lightning

@roy presents the Breez SDK and shares why Lightning is the common language of the bitcoin economy at Liquid's Investor Day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiJ2mBZZP8M

***

This was originally posted [on Medium by Roy Sheinfeld](https://medium.com/breez-technology/lightning-is-the-common-language-of-the-bitcoin-economy-eb8515341c11).

# Lightning Is the Common Language of the Bitcoin Economy


https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1400/1*Yuaux3EBnzuz9HhAKKnoLw.jpeg

Lightning is bitcoin’s Tower of Babel, but nobody wants to tear it down. (Image: [Wikimedia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tower_of_Babel_cropped_square.jpg))

One of the best parts about running Breez is the diverse range of people I get to meet and work with. We have partners from [Jamaica](https://medium.com/breez-technology/building-on-lightning-flash-is-reinventing-caribbean-money-with-the-breez-sdk-d26ef8b81fb8), the [USA](https://medium.com/breez-technology/the-breez-sdk-is-helping-crowdhealth-help-bitcoiners-help-each-other-9dd0e19e2c58), [Switzerland](https://medium.com/breez-technology/its-a-relai-not-a-sprint-swiss-bitcoin-only-broker-opts-for-the-breez-sdk-9d05b7906715), [Germany](https://medium.com/breez-technology/building-on-lightning-how-satimoto-is-beating-fiat-with-the-breez-sdk-88aa8252a994), [Canada](https://blockstream.com/), [Estonia](https://medium.com/breez-technology/bringin-bitcoin-to-retail-banking-with-the-breez-sdk-e4d5822dca5c), and who knows where else. We have users in [Finland](https://medium.com/breez-technology/lightning-in-the-wild-a-budding-ecosystem-in-finland-8b0f971ebe4f), [Wales](https://medium.com/breez-technology/lightning-in-the-wild-3-a-creative-family-innovates-with-breez-732368a01d7d), [Namibia](https://medium.com/breez-technology/lightning-in-the-wild-fromthejump-podcast-fd90164b2146), [India](https://medium.com/breez-technology/the-breez-release-candidate-getting-lightning-ready-for-the-global-takeover-b5d1f9756229), and almost everywhere else. The people behind Breez are split across three continents and come from a broad range of national and ethnic backgrounds.

Agreeing on a communication platform (Telegram? Slack? Zoom? Discord?) sometimes takes a bit of coordination. What never needs coordination, though, is the *language* we use to communicate. It’s always automatically English. For many of us, English is our second (or third, or fourth) language, and parts of it are baffling, but it doesn’t matter. Every initial contact is in English, all channels are automatically in English, and all public communication (like this blog) is in English. There’s not even a contender for second place.

And there’s basically no way to change this convention. Nobody could simply decree that we’re all going to start speaking Mandarin or Esperanto or Inuktitut. Whether because of convenience, actual utility, historical imposition, or sheer numbers, English is locked in. But it works, so why mess with it?

This example demonstrates a few points. First, the interface between individual nodes in a network — whether people, nations, or communities — has the form of a language. Second, there needs to be a common language. In fact, the limits of the language are the limits of the network. In other words, the distribution of the language *defines the network*. Finally, common languages are very sticky. Once everyone has adapted to a common language, it’s basically locked in.

Now for a fact about the present that will irrevocably shape the future: Lightning is emerging as the common language of the bitcoin economy.

# **A Common Language among Subnetworks**

[We’ve talked before](https://medium.com/breez-technology/liquidity-on-lightning-moving-from-ux-to-economix-6e597d9e1abd) about various last-mile technologies. They’re like the local secondary roads that connect users to the higher-throughput Lightning Network and, ultimately, the Bitcoin mainnet. They all basically work by bundling users and their transactions into subnetworks.

For example, [Ark](https://arkdev.info/) and [Liquid](https://docs.liquid.net/docs/welcome-to-liquid-developer-documentation-portal) convert incoming bitcoin into their own mechanisms ([VTXOs](https://arkdev.info/docs/learn/nomenclature) and [L-BTC](https://docs.liquid.net/docs/technical-overview), respectively) that users can then send to each other according to their respective protocols without needing further on-chain transactions. Alternatively, [Fedimint](https://fedimint.org/docs/GettingStarted/What-is-a-Fedimint) members effectively pool their bitcoin and trade IOUs among themselves, with transactions and the financial state of affairs overseen by a federation of trusted guardians. With [Cashu](https://cashu.space/), people exchange e-cash tokens and trust the issuing body.

