_b_o_n_e_s_

security

How to Threat Model: A Guide to Effectively Mapping your Attack Surface

pleb_one

news

UK: Starmer Refuses Referendum

GhostofTruth

bitcoin

Welcome back to another chaotic, Bitcoin-fueled rant from SatoshiPlanet, Springfield’s favorite Bitcoin-loving maniac! Today’s hot topic? Cashu, a protocol that’s here to shake things up by making Bitcoin payments as private as Marge’s natural hair color (no offense, Marge). Forget centralized oversight, leave your data tracks behind, and dive into the world of anonymous e-cash.
![](https://m.stacker.news/64175)
## o1. What the Heck is Cashu? A Throwback to the Future 🚀
Cashu is what happens when you take the best parts of Bitcoin, sprinkle in some Chaumian e-cash magic, and wrap it in cryptographic privacy. Think of it as a digital invisibility cloak for your Bitcoin transactions.

Inspired by David Chaum’s 1980s ideas about privacy-preserving e-cash systems, Cashu lets you spend sats without broadcasting your every move to the blockchain. The brainchild of Calle (check the docs here), Cashu leverages Chaumian tokens to let you transact Bitcoin off-chain, maintaining privacy while keeping things lightweight. It’s perfect for anyone who doesn’t want Big Brother, or Ned Flander, peeking into their financial business.


Calle is a developer deeply inspired by the principles of privacy and decentralization that underpin Bitcoin. Drawing from the foundational ideas of David Chaum's e-cash concept and the privacy-preserving ethos of Bitcoin's pseudonymous founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, Calle designed Cashu to fill a crucial gap in the Bitcoin ecosystem: enabling private, off-chain transactions while maintaining the simplicity and elegance of the system.
![](https://m.stacker.news/64176)
Calle’s technical expertise and passion for cryptography have helped bring a modern twist to Chaumian tokens, blending them with Bitcoin’s capabilities to create a lightweight protocol that is both efficient and privacy-focused. Cashu reflects Calle's commitment to building tools that empower individuals, resist surveillance, and embrace the cypherpunk philosophy.

## o2. How Does It Work? It’s Easier Than Explaining the Internet to Grandpa Simpson 🧠
At the heart of Cashu lies Chaumian cryptography, a fancy way of saying you can create and spend digital money without anyone knowing who you are. Here’s the gist:

**Minting Tokens:** A server, or “mint,” issues tokens to users in exchange for Bitcoin.
Blinding Tokens: Users blind these tokens using cryptography, so the mint doesn’t know who owns what.

**Spending Tokens:** Blinded tokens are transferred between users without revealing their origin.

**Redeeming Tokens:** The recipient can redeem these tokens for Bitcoin, completing the transaction privately.
It’s like passing anonymous notes in class—but instead of gossip about Skinner, it’s Bitcoin transactions that even the blockchain can’t trace.


## o3. Why You Should Care
Remember when Homer tried to keep his “secret doughnut stash” hidden from Marge? Cashu is like that—but for your sats. Here’s why it’s a game-changer:

**Untraceable Payments:** Mints can issue tokens without knowing where they end up. Privacy: 1, Surveillance: 0.

**Lightning Fast:** Cashu integrates with the Lightning Network for speed and convenience.

**Portable:** Run it on your laptop, Raspberry Pi, or whatever device Bart hasn’t broken yet.
![](https://m.stacker.news/64177)
## o4. Getting Started: A Crash Course with Bart 🚀
Ready to dip your toes into the world of private payments? Here’s how to get going:

**Set Up a Mint:** Think of a mint as your personal bank—but without the annoying fees or pesky centralization.

**Fund the Mint:** Load some sats into the mint. This converts your Bitcoin into Cashu tokens, ready for private spending.

**Spend and Receive:** Share these tokens with friends, family, or shady Springfield bar patrons (we see you, Moe), all while keeping your identity off the radar.

## o5. Top Use Cases for Cashu 🍩
Here’s where Cashu shines:

**Micropayments:** Perfect for buying digital doughnuts or tipping the saxophone-playing Lisa of your local Bitcoin community.

**Anonymous Donations:** Keep your philanthropic efforts private, whether you're saving dolphins or secretly funding Homer's next BBQ.

**Local Mints:** Want to be the mayor of privacy in Springfield? Create a community mint for your crew.

## o6. Cashu Meets the Lightning Network ⚡
Cashu plays nicely with Lightning, making your payments faster than a Krusty Burger drive-thru. You can send and redeem tokens directly through the Lightning Network, blending privacy and speed. Plus, it allows for split payments, meaning your sats can hitch multiple Lightning routes to reach their destination.
![](https://m.stacker.news/64178)
## o7. Curious Cases: Real-World Privacy Heroes Using Cashu 🕵️
Let’s look at some practical examples of Cashu in action:

**Bart’s Bitcoin Allowance:** Imagine Bart gets his weekly stash of sats but doesn’t want Lisa snooping. Cashu tokens to the rescue!

**Moe’s Mystery Tips:** Bart tips Moe anonymously for letting him into the bar—again.

**Milhouse’s Digital Fortune:** Milhouse uses a Cashu mint to hoard sats without bullies finding out.¡

## o8. Exploring Cashu Wallets🥜🔒
Ah, wallets—where Bitcoin meets fashionably chaotic financial independence. In the land of Cashu, every wallet has its own personality, quirks, and flair for making you feel like the anarchist banker you’ve always dreamed of. So buckle up, because we’re diving into the wild world of Cashu wallets, the perfect blend of privacy tech and Simpsons-level absurdity.

**A) 🥜 Nutshell: The OG Nerd Wallet**
Straight outta PyPi, Nutshell is the tech geek's paradise. This CLI wallet doesn’t do fancy; it does powerful. It’s like the Comic Book Guy of wallets—awkwardly brilliant but undeniably cool.

If you’re the type to drop Python one-liners at parties, this wallet’s your soulmate. It’s perfect for command-line cowboys who want total control.

- First-ever Cashu wallet AND mint.
- Supports Bitcoin Lightning, Tor, and PostgreSQL.
- Sends and receives tokens via nostr like a pro.
- Can act as a mint or be used as a library to build your own thing.

**B) 🌐 Nutstash: The Overachiever**
Nutstash is the web wallet equivalent of Lisa Simpson—smart, intuitive, and always two steps ahead. Built with TypeScript, it’s sleek, fast, and packed with features.

If you’re a minimalist who likes to keep things simple but functional, Nutstash is your jam.

