Increased privacy: Instead of sending a payment from one user to another and having that transaction recorded by every bitcoin nodeWhat Is A Bitcoin Node? A bitcoin node is any computer that runs the bitcoin software, enforces the bitcoin consensus rules, and validates bitcoin transactions and blocks. Bitcoin nodes are... in the world, payments sent on the lightning are (typically) routed through multiple nodes that act as a sort of onion routing for payments. If a payment is routed through enough nodes, it becomes incredibly difficult to know the origin of a payment.
All of these features combined makes lightning ideal for over-the-counter purchases, such as coffee, groceries, cast-iron skillets, etc. because payments are completed in seconds without the need to wait for on-chain transaction confirmations.
The Best Lightning Wallets
When it comes to choosing a lightning wallet, there are a few things to consider. One important factor is to decide who has custody of your bitcoinWhat Is Bitcoin Custody? Bitcoin custody refers to control over the private keys associated with a particular bitcoin address or wallet. There are three main types of Bitcoin custody: self-custody,... with each wallet. A custodial wallet means that the wallet provider will hold your private keys for you, while a non-custodial wallet means that you will be responsible for holding your own private keysWhat Are Bitcoin Keys? Bitcoin keys are randomly generated strings of numbers and letters that are used to send bitcoin and/or verify ownership of a bitcoin address with a digital.... There are pros and cons to both types of wallets, so it’s important to choose the one that’s right for you.
Another factor to consider is which platform you want to use. There are wallets available for both Android and iOS devices, as well as desktop computers. Some wallets can even be used on multiple platforms, giving you more flexibility with how you use the lightning network.
Finally, it’s important to think about which features are most important to you. Some wallets offer more advanced features than others, such as multi-signature support or the ability to connect to bitcoin exchangesUnderstanding Bitcoin Exchanges Bitcoin has proven itself to be one of the fastest horses in the financial arena. To keep up with the rising demand, countless Bitcoin exchanges have popped... and other services. Deciding which features are most important to you will help you narrow down your choices and find the perfect wallet for your needs.
Muun
Muun is a mobile lightning wallet that is capable of receiving and sending bitcoin both on-chain and on the lightning network. Muun gives you complete control of your private keys and has a unique backup process in the event that your wallet is ever compromised and need to recover your wallet.
Muun offers the ability to set your own custom miner feeWhat Is A Transaction Fee? A Bitcoin Transaction Fee, commonly known as a miner fee, is the amount of bitcoin that a sender attaches to their transaction to incentivize Bitcoin... when making on-chain payments so you don’t have to worry about high fees when the mempoolWhat Is The MemPool? The MemPool, short for memory pool, is a short-term database of unconfirmed transactions that is kept by each node. Although the term "MemPool" is frequently used,... is congested.
Muun is available on both iOS and Android.
Phoenix
Phoenix is a mobile lightning wallet that is capable of receiving and sending bitcoin both on-chain and on the lightning network. Phoenix gives you complete control of your private keys so you never have to worry about trusting a third-party custodian with your bitcoin.
Phoenix is available on both iOS and Android.
Breez
Breez is a mobile lightning wallet that is capable of receiving and sending bitcoin both on-chain and on the lightning network via submarine swaps. Breez puts you in control of your own private keys so there is no need to trust a third-party custodian with your bitcoin.
Breez is focused on providing merchants with the ability to easily accept bitcoin by offering a marketplace point of sale system complete with inventory items, SKU numbers, and displaying prices in dozens of fiat currencies as well as in sats. Breez also has a unique feature for podcasters with the ability to stream sats for podcasts in real time.
Breez is available on both iOS and Android.
Zeus (Full Node Required)
Zeus is a powerful mobile lightning wallet that connects directly to your bitcoin node to enable you to spend bitcoin within your own payment channels. While this comes with its own set of technical requirements, it provides the highest level of privacy and security. As soon as you are running your own node, it’s best practice to use it to send lightning payments directly instead of with a plug-and-play lightning wallet.
Zeus is available on iOS, Android as well as an F-Droid application.
Wallet Of Satoshi (Custodial)
Wallet Of Satoshi (WoS) is a mobile lightning wallet that is capable of receiving and sending bitcoin both on-chain and on the lightning network. Wallet Of SatoshiWhat Is A Satoshi? A Satoshi (sat or sats for short) is the smallest unit of a bitcoin. 1 Satoshi is a hundred millionth of a BTC (1 sat =... is a third-party custodian so they have 100% control of the bitcoin that you keep in WoS. Wallet Of Satoshi has the ability to backup your wallet so you can recover your sats in the event that your wallet is ever lost or compromised.
Wallet of Satoshi is available on both iOS and Android.