Integrating Spark and ARK into the Breez SDK offers a more Bitcoin-native, self-custodial experience than using Liquid. With Spark, users hold real BTC off-chain without relying on a federation and can open Lightning channels instantly. ARK allows them to receive payments privately and instantly, even without inbound liquidity or running a node. Unlike Liquid, this setup doesn’t require swaps or trust in a third party, and offers better privacy, simplicity, and user control.

However, both Spark and ARK rely on coordinators to function. These coordinators can’t steal user funds, but they can censor, delay, or go offline, affecting access and usability. While the trust model is minimized, it’s not fully trustless; users depend on the availability and honesty of these coordinators.

More broadly, Bitcoin is evolving into a layered ecosystem with different trust models for different use cases. Cold storage remains the standard for long-term savings and high-value holdings. For everyday use and smaller amounts, users can choose between hot wallets, Lightning, statechains, sidechains, or ARK, depending on their needs for speed, privacy, self-custody, and convenience. Each tool represents a trade-off between security, usability, and trust; giving users more choice and flexibility than ever before.

Great question! I think Breez’s open LSP model is a really smart approach; it supports decentralization and gives developers more flexibility. Breez SDK actually supports two implementations: the native one, which uses Blockstream Greenlight for self-custodial node management, and the nodeless one, which routes payments through the Liquid Network. This opens up interesting design paths depending on the app’s custody, compliance, and UX goals.

The open LSP model encourages optionality. Developers or businesses can integrate Lightning without needing to run full infrastructure themselves, while still enabling self-custody under the hood. Over time, we might see more LSPs emerge offering specialized services; so there's a lot of room for innovation here, similar to what LQwD is trying to do commercially.

As for the future of Breez SDK, I still need to go deeper into how they plan to integrate Spark and Statechains, but it looks like they’re aiming to enable off-chain, UTXO-based self-custody with high scalability and privacy. That could shift the model again, away from channel-based liquidity management and toward a more “vault-like” Lightning-native experience.