The BitPay data shows the same thing: Lightning Network users are overwhelmingly using custodial services.
Bitcoin needs to start exploring different scaling methods ASAP, before we end up with fractional reserve banking 2.0!
No, there's nothing wrong with still using Lightning properly, but it's clear that a vast majority of even the nerds here on Nostr won't use it if it's difficult to use (which it is).
There are simple non custodial solution (trust minimized) like Phoenix, I use it and it works really good, you have a full LN node ont your phone. The down side is that your channels are with ASINC but that is that, is still non-custodial.
Other solutions like Blixt are interesting since you have a full node +LN in your phone too afaik and you get to manage your own channels.
My takeway is this so far:
- Is good to thrive to be as non-custodial as posible
- Is also ok to use custodial services, the problem are not those but being systematically forced to use trusted 3rd partyes (like banking system now) and we are not by any means
- More non-custodial AND user friendly solutions are developing really fast so I don't think there is a reason to panic
- LN is permissionless even for someone who want to offer a custodial LN service, so you have perfect free market there doing its thing (in contrast with the baking system rn)
Yeah with compromises like Phoenix out there and so easy to use, I'm surprised it's almost overwhelmingly custodial.
Maybe is because WoS is famous, has nice PR with the people in nostr so anyone who is onboarded to LN grabs the first thing that has at hand, and hapoens to be WoS.
U think that nostr os doing a solent job of orangepilling people hands on by making them have self custody of their nsec key, and once you get use to that is simple to apply it to Bitcoin and start to understand the benefots of being self-soveraign.
In a way is the other way around of how many of us got here, mayve by forst wanting to be self soveraign and then searching for tools to do that
what do you find to be difficult about using Lightning?