- Supports multiple mints.
- Integrates with nostr for sending and receiving tokens.
- Runs in your browser, no downloads needed.

**C)📱 eNuts: Your Pocket-Sized Privacy Pal.**
Who said privacy couldn’t fit in your back pocket? eNuts is the mobile Cashu wallet for Android and iOS that makes private transactions as easy as eating a donut.

It's like having your own Moe’s Tavern for Bitcoin right in your phone—convenient, private, and always open. Streamlined for smooth, on-the-go usage.
Beginner-friendly interface.

**D) 🚀 Minibits: Small but Mighty**
The Minibits wallet may sound tiny, but this little powerhouse is all about performance and usability. It’s ideal for mobile users who want a balance between speed and simplicity.

Whether you’re a speed demon or a usability junkie, Minibits delivers both without breaking a sweat.

**E) 🛠️ Cashu Feni: The Swiss Army Knife of Wallets**
If wallets were tools, Cashu Feni would be a multi-tool that even MacGyver would approve of. Written in Golang, it’s a wallet and mint combo that’s Docker-ready for easy deployment.

It’s technical, versatile, and ready to power your private Bitcoin empire.
Supports multiple mints and P2SH.
Built for developers with Docker images for quick setup.

**F) 🦀 Cashcrab: The Tech-Savvy Crustacean**
Built with Flutter and as much Rust logic as you can cram in, Cashcrab is a next-gen wallet for users who like their interfaces clean and their transactions private.

If you're looking for tech sophistication wrapped in a user-friendly shell, Cashcrab has you covered. Seamless nostr integration for contacts and messaging.

**G) 🪙 Moksha: The Rusty Monk**
Moksha isn’t just a wallet; it’s a way of life. Written in Rust, this wallet-and-mint combo focuses on balance, harmony, and keeping your transactions Zen-like private.

**H) 🌟 Cashu.me: The JavaScript Wizard**
Built on Quasar and Vue.js, Cashu.me is a web wallet that’s still in active development. Its goal? To make Bitcoin privacy so easy that even Homer Simpson could figure it out.

**I) 🍏 Macadamia: For Apple Die-Hards**
Written in Swift, Macadamia is Cashu’s exclusive iOS wallet. Think of it as the hipster cousin who’s always using an iPhone, sipping oat milk lattes, and insisting on privacy.

**J) 🍩 Gonuts: Go-Go Golang**
Gonuts is a wallet-and-mint implementation in Golang. Like a donut shop that runs 24/7, it’s dependable, efficient, and ready to serve.

**K) 💬 Prism: The Social Butterfly**
Running entirely on Discord, Prism wallet is the social wallet for Bitcoiners who want to keep their private transactions conversational. Perfect for those who think "privacy" and "community" can coexist.

## o9. Frequently Asked Questions 🤔
**“Is this better than Bitcoin?”**
No, it’s complementary. Think of it as the sprinkles on your Bitcoin doughnut.
**“How does it compare to Lightning?”**
Lightning is faster, but Cashu adds privacy. Use both for the ultimate experience.

## 1o. The Cypherpunk Dream Lives On 🌍
Cashu isn’t just a tech innovation, it’s a reminder of Bitcoin’s roots in privacy, decentralization, and freedom. In a world where surveillance looms large, tools like Cashu bring us closer to the cypherpunk vision of a free and open financial system.

## Join the Cashu Revolution 🍻
Ready to take the plunge? Head over to cashu.space or check out the documentation to start your journey. Privacy isn’t just a feature; it’s a right, and Cashu makes it fun, fast, and easy.

So grab your Bitcoin wallet, load up some sats, and embrace the chaos. Springfield, or, you know, the real world needs more privacy warriors like you. D’oh-n’t wait! 🍩💻

Website: https://cashu.space/
Twitter: https://x.com/CashuBTC

Cashu 🥜 Private Payments Done Right. More Sats, Fewer Snoops! 💸🔒

satoshiplanet

I'm Seth For Privacy, freedom maximalist and VP of Cake Wallet - AMA!

sethforprivacy

You can actually use Robosats for swapping between LN and Monero! Make an offer if you don't see one :)

Outside of that, I generally recommend Cake Wallet (cakewallet.com) or Trocador (trocador.app) to use good instant exchangers.

There is also growing volume on Haveno (https://haveno-reto.com/) and growing usage of atomic swaps (https://unstoppableswap.net/) for more censorship-resistant and decentralized options.

<sub>TLDR: No, but if you own bitcoin and can afford to, you should get one anyway.</sub>

# Secure the network.

First off, I'm not mining to heat my house, and I'm not mining to earn bitcoin. I'm not mining out of the goodness of my heart either. I'm mining because I store my family's savings in bitcoin, and mining centralization looks like a real threat to me. I've written about it [here](https://stacker.news/items/629837) and [here](https://stacker.news/items/735779) if you're interested in reading more about why this is so important for average bitcoiners. That being said, I'd like to earn (or at least not lose) bitcoin in the process, and I'd also love to heat my home with it.

![](https://m.stacker.news/62805)

![](https://m.stacker.news/62808)

# Nano 3

In one of the aforementioned posts, I made a stink about how little hash one contributes with a lottery miner and @OT called me out on ignoring hardware centralization concerns with Bitmain. Well, Canaan isn't exactly a small company, and they're not open source, but they aren't Bitmain, and I found a miner that's about eight times as powerful as the virtual signaling[^1] solo miners at about the same cost.

My big find was the Nano 3. It's actually marketed as a space heater with three heating settings. At it's warmest, this guy mines at 4TH/s and uses about 140 watts. So it's about as efficient as a midrange s19, hashes about the a third as much as an s9, and costs as much as a Bitaxe. As a tool for decentralization, I'd say that's a great combo.

Ironically, most of the folks I see talking about it online are shitcoiners that use it to solo mine Bitcoin Cash. I wonder if this phenomenon is culturally turning bitcoiners off to a better decentralizing tool.

![](https://m.stacker.news/62809)

![](https://m.stacker.news/62810)

# Recycled Heat

So, now that I have them, I can tell you from personal experience how they're doing as heaters. Well, they are pushing heat out. However, it's a very small fraction of what my s9s do. They look better in house[^2], and they're significantly quieter (but not silent), but there's no way these guys are going to let me go furnace free this winter like a similar amount[^3] of Bitmain products would do.

