BlueWallet is sunsetting their custodial lightning product. Self-custody, without trusted managers, is the bitcoin way. So this move is for the best. Unless everyone just moves their sats to Wallet of Satoshi, that is — in which case custodian risk is amplified and centralized!

This is something I worry about. The more usable and liquid Wallet of Satoshi is, the greater the risk it imposes on those who perhaps can least afford a rug pull. People for whom a million sats is a significant chunk of money, and who may not know what ‘custodial’ means.

So: now is an excellent time to upgrade your mobile lightning setup. And if you’re an Uncle Jim type, to help those in your obit do the same. There are options: Breez, Phoenix, Muun.

Personally, I’ll keep on using custodial lightning for amounts lower than 100-200k sats or so. Cashu is coming along nicely, for example, and has significant privacy guarantees. Anything beyond that threshhold goes on-chain, though.