Is BOLT12 compatible/interoperable with the Lightning address protocol? The human readability of a lightning address is a big plus in terms of UX.
Discussion
Not sure but I would say it is.
No, but they have a similar solution https://twelve.cash
Bolt 12 does away with the need for using domains and not having to rely on a web server. I guess someone could map an address to an existing Bolt 12 invoice in a similar fashion to how a Bolt 11 LNURL is mapped to one. Someone smarter than me should answer though.
Yes that's what I assume, the same way an lnaddress returns an invoice you can setup to always return the bolt12, should be easier since it's a static code, but it's not retro compatible, wallets that don't support bolt12 will ask for an invoice and won't know how to handle it.
You really don't need them to be human readable. Many people tend to forget your LN URL address anyway.
Your lightning app should be able to save the bolt 12 address of your key contacts.
Nostr will take care of Bolt 12 address discovery & make it easier to receive zaps in a self hosted way.
since a bolt12 offer is static it can sit as a DNS record and get served over something that looks like an email address
The current Lightning Address standard that we use widely is a part of the LNURL protocol. It is one of the many features of LNURL. But LNURL is not a part of the Lightning Network implementation spec. It's something that is 'built on top of' Lightning.
Unlike LNURL, BOLT12 is a specification that has many features as well, but aims to make these features a part of the Lightning Network implementation spec. The ability to create reusable payment identifiers, or 'Offers' as they are called is one of these many features.
It is definitely possible to create a standard for human readable payment identifiers.
Example:
https://github.com/ATLBitLab/twelvecash
For further reading about Lightning Address for BOLT12:
https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/pipermail/lightning-dev/2023-November/004204.html