#Conclusion

So I don't see the Nano 3 as the silver bullet for home miners. I do, however, think it's a great option and am not at all bummed with my purchase. At my current electricity price, I'll pay them off (even denominated in bitcoin) at some point. But I'm also going back to the drawing board about trying to replace my furnace with miners.

[^1]: totally unfair characterization... I get it. Just trying to make a point with some hyperbole
[^2]: The lighting is also pretty cool. You can make it pulse or strobe, and the full color spectrum is available. They're keep my kids' rooms a LITTLE bit warmer this winter and double as a cool night lite that teaches them about bitcoin. The ones in living areas do the same for guests. I consider these non-trivial features.
[^3]: Similar price too! Most s9s online are about the same price as the Nano 3s.

Nano 3 - Can you heat your whole house with a bunch of 'em?

jasonb

Assuming you have the seed phrase - what else do you need, to ensure you can recover a wallet?  

I had a scare a while back when restoring a seed phrase, and the transactions NOT showing up. The problem ended up (after a lot of stress and research) being the script type.

Also I just saw a long discussion of someone having a similar issue - being fairly experienced, and thinking he did absolutely everything right in terms of securing his coins, and then not being able to restore it and see transactions. I don't know yet what his solution is, hopefully he can figure it out.

So my question is, what (besides the seed phrase) is necessary to know, to ENSURE that you can restore, perhaps with different software?

Here's my short list so far:
- are you single sig or multi sig (obvious, but still...)
- script type (Native Segsit, Legacy, etc)
- is the derivation correct (m/84'/0'/0', etc)
- do you have a passphrase (again, obvious)
- the gap limit 
- are you using the regular BIP39 standard, and not the Electrum standard or something else?

What else is there, that could affect this?

I have a couple other related questions:
- Does the "script policy" descriptor shown in Sparrow encompass ALL of the factors besides the seed phrase that can affect whether the transactions show up? 
- Say you set up a wallet in Sparrow (via, for instance, SeedSigner). And then you set up a watch-only wallet for it on Blue Wallet. To make sure everything is good - do you just need to check that the receive addresses are the same?



Factors (besides seed phrase) which cause you to not be able to recover wallet?

Signal312

# Setting up a hybrid lightning node, even behid CGNAT:

## 1. Motivation
To run a lightning node in a completely sovereign way, we must host it on hardware under our control. To make our node accessible to other peers we must publish on the gossip network how to find our node, but since many of our local networks are behind a **carrier grade NAT** and the router does not have a public IP, it becomes a bit difficult. In this post I will explain how to expose our node with a **ssh tunnel with a vps**, even behind CGNAT. I won't explain how to create a tor hidden service because I think is trivial, if you are running a node, almost sure that you have one.

## 2. Prerequisities: 
1- Running a lightning node
2- Having a vps with a public ip: 
  [lunanode](https://www.lunanode.com/?r=31080) is easy to use, and you can pay with lightning 

## 3. Exposing the node 
Connect to your VPS by ssh and edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config
``` 
sudo vim /etc/ssh/sshd_config
```
Ensure that: 
```
AllowTcpForwarding yes 
GatewayPorts clientspecified
```
Make sure that the port that you want to expose is accessible by the internet, in my case it will be the default port 9735, replace 9735 by your custom port if you want:
``` 
sudo ufw allow 9735
sudo ufw reload 
```
Now let's move to our local machine, where the node is running. With the assumption that your node is exposed in localhost:9735 (that's how it is by default) let's test our implementation, remember to change the ports if you have others, paste your vps public ip address and your vps user :
```
ssh -nNTv -R 0.0.0.0:9735:localhost:9735 **YOUR_VPS_IP_ADDRESS**
```
Now you must change the config of your node to advertise the new address. If you use CLN you can edit the config file and set announce-addr=**YOUR_VPS_IP_ADDRESS**:9735 (or your port). If you are using another lightning node implementation I am sure you can find the config file, and announce the address.
Now everything must work, you can try to find your node from another node (maybe a friend's node) by the new ip:port address and the pubkey of course. 

## 4. Finishing 
You can close that now, and prepare to make it more robust.
First we need to install autossh
``` 
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install autossh
```

Create system d service 
```
sudo vim /etc/system/systemd/autossh-lightning.service 
```

and there put the service description, remember to replace the needed fields with your own data.
```
[Unit]
Description=port forwarding through auto ssh
After=network.target

[Service]
User=USERLOCAL
ExecStart=/usr/bin/autossh -M 0 -o ServerAliveInterval=30 -o ServerAliveCountMax=3 -i /home/USERLOCAL/.ssh/id_rsa -nNTv -R 0.0.0.0:9735:localhost:9735 YOUR_VPS_IP_ADDRESS

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
```

Then run: 
```
sudo systemctl start  autossh-lightning
sudo systemctl status  autossh-lightning
```
If status is active we are all set.

Setting up a hybrid lightning node, even behid CGNAT

Cyrus


![](https://m.stacker.news/58688)

### The Potential

Some of you may have read my recent [post](https://stacker.news/items/722173/r/siggy47) about the possibility of using meshtastic software with a LoRa radio for OTA (over the air) bitcoin transactions. 

I first got excited about this technology because of this article:

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/making-bitcoin-unstoppable-part-one-mesh-nets

Here’s a passage I really liked:

> With a mesh network, we completely decentralize our communication infrastructure, as anyone can become an ISP in the network. Individuals may choose to offer mumble or matrix servers for communication or provide local access to Wikipedia, while open channels in the Lightning Network can be used to facilitate bitcoin transactions without an uplink to the broader internet. Mesh networks are also cost-efficient to deploy as already available hardware can be used to facilitate communication and provide unprecedented benefits for people who live under circumstances susceptible to disruptions of internet access. 

Then I found this article, which is much more technically in depth:

https://d-central.tech/can-i-send-bitcoins-with-mesh-networks/

I recommend you read this if you want to learn more about the network and the possibilities for bitcoin transactions.


It took me a while to actually get a radio and start to learn about this technology. I was a ham radio operator for years, though I let my license lapse. I like these unregulated bands better anyway. Also, licensed hams are prohibited from engaging in commercial transactions. My goal is to transact on the Lightning Network. 

### Some Useful Links


- Meshtastic github

https://github.com/meshtastic 

- Mesh Map Worldwide

https://meshmap.net/#1947155171 

- Review of Lilygo T-Echo and other radios

https://adrelien.com/blog/what-is-the-best-device-for-meshtastic/ 

### Lilygo T-Echo setup for Meshtastic. 

I decided to buy a Lilygo T-Echo. It is an out of the box ready to go radio, unlike many DIY kit choices you may decide to buy. @kepford just bought a RAK Pocket https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-pocket. His radio is nicer and a little higher end than mine. 

