For many years, bitcoin struggled to get mass adoption. However, through the persistence of the community and further advancements by bitcoin developers, adoption started to gain traction. However, as the bitcoin network usage increased, the cost of transaction fees also went up. For the first time, bitcoin faced scaling issues. Roger Ver, also known as Bitcoin Jesus, along with others, decided to do a hard fork and birth Bitcoin Cash so people could buy a coffee without incurring exorbitant transaction fees.
Unfortunately, Bitcoin Cash failed to live up to expectations – or perhaps people just didn’t like it. So a better way had to be created so people could spend their bitcoins without paying massive transaction fees. Enter the Lightning Network:
What is the Lightning Network?
The Lightning Network is the second layer scaling solution protocol that sits on top of the bitcoin blockchain. It is pretty similar to what Polygon is to the Ethereum network – it is the safest, fastest, and cheapest way to interact with the bitcoin network’s mainchain.
The bitcoin network can only handle around seven transactions per second (TPS), which is nothing compared to payment networks like Visa, which can process up to 65 000 TPS. The Lightning Network (LN), on the other hand, can process up to 1 000 000 TPS and integrates with other blockchains like Litecoin. This makes it ideal for spending your bitcoins on micro-payments like buying a cup of coffee.
What is a Bitcoin Lightning Wallet?
As with any new tech developments, the Lightning Network still has challenges in using it for payments. As a result of these difficulties, some users are opting to use wallet apps as their first Lightning Network experience. These wallets often provide a simple user experience. However, the trade-off is that some are custodial, meaning that the user gives over their ownership of the private keys to the wallet operator.
Below we have compiled a list of the most popular five best bitcoin lightning wallets, both custodial and non-custodial, to get you started on your bitcoin Lightning Network journey.
Muun is an advanced bitcoin lightning wallet focused on usability and security. It is a popular choice because it is a non-custodial wallet. That means you have control over your private keys. Also, this wallet does not move on-chain bitcoin transfers automatically into lightning channels. Instead, it lets users access their bitcoin on the main blockchain and Lightning Network using a trusted third-party service provider to deposit and withdraw BTC from Lightning.
Muun has a free fee estimator, which the company claims are more efficient than other wallets as it will ensure users do not need to overpay for their on-chain transactions.
Muun is available for both Apple and Android phones and has more than 50,000 downloads in Google’s Play store.
Blue Wallet is a popular mobile bitcoin lightning wallet. It is a bitcoin wallet that supports both on-chain and lightning transactions. It is also a non-custodial wallet, giving users control of their funds. While available only on Android and iOS, the wallet is easy to use.
Instead of utilizing a self-contained LN node on each user’s device, Blue Wallet uses LNDhub, an open-source, multiple-account plugin for the Lightning Network. As a result, the solution creates separate accounts for users, but they share the same node in a trust-minimized setup.
Wallet Of Satoshi is one of the most used bitcoin Lightning wallets today. The wallet can perform both regular bitcoin on-chain and Lightning transactions. However, the wallet is custodial by design, meaning while it requires zero configuration, the drawback is that you are giving away ownership of your private keys.
Wallet of Satoshi is available for both Android and iOS. While the Wallet of Satoshi is simple and beginner-friendly, more advanced users may not appreciate its lack of extra features.
Phoenix is an advanced open-source, Lightning Network ready bitcoin wallet. It runs natively on bitcoin lightning. It is a non-custodial wallet that gives users control of their keys. Phoenix also has an intuitive interface allowing users to make bitcoin payments faster and cheaper. The Phoenix wallet is available for Apple and Android devices.
Simple Bitcoin Wallet (aka SBW) is an open-source, non-custodial, autonomous wallet for Android devices which can store, send and receive bitcoins. It provides extensive Lightning Network support and can send, receive, and route Lightning Network payments. The Simple Bitcoin Wallet is only available on Android devices.
*Note: You must do your research when choosing which Bitcoin Lightning Wallet to use. And always remember – Not your keys, not your crypto.