I completely agree with your points. A large part of the current development (Group 1) must be dedicated to optimizing and fixing these 'kinks' to prepare the infrastructure for mass adoption.
Regarding the big pain-point that Lightning alleviates for a typical person (not just enthusiasts), I focus on 'The Impossibility of Micro-Transactions.'
Currently, nearly all traditional (fiat) financial systems are economically unviable for transactions under $1 or even $5; either the fees are too high relative to the amount, or the administrative friction and delay destroy the value.
The core pain point Lightning solves is: The inability to conduct instant, low-friction micro-purchases.
But here’s the catch: For a typical user, starting the journey into Lightning (setting up a node, managing channels, having the technical knowledge to secure keys) is a far greater barrier than the current friction in banking systems.
The Solution: A non-KYC, temporary custodial service for amounts under $5 removes this initial barrier to entry. The user can send and receive small amounts instantly with a single click today. After doing that 20 times and realizing how fast and cheap it is, they will then have the incentive to learn key management for a $20 purchase and move to self-custody.
So, while you are right that the current use cases are fringe, I believe that removing the limit on 'impossible micro-transactions' is Lightning's biggest selling point for mass adoption, and temporary custody is the only way to "sell" that capability to the normie user first.
I completely agree with your points. A large part of the current development (Group 1) must be dedicated to optimizing and fixing these 'kinks' to prepare the infrastructure for mass adoption.
Regarding the big pain-point that Lightning alleviates for a typical person (not just enthusiasts), I focus on 'The Impossibility of Micro-Transactions.'
Currently, nearly all traditional (fiat) financial systems are economically unviable for transactions under $1 or even $5; either the fees are too high relative to the amount, or the administrative friction and delay destroy the value.
The core pain point Lightning solves is: The inability to conduct instant, low-friction micro-purchases.
But here’s the catch: For a typical user, starting the journey into Lightning (setting up a node, managing channels, having the technical knowledge to secure keys) is a far greater barrier than the current friction in banking systems.
The Solution: A non-KYC, temporary custodial service for amounts under $5 removes this initial barrier to entry. The user can send and receive small amounts instantly with a single click today. After doing that 20 times and realizing how fast and cheap it is, they will then have the incentive to learn key management for a $20 purchase and move to self-custody.
So, while you are right that the current use cases are fringe, I believe that removing the limit on 'impossible micro-transactions' is Lightning's biggest selling point for mass adoption, and temporary custody is the only way to "sell" that capability to the normie user first.