Most people don't realize what they're missing until they run their own Lightning node. No custodian controlling your funds. No third party watching your transactions. Just you, your bitcoin, and direct access to Layer 2. It changes everything.—Andrea Carnimeo
Something to note in the article are the highlights on the privacy aspect Lightning offers.
Privacy AdvantagesPrivacy Advantages
Standard bitcoin transactions are permanently visible on the blockchain. Anyone can see addresses, trace UTXOs, and with sufficient chain analysis, connect transactions to identities. Bitcoin is pseudonymous, not anonymous.
Lightning operates differently. Payments aren't broadcast to the entire network. Only nodes directly involved in the payment path see the transaction. Sender and receiver remain private. Intermediate nodes only see their immediate neighbors in the route, not the full path or amount.
This privacy is fundamental to the protocol. Lightning uses onion routing, the same technique that protects identity in privacy networks like TOR. Each hop gets encrypted. No single party sees the complete picture.
Operating your own node strengthens this privacy. You control your data. You don't leak transaction information to block explorers or third-party services. You can route your node over Tor for complete network anonymity. Your balances stay private. Your spending patterns remain yours.
If privacy is important to you, self-hosting matters. You stop trusting custodial wallets or light clients that share your balance with their servers. You become your own bank in the fullest sense.
You can improve Bitcoin privacy by running two Lightning nodes over Tor. Fund a channel between them with KYC bitcoin, make a partial payment across the channel, then wait a few weeks before closing it. The payout goes to fresh addresses with no direct on-chain link to your original KYC coins. The Lightning transaction stays off-chain, and the time gap breaks the obvious connection. It's not perfect anonymity, but it adds several layers of obfuscation that make chain analysis significantly harder.
And the Pros & Cons table is a good tool to help evaluate if running a node is worth the effort.
| Pros | Cons |
| ✅ Complete control over your bitcoin with no custodian risk | ❌ Requires technical knowledge and ongoing maintenance |
| ✅ Enhanced privacy through onion routing and self-hosting | ❌ Significant time investment to learn and optimize |
| ✅ Earn routing fees from payment flows | ❌ Minimal profit for small operators without substantial capital |
| ✅ Support Bitcoin's scaling and decentralization | ❌ Hardware, electricity, and hosting costs |
| ✅ Deep understanding of Bitcoin's Layer 2 technology | ❌ Need consistent uptime and monitoring |
| ✅ Choose your own implementation and customize setup | ❌ On-chain fees for channel management add up |
| ✅ No third party can freeze or access your funds | ❌ Capital locked in channels unavailable for other uses |
| ✅ Build custom applications on open APIs | ❌ Competitive environment dominated by large nodes |
It is really cool. I basically opened my own little bank/financial service and have helped about 7000 transactions take place for others, plus all of my own.
I’m shocked some bitcoiners don’t see how amazing this is.
Don't be too shocked about some Bitcoiners not liking any form of financialization. It's just a preference to not be building fee upon fee upon fee, and many have fears of further centralization pressure and (unnecessary) complexity. I used to be among these.
I’m not surprised by informed or thoughtful criticism.
There are some who totally miss the significance of being able to do this, though.
Back in 2020 when I started running my nodes it blew my mind what I was doing. For years I have worked with payment processing on the dev side. I dont think people understand how incredible bitcoin is.
Before I ran a lightning node I was a bitcoiner but it unlocked a much deeper understanding and conviction.
Honestly, it's not about lightning. Lightning isn't perfect. But even so it isn't that hard for a skilled person to do and that blew my mind. Still running the same node 5 years later. The knowledge and consequences of that knowledge are well worth the cost of running the node in time and money to me.
I frankly dont care if morons don't want to understand that.
tell that to monerotards
Why would I talk to one of them?
they're not real bitcoiners. A bitcoiner without a LN node is like a libertarian using an iphone.
I will also add you can sell liquidity on amboss
It’s no where near profitable due to me being a small node and behind stupid Tor but if you got extra sats laying around you can sell channels
Thank you! I should probably add this. I'll keep a note of it.
And yes, I've used Amboss to buy liquidity (not to sell, since my node is still pretty small) and it's been really great.
I usually post the new guides and reviews myself, but this time you did it for me. That's fantastic! Thank you so much!
Yeah, lightning is incredible and I'm learning a ton with Core Lightning too. Running it from a CmRat CM5 at home has been quite the experience.
They also exaggerate the difficulty of running your own node. It's just "new"; all new things are difficult to comprehend at first thanks to unfamiliar vocabulary.
It does take a little time to learn, but there are many parts of our society that we "took a little time to learn" once upon a time. Driving, for example. Operating an automobile according to traffic laws is objectively an insanely complicated task, but we just do it like, "Oh no big deal, just listening to a podcast while driving 4,000 pounds of metal at 65 miles per hour, tumtytum..."
Having just gone through the process myself, I'd recommend for newbs that they:
Great analogy, except for one tiny detailGreat analogy, except for one tiny detail
When I learned to drive, I hired a certified professional from a nationwide registry to teach me the ropes
With a Lightning node, my 'instructor' is a patchwork of three year old SN threads and a pseudonymous star wars character who chastises me everytime I ask them a question
Admittedly there is the argument of self sovereignty comes at a price
And that is cutting your own teeth and learning by your mistakes
And now I'm thinking about it, I guess this is the way it needs to beAnd now I'm thinking about it, I guess this is the way it needs to be
If college's ran courses on how to run a nofe, that would defeat the object of decentralization, they would teach a uniformed approach that I guess would eventually centralize and weaken the network
A healthy network needs messy, diverse, individualistic setups
So yeah im gone full circle and agree with you 🤭
Back to the basics!!
Not every one could understand technical especially those video of run a lighthing node in 2 hours while in reality if you are dummy you could do it in 5 up to 7 hours to understand concepts and run it.
What many people overlook is that running a Lightning node is not simply about faster and cheaper payments. It is an exercise in reclaiming sovereignty over your financial activity. The privacy benefits described here are not theoretical. In a world where every on‑chain transaction can be traced and analyzed, the ability to move value without broadcasting it to a global audience changes the security model entirely. Onion routing is elegant in its simplicity but its strength comes from self custody. When you operate your own node you are eliminating dependencies on infrastructure you do not control. This matters because every data leak every logging server and every custodial wallet is a potential point of compromise.
Elaborate?
a -open-> LN channel(b,c) -close-> d,eHeuristic:
d and/or ethroughb,cbelong toa?