#asknostr
What's the closest thing to having self-custodial lightning bitcoin without actually having to run a node and maintain channels?
Something like breez?
Discussion
no idea but i know to have custody you need you own node
(Phoenix)[https://phoenix.acinq.co]
Probably phoenix
The new version of Phoenix got flexible channels!
As others already said it’s probably Phoenix
Breez is a node and has channels. So is Phoenix, Zeus, Mutiny, etc. The node runs on your phone so the node is frequently offline, and the channels are private so it's not a routing node. But they are nodes with channels. So it depends how literally you mean "without having to run a node and maintain channels." They hide a lot of the complexity, and open new channels as needed when you don't have enough liquidity. Expect to pay for the convenience in fees.
You may also want to look at Aqua wallet. It can send and receive lightning payments and then holds the balance locally on your device as Liquid. Good for daily transacting if you're ok with the tradeoffs of Liquid.
None of these options is good for receiving zaps, and if using them for sending zaps you'll run into varying fees, some extremely high compared to what you're sending. For zaps, you are better off going custodial lightning.
Thanks for the detailed response!
Yeah I don't need it for zapping. I was just wondering about the best way to move sats to a lower-trust environment without having to do an on-chain transaction.
I don't exactly need it right now. Just curious.
Can funds in any of those wallets be recovered if the developer gets shut down? Phoenix says "your funds will still be safe, but you won't be able to make any payments". Not sure what that means.
Yes, each wallet differs in their recovery process but the underlying wallet is on your device. Lightning is complex, and so there is always a risk of loss of funds even of self custodial wallets if proper channel backups are not available. But in theory, and usually in practice, it is recoverable.
Thanks!