⚡InfoZap: Bitfinex Integrates Blocktank
@Synonym_to and
@bitfinex partenered to bring a fully-fleshed Lightning Service Provider (LSP) to the OG exchange! You can now request a channel from Bitfinex to your node using Blocktank, an open source and customizable tool developed by Synonym that lets any business run their LSP with ease, while providing a modern interface for users.
This integration makes a lot of sense. After all, if you're buying your bitcoin on Bitfinex and withdrawing to your self-custodial solution (which you should), then you might as well get a Lightning channel directly on Bitfinex as well.
You'll pay a one-time set up fee, but then enjoy instant and cheap withdrawals and, since the channel is bidirectional, you'll also be able to pay others with Lightning. You can also request inbound liquidity for future receiving, which makes a lot of sense for businesses. All that with a real channel, where you have absolute control over your funds. Isn't it the whole purpose of Lightning after all?
There are, however, a few things to keep in mind:
* from what we could gather, you're not buying a direct node with Bitfinex, but rather a node with Synonym, which is itself connected to Bitfinex. In theory this is interesting privacy-wise, but it comes at the expense of additional routing fees when withdrawing or depositing to and from Bitfinex;
* buying a channel through Bitfinex is probably not as private as buying through other means (such as Blocktank directly for example), as it is tied to your Bitfinex account.
In other words, this is a prime example of the kind of compromises users have to consider between ease of use, privacy, and resilience. On-ramp such as Bitfinex becoming LSPs is a huge gain for self-custodial Lightning, since it makes it easier to withdraw though Lightning and later use the same channel for your daily expenses.
The alternative would be for a user to get a Lightning channel from another service (such as
@ambosstech' Magma marketplace,
@lnbig_com, etc.), hope it is well connected to Bitfinex, and then try to withdraw their sats through Lightning. Here you have everything in the same place, accessible in a few clicks, and I expect things to become more and more abstracted and transparent for the user, as Bitcoin and Lightning mature. After all, who needs to know what a channel is?