Creating a Nostr app that receives zaps in a self-custodial manner while maintaining good UX is currently impossible.

Traditional zaps involve a Lightning wallet sending payment to another wallet, with an npub claiming to have paid another npub, and the recipient confirming by sending a receipt. This creates a verifiable payment trail but exposes wallet addresses and payment paths, making Lightning zaps de-anonymizing.

eToken or nut zaps solve this by acting as an anonymization layer. Receivers need zero configuration since the npub-encrypted bearer token contains everything required for the transaction. The tokens can be bound to specific npubs for functionality while keeping the actual wallets completely private. This transforms payments into simple transfers of encrypted data between npubs, with no trace of the underlying financial infrastructure.

This approach improves user experience by letting newcomers receive value immediately without complex wallet setups or custody decisions. As users become comfortable with Nostr and Bitcoin, they can gradually move meaningful amounts to trusted mints or self-custody solutions. The client discovers nut zaps automatically and guides users through securing funds when they're ready.

Mints are still custodians but I'd rather see a thousand mints being used than all opting for WoS. Sadly we live in a world where you have to either hide from government agencies or pay them to be a custodian on their radar but maybe that drives people to run "uncle Jim" mints for micro communities of family and friends.