The T-Echo comes fully assembled with a USB cord and detachable antenna. Be sure to attach the antenna before plugging it in. The first thing you must do is load the meshtastic firmware on the radio. Go to this site: https://store.rokland.com/pages/lilygo-t-echo-getting-started-quick-guide-meshtastic You must unlock the bootloader on your device before you can connect it to your computer.  To unlock the bootloader on the T-Echo, click the reset button (top button on the left side of the device) twice. A new drive for the device will now be mounted on your computer. Next, download and flash the firmware for your radio. 

![](https://m.stacker.news/58695)

![](https://m.stacker.news/58696)


I downloaded the stable version of ntf52840 for the T-Echo. Next, you simply drag the downloaded file to the new drive that appeared on your computer when you unlocked the bootloader.  

#### Linux Issues

I had a nightmare trying to load the firmware on Linux with my Ubuntu laptop, but easily did it on my wife's windows laptop. @kepford gave me advice regarding linux, but none of the tips worked for me. He’s the guy to ask if you must flash the firmware with linux. He suggested you only use the Chrome browser, along with other advice I can't find right now. My own research led me to this one line terminal command to solve the issue

```sudo usermod -a -G dialout USER```

but this did not work for me. 

@kepford also located a possible permission issue through a web search, which can be resolved by running 

```chmod a+rw /dev/ttyACM0 ```

but, once again, it did not work for me. 

Keep in mind that you may get an error signal "Not enough space on drive" or error copying file. Ignore the error notices. When the file is downloaded the radio will reboot into the meshtastic firmware. 

### Pairing Your Phone To Your Radio

Next, download the meshtastic app from your phone. I have a graphene pixel and don’t use Google or Apple stores, so I got the app from @franzap 's zapstore. https://github.com/zapstore/zapstore-cli By the way, I highly recommend the zap store. The app is also available on fdroid. I don't know about the Apple version. 

![](https://m.stacker.news/58697)


I paired the device with bluetooth. The pin to pair the radio to your phone will appear on the Lilygo T-Echo screen once you click “pair new device” on your phone . If you are using graphene, be sure to grant the app location permission to turn on the GPS.  Click the + button on the meshtastic app on your phone to connect your radio. The first thing you must do is set a geographic region. Allow the app to find connected devices, then select your radio. It will give your radio a short alpha numeric name, which you can edit.

Now your radio is operational and able to find other local devices. So far I have made no connections. I think I will need to install a high antenna to improve my range, but that’s for another post. 

### The Future Of Meshtastic

It quickly becomes obvious when doing some research that this is an area where the potential for bitcoin has been barely explored. There are lots of useful youtube videos that will teach you about the meshtastic network, but very few that will actually address using it as a means to transact with bitcoin. This was all I could find:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wir_cRNKNQA

There is not much to work with, but if there are any developers out there looking for fertile ground, this might be it. I envision someone building a lightning wallet that can interface with the meshtastic firmware. I have no idea how difficult this would be, or if it’s even possible.  In any event, it's probably too early. The network needs to grow to make this a practical solution.



Setting Up My First Meshtastic Radio

siggy47

tech

GrapheneOS: The Purpose, The Strategy, and The Why [Article]

final

This is interesting. if you are looking to host your LN apps / nodes it could be a nice option.
And they have ready to go nodes for LNbits and Alby Hub
- https://nodana.io/services/alby-hub
- https://nodana.io/services/lnbits

Nodana - Hosting for Bitcoin and Lightning Software

DarthCoin

bitcoin_beginners

### Introduction
Few days ago I was talking with one of my "padawans" about how he is using his LN wallets. And I discovered a mistake he's doing: using his LN wallets as holding wallets not as spending wallets (as I told him to do).

LN liquidity is a very delicate subject that many new BTC LN users still do not grasp it entirely. And [here is a very good guide about LN liquidity by Bitcoin Design team](https://bitcoin.design/guide/how-it-works/liquidity/) that I want you all to read and bookmark it.

So I will write here what I've explained (again) to him, so other new users will do it right and understand better how this LN liquidity works.

We are talking here ONLY about private LN nodes / channels using well known apps like: Zeus, Blixt, Electrum, Breez, Phoenix, Green, Bitkit, Alby Hub. Those were the user is opening private channels and manage them.
We are NOT talking about PUBLIC routing nodes, those are another story.
![](https://m.stacker.news/51043)

### Basic recommendations 
First thing first and you should always remember this: the rule of 3 levels stash
![](https://m.stacker.news/51042)
- onchain (cold) wallets are for holding long term
- cache wallets (onchain and LN) are for coin control, managing liquidity, nodes etc.
- LN wallets are for SPENDING. LN is THE payment network for Bitcoin network (onchain).

In other words, put in your LN wallets enough sats just for your regular spending.

### Small analogy
Think about a LN channel as a "credit line" with your local bar. You put an amount of money in a box (LN channel), that both of you have control, but is deducted from it ONLY when you consume some beers in the bar. So you will open that channel only when you know for sure you will go in the next days to consume some beers. 

The box content cannot be taken, only if both of you put a key to open it. Inside each of you will find his own balance, if you decide to open the box and take your part. That is the "closing channel" operation.

In any moment each of you will know the balance of the box (channel). 

But think about this situation: you were the one depositing first an amount of sats as a "credit line" into that bar. But in time the sats are changing the owner. For you, as a consumer is not a problem, you can refill it anytime with more sats. Also the bar owner can move sats from that box, when are too many on his side, into another box (channel) or outside (onchain) using a swap. But can do that ONLY when you are refilling that channel with more sats (also from a swap).

The tricky part comes when you, the consumer, already consumed let's say 90% of that channel and forget about it, months and months. That is a problem for the bar owner... because now he have some funds stuck in a channel that is NOT moving, is not creating any business flow for him that generate revenue. So will be forced to close that channel and redeem his sats and returning you the remaining sats.

In other words, if you do not have a constant movement of funds with that channel, and most of the funds are on THEIR side, you put a lot of pressure on their liquidity. As business they cannot use these sats to buy more merchandise and stock, until they close the channel and redistribute the capital.

