BTC Lightning-Enabled Wallet BlueWallet to Shutdown Bitcoin Node Lndhub.io (2024)

Bitcoin wallet service provider BlueWallet has decided to shut down Lndhub.io, a Lightning Network node on the Bitcoin Network used to store and trade satoshis (sats) – the smallest denomination of the primary cryptocurrency.

The Lightning Network is a layer-2 protocol layered on the Bitcoin protocol, used to process micropayments among participating nodes to facilitate faster transactions. BlueWallet is one of the most popular Bitcoin Lightning-enabled wallets on the market.

BlueWallet Shuts Down Lndhub.io

According to a blog post, BlueWallet disclosed that although users can still withdraw their sats, creating new or refilling existing wallets on the LndHub node would be impossible. They must move their funds before the service is completely shut down on April 30, 2023.

The wallet provider disclosed that it started Lndhub as a “weekend experiment” on the Lightning Network. However, due to the emergence of numerous services offering more scalable solutions, BlueWallet has decided to end the experiment because it has fulfilled its purpose.

BlueWallet also noted that self-hosted Lndhub solutions would continue running and receiving the wallet’s support for interested individuals and entities. Such persons could connect their own LndHub from BlueWallet or other programs that support the LndHub API specification. It is worth noting that regulator BTC wallets remain unaffected by the change.

Promoting Bitcoin Self-Custody

Furthermore, BlueWallet stated that although the development may sound like bad news, it is the platform’s way of supporting self-custody solutions, which is good for Bitcoiners.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Calle, a Lightning Developer who tweeted about the update, said:

“The account is shutting down, not LndHub or Bluewallet itself. The account here is hosted by the BlueWallet team and they don’t want to do this anymore. The most important thing is that people don’t panic and suddenly noobs move out their on-chain funds or wrong lightning balances.”