Cashu gives new users a free lightning address

They can immediately receive sats over lightning wihout a ln channel

Once a user has enough ecash they can open a channel

That channel can then be closed and those sats are on base chain

Cashu lets users work down the layers, not up, which can open huge potential for those with no sats. There is a hardware cost and education to run a lightning node.

Better trade offs than a normal custodian

Users who share the same mint can have a circular economy inside the mint with no fees and excellent privacy.