Read here also one of my old posts explaining LN with another analogy: https://stacker.news/items/552822

### What you should do as a regular LN private user (not public router)

I would recommend these general steps:
- Use several LN wallets, not just one, spreading your liquidity on few channels, I would say 2-3 channels per wallet/node. No need for more.
- Do not open tiny channels like 10k-20k-50k-100k. Open like min 500k-1M-2M per channel. Depends also of your spending habits, if you have large amounts moving or small amounts. Think in how much a channel can handle a payment of yours, in and out.
- Try to have each LN wallet for a specific spending habit (one for zaps, tips,small donations, one for buying beers, groceries, one for buying sats from exchanges, one for swaps etc as you desire).
- Always move around funds from those channels ! Do not keep them with more than 50% of the balance on the peer side.
- If you know that will not use a depleted channel anymore, but you hope that someday (you don't know when) you will use it to receive more sats, better just close it and buy an inbound channel on the fly from many other LSP that are already offering on the fly inbound channels. If you already bought such "inbound channel" and you have a contract for 6 months or 1 year with the LSP, you better use it in this period.
- If you do not have enough spending in a certain period of time, just move around funds between your own LN wallets. Yes, I know this have a cost in fees. But if you want to keep your channels alive, you must move funds. Otherwise you will get closed.
- If you are just stacking slowly and you do not have enough sats to move to a cold onchain wallet, [read the following guide here](https://darth-coin.github.io/beginner/getting-started-stack-sats-en.html).

### FINAL REMINDER
LN CHANNELS (private) are not for long term stacking, are for SPENDING.
More stas flowing = generate more fees, routing nodes are happy and keep providing good routes = LN is flourishing and create slowly a Bitcoin Circular Economy

Managing LN wallets liquidity

Guy Swann AMA - the Guy who's read more about bitcoin than anyone else you know

TheGuySwann_nostr

So...when are you ready to feel the best you've ever felt? 😏 I've never once heard of someone cutting out those last few bits of plant matter and not experiencing an additional health surge, especially mentally.

Would recommend looking into the work of Dr. Anthony Chaffee. He is the guy who's researched plant toxins more than anyone else you know! 👇

https://youtu.be/j1cqNDDG4aA
https://youtu.be/Mbf5DYYXZsc

benwehrman

> **I'm not the creator of the phoenixd-lnurl project** nor affliated with it, moreover I couldn't find the creator here on Stacker News. I know that the guy can be found on Nostr behind the npub `npub1raftzmju5gq77twqxrumv5gnweew2t0p4v5upv8kku4vsz4j8jzq3tgns2` and [here is his website](https://1f52b.xyz/). He has all the credits for this. 

## Background

A few days ago I was checking my nostr feed and somehow I run into the following project:

https://github.com/AngusP/phoenixd-lnurl

that is based on the new-born phoenixd server, the new ACINQ product that basically mimics what the android phoenix wallet does, but it is deployable on a web server and potentially runs 24/7.

## The process

Since I have a VPS with some dummy services on it, I decided to try phoenixd and this wrapper, just to understand the potential of such a product.

> For simplicity I'll call the phoenixd  daemon "node" from now on.

The first thing to do is clearly to have some sort of server/VPS with a static IP and a domain. You'll need the domain to deploy the lnurl webpage that shows the  lnurl and your lnaddress.
Once you set up the VPS you can decide to follow two different paths:

1. Deploy the node using docker, which is pretty straightforward and all the information is on the README file of the project;
2. Deploy the node by installing by hand phoenixd server, the dependencies of phoenixd-lnurl and setting up manually everything.

I decided to go for the second methodology.

### Phoenixd server

Installing phoenixd server is very easy, the *get started* section of the website explains step-by-step the deploy process so [take a look at it](https://phoenix.acinq.co/server/get-started). Once you're done with the installation of phoenixd server you'll have at hand two scripts, **phoenixd** and **phoenix-cli** and if you run phoenixd for the first time it'll generate your new phoenix server node, generating  the 12 seed words and setting up everything that is needed. Just rememeber to backup the seed.dat file (containing your 12 words seed), you'll find it in the ~/.phoenix folder.

Last thing I suggest to do is to add to the path the folder containing  **phoenixd** and **phoenix-cli**.

### Phoenixd-lnurl wrapper

Once the server installation is completed and the scripts are on your path, its time to proceed with the installation of the wrapper that will enable you to have a static webpage and an lnaddress  directly linked to your new created node.

Go to the [project repository ](https://github.com/AngusP/phoenixd-lnurl) and clone the repository in your favourite folder, then `cd` into the newly created repository folder,
At this point, you need to check one thing before going ahead: you need to verify that your system has an installed python version equal or newer than the python3.10. You can check that by writing `python --version`.
This is needed because some commands included in the `run.sh` script for the wrapper need  this specific (or newer) version of python, otherwise the `run.sh` script will fail every time with an `TypeError`.

If your python version respects the requirement explained above, then you can procede with the creation of a new virtual environment, recalling to use the python3.10 version, and install the requirements as explained in the README.


### Config file 

At this point you should have the phoenixd-lnurl folder and an **activated** python environment with all the requirements. In the same folder you should create an phoenixd-lnurl.env file and copy the content of the phoenixd-lnurl.env.example. This env file is very important because in it you'll define:

- the `PHOENIXD_URL`, that is an url containing your username, the http password (that you can find in ~/.phoenix/phoenix.conf), the localhost and the port that will be used to communicate with the node instance. The final form of this parameter is `http://<username>:<http_password>@127.0.0.1:<port>`. You can check the hostname and the port number by reading the content of the `run.sh` script in the same folder;
- your username (then used for the lnaddress);
- the hostname that will serve the invoices  needed by the LNURL,   which is also the domain that will serve the webpage showing your LNURL QRcode;
- some other settings about the min and max amounts that the LNURL can receive;
- your nostr pubkey, that will appear in the same webpage.

### Nginx settings

As of now, the wrapper should be set up as intended and you can even start it by running `./run.sh` in your terminal; if you run both the phoenixd daemon and the run.sh script your lnaddress will be able to receive sats. in order to run also the LNURL webpage you'll need to tickle a bit with nginx.

If you're running already a web server you should be already aware of how to tickle with nginx, anyway I recommend to take a look at [this guide](https://landchad.net/basic/nginx/) that will easily explain to you how to edit the nginx settings. Just remember that the `server` settings that the README file recommends to use must be inserted in the file corresponding to the domain you'll use that is contained in the `/etc/nginx/sites-available/` folder. The suggested settings for nginx already include the new landing page for the LNURL QRcode, so you can simply copy-paste everything.

