If you operate your own Lightning channel, that’s the best case — you can use a fully native Lightning wallet.

If not, the five wallets mentioned above, each with their own tradeoffs, can still be used to send and receive Lightning payments by leveraging the service provider’s inbound liquidity. The difference lies in how “bitcoin” is stored under the hood — each takes a different form.

When both sender and receiver use the same provider and system, payments are typically settled internally without touching the Lightning Network. But if they’re on different providers, the payment is routed through the Lightning Network.