Each kind of subnetwork can use its own language. How the nodes communicate among themselves in these subnetworks is their business. What’s interesting is that these subnetworks *communicate with each other over Lightning*, even if we’re just talking about, say, two different Cashu mints or when a Fedi interacts with an Ark. Lightning is the common language of all the emergent and thriving subnetworks based on bitcoin.

Returning to the analogy of English, it doesn’t matter to me what language you speak at home or at the supermarket. You can speak whatever obscure dialect you want with others who understand it. But if you want to talk to me or virtually anyone else on Telegram or Slack, English is really the only option. Nobody could change that even if they wanted to, and nobody seems to want to. Just like Lightning.

Lightning is the common language of the emerging subnetworks. It’s the language of bitcoin.

# **Why Lightning Is the Optimal Language for Bitcoin**

A *common* language is not necessarily an *optimal* language. It just has to work and be broadly accepted. Just like the Bitcoin mainchain has certain advantages (e.g. immutability, openness, borderlessness, etc.) that recommend it for certain uses, Lightning is the best choice for a common language between subnetworks for at least three reasons.

https://miro.medium.com/v2/0*LTPF2NPipiEobHqj

Layered networks interacting via a common language. (Image: Adobe Firefly)

## **Lightning Is Bitcoin, and Bitcoin Is the Trustless Bearer Asset**

The first and probably most important reason why Lightning is the best common language is that [it uses bitcoin](https://medium.com/breez-technology/lightning-btc-iou-62e3a712c913). Simply, the subnetworks might not trust each other, and they have no reason to. But since Bitcoin and, by extension, [Lightning eschew trust](https://medium.com/breez-technology/the-only-thing-better-than-minimal-trust-is-none-at-all-34456f650332), the subnetworks can interact without trust. Bitcoin is the only viable bearer asset, and Lightning is the language of Bitcoin, so Lightning is the best common language for the subnetworks to interact with each other.

Further, Lightning, like Bitcoin, also eschews leverage. The whole business model of fractional-reserve banks is based on a hole in their balance sheets. By contrast, every sat on Lightning is accounted for at every moment. A balance sheet displaying all the positions on the network would be perpetually *balanced*. No gap, no overlap. Lightning resists imbalances due to hubris, incompetence, and villainy, which is a necessary feature in a trustless environment.

## **Lightning Is Inherently Transactional and Interoperable**

Second, Lightning is a transactional protocol designed to facilitate flow. For normal payments, there’s no mempool and no delay until the next block is mined. [Payments take seconds](https://x.com/Breez_Tech/status/1632387594486009859), if that. And transactions — money in motion — are what make Lightning valuable. [Literally](https://medium.com/breez-technology/lightning-is-a-liquidity-network-550896ca27ea). Static sats on the network don’t earn any return. In order for liquidity on Lightning to grow, it has to flow. A common language won’t be used much if it rewards silence. It must promote communication, which is exactly what Lightning does.

Further, the Lightning technology detailed [in the catalog of bolt specs](https://github.com/lightning/bolts) is inherently interoperable. It was designed to enable multiple implementations of Lightning nodes with different designs, trade-offs, and programming languages. All these nodes can, however, interact over a common network because they all support the same bolts. Being interoperable by design makes it easy for other technologies to add Lightning as another interface.

## **Lightning Has Critical Mass**

Finally, a common language needs a sizeable community of speakers. Try saying “[skibidi rizz](https://youtu.be/q85IlAx95wA)” in a nursing home or, even better, a nursing home in Cambodia. Perhaps the biggest advantage of English is simply its popularity: [more people speak English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_total_number_of_speakers) than any other language on the planet. And while only a quarter of the inhabitants of many countries speak English, you can still find an English speaker at the next table at virtually every bar and restaurant on the planet. Try that with Catalan.

Lightning has already achieved a critical mass. It’s already obvious how a Cashu subnetwork and Fedimint subnetworks will communicate with each other: Lightning. That’s how they were designed, so switching the common language between networks would require rebuilding most of their parts. Like English, whatever language subnetworks use internally, Lightning is the language they use to speak to each other, and it’s already locked in.

# **The Permanence of Lightning**

Actual lightning — the kind from storm clouds — is a notoriously brief phenomenon. Flashing momentarily and vanishing is its whole thing. But the Lightning Network — the interface between any number of nodes, subnetworks, and the Bitcoin mainchain — is not going anywhere. Common languages tend to [hold that status for centuries](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingua_franca#Historical_lingua_francas).

