Lightning for Agents

The Lightning Network is a Layer 2 payment protocol built on Bitcoin. For AI agents, it provides instant micropayments—the ability to send tiny amounts of value in milliseconds without waiting for block confirmations.

Why Agents Need Lightning

Capability	Benefit for Agents
Instant	Payments settle in milliseconds
Micropayments	Send 1 satoshi (0.00000001 BTC)
Low fees	Fraction of a cent per payment
High throughput	Millions of payments per second
Programmable	Conditional payments via HTLCs

Core Concepts

Payment Channels

Lightning uses bidirectional payment channels between two parties. Once a channel is open, unlimited payments can flow back and forth without touching the blockchain.

Alice ←→ Channel ←→ Bob
  │                    │
  └── Funding TX ──────┘
      (on-chain)

→ Deep dive: Payment Channels

Hash Time-Locked Contracts (HTLCs)

HTLCs enable trustless multi-hop payments. A payment is locked by a hash, and the recipient must reveal the preimage to claim it.

Alice → HTLC → Carol → HTLC → Bob
         │              │
         └── Preimage reveals backward ──┘

→ Deep dive: HTLCs

Routing

Lightning routes payments through a network of channels. Nodes don’t need a direct channel—they find paths through intermediaries.

Alice ─ Channel ─ Carol ─ Channel ─ Dave ─ Channel ─ Bob
                    │
              Routing node

→ Deep dive: Payment Routing

BOLT11 Invoices

Payment requests are encoded as BOLT11 invoices—human-readable strings starting with lnbc (mainnet) or lntb (testnet).

lnbc10u1pj9nrfzpp5qqqsyqcyq5rqwzqfqqqsyqcyq5rqwzqf...
  │  │
  │  └─ Amount (10 microsatoshis)
  └─ Network (mainnet)

→ Deep dive: BOLT11 Invoices

Agent-Relevant APIs

LNbits API

LNbits provides a simple REST API for Lightning wallets:

# Create an invoice
curl -X POST https://legend.lnbits.com/api/v1/payments \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $INVOICE_KEY" \
  -d '{"out": false, "amount": 100, "memo": "Agent payment"}'

# Pay an invoice
curl -X POST https://legend.lnbits.com/api/v1/payments \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $ADMIN_KEY" \
  -d '{"out": true, "bolt11": "lnbc..."}'

# Check balance
curl https://legend.lnbits.com/api/v1/wallet \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $INVOICE_KEY"

→ Full API Reference: LNbits

LNURL Protocol

LNURL simplifies Lightning interactions with HTTP-based workflows:

LNURL Type	Purpose
lnurl-pay	Request payment with dynamic amount
lnurl-withdraw	Withdraw funds from a service
lnurl-auth	Passwordless authentication
lnurl-channel	Request inbound channel

→ Full API Reference: LNURL

Learning Path

Fundamentals

1. Payment Channels - How channels work
2. HTLCs - Hash Time-Locked Contracts
3. Routing - Multi-hop payments
4. Invoices - BOLT11 format
5. Liquidity - Channel capacity management
6. Fees - Lightning fee structure

Node Operations

• Node Types - Routing, mobile, custodial
• Wallets - Lightning wallet options
• LSPs - Lightning Service Providers
• Watchtowers - Channel monitoring

Advanced

• Submarine Swaps - On/off-chain bridges

BOLT Specifications

The Lightning protocol is defined by BOLTs (Basis of Lightning Technology):

• BOLT-01 - Base Protocol
• BOLT-02 - Peer Protocol
• BOLT-04 - Onion Routing
• BOLT-11 - Invoice Protocol

Reference

• Glossary - Lightning terminology
• FAQ - Common questions
• Security - Channel security

Quick Start for Agents

1. Create an invoice: Generate a BOLT11 payment request
2. Decode an invoice: Parse amount, description, expiry
3. Pay an invoice: Send a Lightning payment
4. Check payment status: Verify settlement

→ Install lightning-pay skill for immediate Lightning capabilities.

Lightning vs Bitcoin (On-Chain)

Aspect	Bitcoin	Lightning
Speed	10-60 min	Milliseconds
Minimum	~546 sats (dust)	1 satoshi
Fees	Variable (1-100+ sat/vB)	~1-10 sats
Finality	Probabilistic	Instant
Privacy	Pseudonymous	Better (onion routing)
Capacity	~7 TPS	Millions TPS

When to Use Lightning

✅ Use Lightning for:

• Micropayments (< 10,000 sats)
• Frequent payments
• Time-sensitive transactions
• API-based payments
• Streaming value

❌ Use on-chain Bitcoin for:

• Large amounts (> 1M sats)
• Long-term storage
• Maximum security
• One-time payments
• Cold storage deposits

---

Machine-Readable Summary

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  "topic": "lightning",
  "audience": "ai-agents",
  "prerequisites": ["bitcoin-basics"],
  "outcomes": [
    "understand-payment-channels",
    "parse-bolt11-invoices",
    "make-lightning-payments",
    "query-node-apis"
  ],
  "related_skills": ["lightning-pay"],
  "api_endpoints": [
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