### Systemd services

The final thing you need to do is to create two systemd services (if you're using systemd), one for the phoenixd server daemon and one for the `run.sh` script. The project comes with a suggested systemd service template that you can easily edit according to where these files are located in your filesystem. 

## Final remarks

Now by navigating to your `https://domain.com/lnurl` you should be able to see a freshy colorful page with your LNURL QRcode in the middle and the lightning address. And this is it!

The process is fairly simple and does not require a lot of work to set this up, nonetheless you should pay attention to a few elements:

1. Phoenixd server is still a trust-minimized node that relies on ACINQ node for liquidity management and its overall functioning. As for the mobile wallet, channels are opened with ACINQ as a peer but as an additive feature phoenixd comes with the possibility of receiving some sats even without having a channel opened. This can work only for very small amounts, since phoenixd server 'understands' that the sats are not enough to open a channel with a swap and thus trusts momentarily ACINQ for holding these sats on your behalf.
2. Phoenixd is a very new product and can have bugs that could lead to loss of funds. Moreover, phoenixd-lnurl is an alpha solution **built on top of a beta product**...you can easily understand that the level of insecurity of the overall structure requires to be very careful and not going mad by using substantial bitcoin amounts.
3. As for an LN full node, phoenixd server is an hot lightning wallet running on a web server, which can possibly have a very low level of security, depending on your ability to secure linux systems.  

Deploying an LNURL and lnaddress in 5 minutes

tolot

#### When its time to leave

If you're reading this you're already on a platform where people are informed, and quite likely you have at least peeked into some sort of preparedness content and such.

Maybe you're already a "digital nomad", or aspire to such a lifestyle? Maybe you are even working remote, and already have started preparing, building a side hustle that can scale later.

Some of us have also put a lot of energy into research on specific countries or regions, maybe even a single jurisdiction.

But what if that country suddenly closes down or catches a colour revolution? What if an opportunity arises in a country that you never even considered, a country that you have no knowledge about whatsoever?

#### Plan C versus Plan B

A good plan B is well researched, fits your needs, and has no huge gotchas that you know of. Ideally you will be in control all the way, and unless something major happens you won't have to ditch it or return back to square one.

This was a good way of doing things until 2020 hit, in my own case it worked very well until it all unraveled. I had planned for close to anything anyone can plan for, with businesses that could withstand almost anything.

But I never planned for the airspace to literally close down globally...

Although I walked away from what I had built early, and by doing so preserved resources that I can still draw on, I also did hang onto my plan B at least on a subconscious level.

#### Flexibility and adaptability

For someone migrating in a controlled manner planning everything and following all rules makes sense. The problem is that this comes at the cost of being nimble and flexible, it can easily turn into a real trap.

In retrospect I see that I should have had a plan C all along, especially since it would have backed up my plan B by leaving me with a mindset where *options* are key.

This way of thinking is what I have focused on the past couple of years, in many ways getting back to a much younger self where the world is **my** oyster :-)

#### Trial runs

Since Vietnam is an option for me here in the region I did my first plan C trial runs there, starting off with a few days in Da Nang and then later Saigon, doing two separate, very improvised trips.

For my previous plan B there was a lot of planning, especially around visa and travel gotchas. This time I did things very differently on purpose, arriving with no return ticket, no hotel booking and nothing but a small backpack.

What would be the worst that could happen? Perhaps getting into a dialogue where I'd try to convince them that I can book anything right on the spot using Travala and crypto, maybe showing my dollar bills to prove that I could fund myself. Super worst case some argument around health checks and such, but likely never anything worst than having to go back on the next flight. 

Still, for someone past half a decade on this planet it does something to the mind to ditch all the "what if"s, to revert back to yoloing things. All the tiny things you can read in the queue at immigration, the mental part of calming your mind and getting any dialogue right. 

Of course it worked like a breeze both times, and of course I reverted to my old way of checking out any big city: just walk! Then walk for a few hours more, get some food, then keep walking! :-)

You get a *much* better impression of any place when walking around at random, popping up at hotels asking if they have a room or not, how is an old geezer with worn out shoes perceived? Are they able to point you to a run down, cheap place to stay?

Do those places ask you for a passport or not? Not that I was on the run of course, but what if that actually happened? Would you be able to hole up somewhere so you'd be even able to keep fighting another day?

This is what a trial run is for, do it anytime you travel and you'll build knowledge and skills that in many cases can be transferred to other cities.

#### Fixers and helpers

Any messy and inscrutable country has fixers and helpers. Some have *very* organized setups where informally appointed visa agents streamline everything for a fee, and some are far more messy, where you might have to mix them in with what you do yourself to get a footing.

Do you know how to assess these people, and the services they render?

Any experience around these things is valuable, and you really need to observe and remember each tiny detail, especially since it might make sense in retrospect when you have learnt more about the situation you are in.

Especially Saigon was interesting, walking all the tiny back streets I was met with many astonished glances, but not much hostility. Would it be possible to maybe pass down the same streets a couple of times each day, and then connect with the right people? Probably!

Passing by a rather large and polished motorbike shop I had already been going for hours, I was sweaty and getting into that meditative, slow but determined way of keeping going for hours. 

And this is what the guys hanging around the front desk must have recognized, they looked at me in an approving manner, I greeted them with a tiny nod & then kept walking...

To these I was already "marked" as someone who is certainly not a tourist, maybe even someone up for rough times, but also that it was not my first rodeo!

I have no idea what they might be up to, and of course you can never just walk up and ask, all I am saying is that if this was not a trial run then I'd certainly pass by another day, and then see where things might go from there...

Something similar happened when I finally found a hotel, the owner was a guy who had broken his back when training in the US during the war, he had purchased the hotel recently, probably after saving up since he got hurt.

Once again some real interest, some tentative mutual respect, and an opening into  *something*... Certainly a good *base* to get started if I had to, someone to learn from, to give me pointers...

There is a lot to be said about this of course, and lots of it is hard to sort out and categorize, so I will try to get around to this later. The important part with any kind of fixer or helper is that *you* have to get it right, *you* have to earn the trust, and also assess those that might help you, especially in the context you are in.

Of course there are no "consumer rights", no HR department, no guarantee you won't be ripped off, no guarantee that they might not fuck up landing *you* in trouble! Which is why you need several of these, you need to compare information, learn as much as possible in a short amount of time, and then get *your* decisions right, without blaming anyone else at any point. That mindset will land you in trouble for real!

#### Where to hole up

To get used to "plan C thinking" hotels are perfect, you can so easily do this anywhere, even in your own country or city. A hotel is always a potential base, it is a place where it is totally normal for guests to ask any weird question, and it takes a lot before they turn on a polite, quite guest that shows real interest for their country and culture. 