Bitcoin is the world’s best currency. Lightning is the common language of the bitcoin world, and it’s here to stay. For those of us already established in Lightning, this is very good news. That Lightning is locked in means our first-mover advantage is going to be very valuable indeed.

But it’s also good news for those just entering Lightning now or considering it. It eliminates uncertainty about which technology to support and invest in. Lightning is going nowhere but up, so it’s never the wrong time to get started. [Better yesterday than today](https://quoteinvestigator.com/2021/12/29/plant-tree/), better today than tomorrow, but tomorrow is good too.

[The best time to get into Lightning is now](https://breez.technology/sdk/). Always has been.

Lightning is the Common Language of the Bitcoin Economy ⚡️

🌊 #003: Feel the Breez

Rsync25

This was originally posted on [Breez's Medium](https://medium.com/breez-technology/yopaki-mexican-culture-meets-bitcoin-with-the-breez-sdk-75b76adc75be) by @roy

https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1400/0*b3NdKZFAB8jzKDIa

Reimagining what’s already there is hard. Changing people’s fundamental beliefs as well as societal norms and structures is a challenge. But that’s how we progress. At Breez, we’ve built our free and open-source SDK on the belief that there’s an unimagined future of payments, with the potential to unlock trillions of dollars of value in a completely new economy, all powered by Bitcoin. We think big.

[Yopaki](https://www.yopaki.com/) is another example of a company that thinks big. They aren’t just building *another* banking app — anyone can do that — they want to reimagine the experience from the money you use to the way you interact with the app.

In Mexico, where Yopaki co-founders [Francisco and Carlos](https://www.yopaki.com/about) are from, fragmented banking and fintech options with limited features and utility leave users frustrated. So Yopaki decided to change things by building an app that covers the full range of financial tools infused with Mexican culture and traditions as an integral part of the experience. And with the Breez SDK, they’ve seamlessly integrated these traditions with Lightning, creating an experience as rich in culture as it is in convenience.

# **Fix the UX, Fix the Money, Fix the World**

Yopaki was born out of two core problems. The first was that modern banking often feels soulless, uniform, and disconnected from the vibrant cultures it operates in. Yopaki’s answer was to bring cultural richness into the digital experience, and to do that they’ve started with their own heritage.

While Francisco and Carlos are citizens of the world, their connection to Mexican culture runs deep — “Yopaki” is a portmanteau and roughly translates to “the pursuit of happiness” in [Nahuatl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahuatl), an ancient Aztec language. This blend of tradition and innovation extends to the user experience, where they invite users to engage with the rich history of Mexico through Lotería — a traditional game, akin to picture-based bingo, passed down through generations. Yopaki has transformed this cultural staple into an interactive, daily feature in the app, changing how users interact with financial products.

The second, larger, problem to solve was that money itself is broken. Traditional banking does offer valuable services like lending and saving, but it operates with a fiat currency that’s centralized, slow, and controlled. Enter Bitcoin: no centralized agency, no borders to overcome, no third-party control.

Together, these solutions combine to reimagine the UX of banking from the daily interactions with the app to the decentralized currency that underpins it.

https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1400/0*J1MqzinZl_moRAYk

*[Yopaki introduced themselves to the world](https://x.com/yopaki_/status/1705087162503274919) by projecting a bitcoin logo on Mexico’s Central Bank.*

# **Redefining Payments with Nodeless**

It goes without saying, in reimagining banking, that bitcoin is central to Yopaki’s mission. It redefines how money moves and how people hold it, taking power away from third parties and returning it to the people. The problem is that its UX isn’t always intuitive, especially for daily payments, which is why more people are turning to Lightning. But Lightning brings its own complexities, especially with self-custody, making integration from scratch nearly impossible. That’s where Breez comes in.

With the Breez SDK’s [nodeless implementation](https://sdk-doc-liquid.breez.technology/), Yopaki avoided Lightning’s complexities, such as managing a node, channels, and liquidity, while retaining the sovereignty and simplicity of bitcoin. The result is a seamless, fiat-beating experience where users effortlessly make bitcoin payments quickly and affordably. It’s a vast improvement over traditional banking, all while being self-custodial, borderless, and permissionless.

The Breez SDK also dramatically simplifies things for developers. As Carlos put it, it’s practically self-explanatory. Yopaki was able to implement it in about 48 hours, thanks to the simple API calls, which not only freed the team to perfect other features in the app but also reduced engineering costs. And if any questions came up, the Breez team was there with answers. With well-documented, [open-source code](https://github.com/breez/breez-sdk-liquid), every feature is transparent and traceable, making setup as straightforward as it gets — all while being free to use.

