BlueWallet, a Bitcoin wallet available for iOS and Android smartphones, has announced the end of custodial lightning operations on the Bitcoin Lightning Network. As a result, users must now establish a connection with other nodes to use BlueWallet lightning services.
In a statement, the firm announced that Lndhub.io, the Lightning node that provides Lightning wallets to BlueWallet users, is “sunsetting.” Users won’t be able to create new Lightning wallets or add funds to existing ones on the LndHub node, but they can still withdraw their funds.
BlueWallet advises its users to move their funds out of the custodial Lightning wallets of BlueWallet to another service provider as soon as possible before the service is shut down on April 30. The self-custody Lightning wallets, which allow users to connect to their own Lndhub and the normal BlueWallet Bitcoin wallets (on-chain), won’t be impacted by this change.
According to BlueWallet, Lndhub began as a weekend experiment on the Lightning Network when it was a new and unpopular technology. Lndhub’s current form has been superseded by more widely used services that provide scalable solutions nowadays.
The Lightning Network is a Layer 2 payment method based on Bitcoin. Small amounts of Bitcoin, known as satoshis or sats, are frequently transferred through the Lightning Network using a lightning wallet.
Although some people may view this shift as a hindrance to the adoption of the Lightning Network, BlueWallet states that it will only promote self-custody solutions. The modification aims to encourage self-custody and decentralized alternatives.
The LndHub software and self-hosted solution will still be available to users, and they can still use BlueWallet or other applications supporting the LndHub API standard to connect to their own LndHub.
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