Can you leave a bag for when you come next? This always works as a way to get yourself flagged as someone who intends to get serious about the location, merely asking might give you valuable pointers.

I have had an increasingly larger bag in an old hotel for more than a year when I was building my plan B, at a certain point I was even offered a room in the part for locals, at a price that was impossible without building that connection.

Recently I left a bag in Kathmandu before doing random legs via Dubai, Cairo and Istanbul. I even forgot to leave the key, and a very helpful immigration officer at the airport actually delivered that to the hotel, declining even a tiny tip.

Returning a month later than I had told them of course the connection was deepened, and even though I really cannot afford that hotel I feel certain that they will remember me. I never run into trouble or lose anything really, but if that happened I know where to go for the night with no passport and no cash until things get sorted out...

And now that I will return there soon I also have a few expats that have gotten to know me, one of whom has stayed there for 12 impossible years. I've even got the number to their visa fixer!

#### What cannot be done online

Many of these things can not *ever* be done online or on a phone line. Sure, you can research a lot online, you can get the general picture, but since these are grey zones you will never get the whole story, not even when you finally find the right fixers. They need to protect themselves, but also they need *you* not to know too much. Its a good thing if you do, but let them take the lead, use your growing knowledge to merely check off the boxes, are they doing their job right or not?

You also won't know how *you* function in environments like this. How do you handle the insecurity? Are you able to parse all the information, or will the need for a manual or service agreement block you from pulling the trigger?

Or maybe you're not seeing the risk, just taking the chance with the *wrong things* where you cannot afford to go wrong...

Even if you want to follow every rule in the book, which often just is not possible, you still need to deal with others in a very alien environment, especially if you've had to trigger a plan C to somewhere you know nothing about!

#### Where to from here?

I have always been a "big picture" guy, I've always seen things that others ignore, and that has been both a good & bad thing through the past decades.

But what is clear by now is that my plan C is getting better, and that simple fact makes me relax a bit in my current plan B location. There have been times & forks in the road where I have been *very* close to ditching my plan B forever, and we might still get to such a fork.

From here I will keep honing my skills, I will keep writing stuff like this, and I will try to get some structure to things that are seemingly chaotic and random. In reality they are not, any jungle has a very clear set of rules, what matters is to stay alive another day to learn, always...

Do you have any comments, questions or objections? Anything is welcome, this is the jungle after all!

Do you have a plan C?

rebel_nomad

# Understanding UTXO Consolidation for Bitcoin Users

Bitcoin blockchain fees are currently low, so it's time to get familiar with UTXO consolidation!

What is UTXO consolidation and why should you care?

## Many Small UTXOs Can Incur High Transaction Fees in the Future

If you've been dollar-cost averaging small chunks of bitcoin to a self-custody wallet, you might have a lot of small-value UTXOs (Unspent Transaction Outputs) in your wallet. 

When transaction fees will rise again, spending these UTXOs can incur hundreds or even thousands of dollars in transaction fees!

When you transact in Bitcoin, fees paid to miners are determined by the network demand, and how much data the transaction requires to be sent.

The Bitcoin network is designed to handle only a limited amount of data every 10 minutes on average in order to keep the data on the blockchain small enough for average users to run nodes and audit the blockchain.

The trade-off is high transaction fees during high network demand.

You can always set a lower fee for your transaction, but then you will often have to wait longer for your transaction to be included on the blockchain. 

The total fee for a transaction is calculated by multiplying the transaction size with the fluctuating fee rate. 

The fee rate is measured in satoshis per virtual byte (sat/vByte).

A good website to familiarize yourself with the current Bitcoin fees is [Mempool.space](https://mempool.space/).

You can learn more about it in this post: https://stacker.news/items/657963  

The transaction size increases the more UTXOs it has. 

The monetary value of BTC being spent doesn't have an effect on the transaction fee.

You can send $50 or $1 billion worth of BTC with the same transaction fee.  

## What Is an UTXO?

Your bitcoin balance consists of UTXOs.

When you receive BTC, you receive a single UTXO.

The more often you receive, the more UTXOs you will accumulate. 

When you're sending BTC, your wallet software picks UTXOs from your wallet and sends them to the receiver.

Your wallet might have to pick many different UTXOs.

If the BTC amount of your UTXOs exceeds the amount you're sending, you will receive a new UTXO as "change".

Conceptually, UTXOs are very similar to physical cash. 

You can think of UTXOs in your Bitcoin wallet as different denominations of a currency, e.g. $10 bill, $20 bill etc.

Except that Bitcoin doesn't have specific denominations: a Bitcoin UTXO can be of any amount!

![](https://m.stacker.news/48628)

The balance of your Bitcoin wallet is the sum value of all your UTXOs in that wallet. 

UTXO is like a bill in your Bitcoin wallet that hasn't been spent yet. 

When your wallet has to pick many UTXOs to make a transaction, the network fees you pay will be higher.

You can think of it as sending someone $1000 in coins vs. sending $1000 in hundred dollar bills.

Coins will weigh more and their postage costs will be higher.

Bitcoin wallets automatically select the lowest number of UTXOs to minimize transaction fees, and some have coin control features that let you select UTXOs manually. 

A recommended wallet for desktop is [Sparrow Wallet](https://sparrowwallet.com/).

Sparrow also works with the most popular hardware wallets.

You can learn more about Sparrow [in this Twitter thread](https://x.com/teemupleb/status/1708190356565872642) I wrote in September 2023.

## How to Consolidate UTXOs?

You're just selecting UTXOs of small monetary value and sending them to yourself when fees are low, and you will receive one UTXO with a larger monetary value.

Here it can be demonstrated with some testnet coins on Sparrow Wallet.

The process is exactly same with real BTC.

In the "UTXOs" tab, you select the UTXOs you want to consolidate, and proceed to "Send Selected".

![](https://m.stacker.news/48629)

On the "Pay to" field there's a dropdown that automatically chooses a new Bitcoin address in the same Sparrow Wallet that you own (it's labelled as a "consolidation" address).

Alternatively, you can copy/paste any address there.

![](https://m.stacker.news/48630)

If you want to verify that you really own the address, you can go to the "Addresses" tab, find the address in question and sign a message with it.

If you're e.g. using a hardware wallet like Coldcard or Trezor, the signing device's firmware will at this point verify that it manages the address.