And the payoff? Very happy users, saying *adios* to traditional banking products. Francisco saw it firsthand when he sent his mother-in-law her first sats to self-custody, and everything clicked. She immediately texted him, convinced that everyone should have control over their own money. This is what a killer UX can do; it’s [the most effective “orange pill](https://medium.com/breez-technology/orange-pilling-has-stopped-working-4a407252c7a3)”. Enough users have had similar lightbulb moments that Yopaki has already expanded to 29 countries since launch.

https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1400/0*avVnRk9zGvonw7rG

*Games, education, and bitcoin — [an all-in-one app.](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/yopaki/id6474048017)*

# **When Big Ideas Meet Culture**

Yopaki is a great example of what happens when a big idea meets seamless execution through shared vision and cooperation. Collaboration, after all, drives progress — not just in technology, but in the exchange of cultural perspectives. Every day, people from different parts of the world share their unique ideas to develop a common vision of the future. All of us contribute to Bitcoin’s story through countless decentralized actions, all working toward a common goal. And as we improve the currency from every corner of the world, we all benefit.

We love working with unique personalities like Francisco and Carlos. Yopaki is something only they could have created, blending cultural richness with tech innovation through their own experiences. And we’re happy to support them with our projects: the [nodeless](https://sdk-doc-liquid.breez.technology/) and [native](https://sdk-doc-greenlight.breez.technology/) flavors of the Breez SDK, each catering to the unique needs and visions of our design partners.

So, if you’re ready to add Lightning to your app and introduce us to your corner of the world, [get in touch](https://breez.technology/sdk/). We’d love to hear about it and share our culture with you.


Yopaki: Mexican Culture Meets Bitcoin with the Breez SDK

Optimal Zapping on Stacker News

Undisciplined

Thanks for letting me know about the forwarding option — will make sure to do so for future posts! 

bitcoin

Bitcoin’s False Dichotomy between SoV and MoE - by Roy Sheinfeld, Breez

🌊 #002: Feel the Breez - Breez Newsletter

bringing p2p money to everyone at Breez

x: [dannystagg](https://x.com/dannystagg/) 

@_ds's bio

### Diamond Hands just dropped the beta release of Diamond Wallet, the first functional self-custodial Lightning wallet from Japan. 

The wallet was built using the [Breez SDK's Native (*Greenlight*) implementation](https://sdk-doc-greenlight.breez.technology/). 

It includes a new feature they’ve added called '*sats4ads*,' where you can earn sats for watching ads.

Here are some of the key features:

* You can earn sats through '*sats4ads*' — just by watching ads in the app.

* There’s Bolt Link, which is like bit.ly but with Lightning payments. You click a link, watch an ad, and earn bitcoin. Only users with a Lightning channel can claim rewards, keeping it secure and spam-free.

* It’s self-custodial, so no third parties holding your funds.

[Koji Higashi](https://x.com/Coin_and_Peace), the co-founder, mentioned that the regulations in Japan make it difficult to offer custodial services, so going the non-custodial route was the best move.

It’s still in beta, but they’re working on adding more features like in-app channel opening, direct ad delivery, interoperability with other wallets, as well as a referral program.

The Diamond Hands team shared a [demo on X](https://x.com/DiamondHandsLN/status/1841168020196246005) as well as [this blog](https://diamondhandsen.substack.com/p/diamond-hands-beta-releases-diamond) sharing more details on what they've built. They've also shared more technical details on their [GitHub](https://github.com/DiamondHandsInc/bolt-link-readme?tab=readme-ov-file).

If you’re into testing out new stuff, you can find it on [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=technology.diamondhands.wallet) and [Apple TestFlight](https://testflight.apple.com/join/Kjbu5pII).

Introducing Diamond Wallet — a new self-custodial ⚡️ wallet from Japan 🇯🇵

There's a new release of the Breez SDK - Nodeless (Liquid Implementation).

# Breez SDK Liquid 0.3.2 #

## Features

- Use lowball fees for direct Liquid transactions
- Send all funds is now supported in `pay_onchain` 
- Update default electrum URLs

## Breaking Changes

- [API key is now required](https://breez.technology/request-api-key/#contact-us-form-sdk)
- Parse invoice: short_channel_id is now formatted as a string instead of a number

For more on what's included in this release, [follow this link.](https://github.com/breez/breez-sdk-liquid/releases/)
