The Lightning Network is misunderstood, but this just proves it's working.

Many people expect Lightning to be like Bitcoin, where everyone can run their own node. But the reality is: Lightning was never meant for ordinary users to set up themselves.

This is not a bug, it’s a feature.

Lightning is enterprise-grade infrastructure, designed for payment processors, wallet developers, and exchanges. Not everyone should run a Lightning node, just like not everyone should build their own bank.

The real innovation lies in what it unlocks:

Strike vs PayPal best illustrates the point — PayPal took 17 years to enter 200 countries, while Strike reached over 100 countries in just 5 years. The reason is simple: Strike uses Lightning to cross borders, without tedious banking negotiations.

Zaps on Nostr — By mid-2023, there were over 1 million zap transactions. Users can send money directly to content creators, fully removing intermediaries. This is almost impossible in traditional payment systems.

The Tando project in Kenya — Enables people to spend Bitcoin directly with M-PESA merchants. M-PESA covers 60% of Kenya’s GDP, and Lightning instantly connects Bitcoin to a payment network serving 34 million users.

The key point: You don’t need to understand the technical details of Lightning, nor do you need to run your own node. All you need to know is that developers in the background are using it to solve real problems — cross-border transfers, micropayments, and permissionless innovation.

Lightning hasn’t failed. It’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to do.