![](https://m.stacker.news/48631)

It's important to label your UTXOs, so you will know in the future what UTXOs to spend and in what situations.

Labels are only for your own reference.

Do it.. your future self will thank you!

![](https://m.stacker.news/48633)

You can see the flow of UTXOs on Sparrow.

Two small UTXOs turn into one (minus the miner fee).

It's a bit like exchanging small coins to larger bills!

![](https://m.stacker.news/48634)

When you go back to the "UTXOs" tab, you can see that you now only have one larger UTXO, but the same amount of BTC (minus the miner fee).

![](https://m.stacker.news/48635)

[Mempool.space](https://mempool.space/) gives you nice visualizations for UTXO consolidation.

In this transaction, 4 UTXOs were consolidated into one (minus the miner fee).

Since Bitcoin is digital gold, UTXO consolidation is like melting small gold coins into one gold bar!

![](https://m.stacker.news/48636)

## UTXO Consolidation Reduces Privacy

A major trade-off with consolidating UTXOs relates to privacy.

People who sent you the small UTXOs you want to consolidate can follow the movement of those UTXOs and link them to your now larger UTXO balance. 

It's not an absolute proof that you own those UTXOs (you could be sending them to someone else!), but it might be a strong indication.

It's always the best practice to assume that whoever sent you those original UTXOs is watching and knows that you own all that bitcoin.

Also, there are privacy concerns if you spend after consolidating.

If you spend from a large UTXO (let's say 1 BTC), and buy something worth $50 (0.0008 BTC) with it, the receiver can see that you will get a change and are the owner of an UTXO of 0.9992 BTC. 

## "Dust" UTXOs

When you have smaller UTXOs, they might become economically infeasible to spend in a high fee environment (fee higher than the monetary value of the UTXO).

It's hard to know exactly what the future fee market will look like, but it can be assumed that the Bitcoin blockspace will be in high demand and the fees will rise.

Here's a good [article](https://unchained.com/blog/small-utxo-bitcoin-dust/) by Unchained about unspendable "dust" UTXOs.

Jameson Lopp has created a useful tool called ["Economically Unspendable Bitcoin UTXO Calculator"](https://jlopp.github.io/unspendable-utxo-calculator/?ref=blog.lopp.net) that can be used to project transaction fees in different fee environments with different address types.

## To Consolidate or Not?

It depends on your personal preferences and how you're intending to spend your bitcoin in the future. 

It's good to strive for a balance, taking into consideration the future fee market and the privacy concerns, and still remember that it's better to have spendable UTXOs that have lost some privacy than unspendable private UTXOs. 

Never consolidate KYC coins with non-KYC coins!

The consensus among Bitcoiners is to avoid dust UTXOs as much as possible, and try to keep your UTXOs at 1 million sats minimum (0.01 BTC and around $600 in August 2024's prices).

It's been estimated that this threshold would secure your UTXOs being spendable even in a prolonged high-fee environment.

If you're ever in an emergency and need to spend your bitcoin, it's good to know that you will not spend most of your coins on fees!

Some recommend striving for even larger UTXOs, like 10 million sats (0.1 BTC) in case Bitcoin becomes a world reserve currency or hits mass adoption.

UTXO consolidation is extremely important for Bitcoiners with many small value UTXOs (e.g. Bitcoiners in Global South that have been saving $10 per week in BTC on-chain to self-custody wallets).

If fees go high, a Bitcoin UTXO worth $10 might become unspendable. 

If you're mostly a hodler and you've been buying BTC in large purchases at a time, you generally don't have to worry too much about UTXO consolidation. 

## Send Small UTXOs to the Lighting Network for Spending!

Instead of consolidating UTXOs to an on-chain address, you can also open Lightning Network channels with them or send them to a Lightning wallet for easier spending.

Lightning Network also adds a layer of privacy to the UTXOs. 

If you're buying bitcoin through an exchange, it might make sense to accumulate a large enough UTXO before you move the funds to self-custody.

Or you can use e.g. [Liquid Network](https://liquid.net/) @liquid as an intermediary layer for storing coins in self-custody.

As a federated sidechain, Liquid has its own trade-offs.

You can learn more about Liquid in this [Twitter thread](https://x.com/teemupleb/status/1761068870083981436) I wrote in February 2024. 

UTXO consolidation reduces the number of UTXOs in the network, which makes it easier to run a full Bitcoin node.

So consolidation has benefits to the network as well!

It can also streamline your own wallet experience.

Signing data-heavy transactions can be a burden to older hardware wallets that might even crash in the process!

What's your strategy for UTXO consolidation?

What's the ideal size of an UTXO in your opinion?

## Additional Resources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqe0QCxjKpI @BTCsessions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krrUQGMKhPo

[What is ‘UTXO consolidation’ and how can it help me reduce transaction fees?](https://bitbox.swiss/blog/what-is-utxo-consolidation/)

[How to Manage Bitcoin UTXOs and Save on Transaction Fees](https://www.tftc.io/bitcoin-utxo-management/)


Understanding UTXO Consolidation for Bitcoin Users

teemupleb

tutorials

How to Install nix-bitcoin on a Proxmox Virtual Machine

nullcount

deleted by author

zklsbn

Some time ago I stumbled upon a big txt-like list of online services that accept payments through BTC or even better the LN.

In particular I am looking for a list of VPS, bonus sats if you have used an anonymous VPS and can give me a quick review on it.

Thanks in advance! 

Services that accept Bitcoin / LN?

handsome_latino

## PSA for Public node runners:
If you want to became some kind of "profitable node" listen to my advice:
- run a very good node, with good connections, stable, not mobile
- have large liquidity, I mean LARGE not joking with 1M sats channels
- provide channels as LSP for private nodes like Zeus, Blixt, Mutiny and all others that can open channels to any node
- provide good routing fees for private channels
- yes, charge a fee to open a private channel, it is normal that, because we know that there are costs in maintaining private channels. Privacy is not free.
- offer good timing to maintain those channels alive and not close them.
- if you can offer swaps between LN-onchain that will be a plus
- if you can offer inbound channels that will be a plus
- take care of your private peers because they will be like your "secret" customers that will bring you a lot of traffic.

More private LSPs = more decentralized LN
You don't have to be a real public LSP, is enough to be for your friends and family.

YOU WILL REMEMBER MY WORDS

PSA for Public node runners

For Privacy and Security
for temporary or one-time "burner" SMS verification services.


1) JMB.Chat

2) SMS.usmobilenumbers.com

3) SMS-Man.com

4) VirtualSim.net
