I have been having problems finding the best Bitcoin Lighting wallet. I have tried Muun, BlueWallet, and ZEBEDEE so far. Does anyone have any suggestions for something better and something I know my assets will be safe?
50 sats \ 4 replies \ @ama 22 Jan 2023
Muun isn't a LN wallet. If you've started there, no wonder you're greatly disappointed.
I very much like Electrum for both computers and phones, and Phoenix for phones.
I also like Wallet of Satoshi for its simplicity and easy of use, but it's custodial, so it won't fit into your requirements, I guess. I use it for very small amounts and for teaching the basics on using LN without having to worry about channels until later, when the basics are more solid.
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0 sats \ 3 replies \ @HattyHats OP 24 Jan 2023
So Muun is a bad choice? I like Muun because it allows me to use it as a regular wallet and an LN wallet but if it is not really an LN wallet then I am concerned about the safety of my assets. Thanks for the comment and the help. I am going to check out Electrum when I get off of here. I use Wallet of Satoshi sometimes but I am worried about keeping too much on there because like you said, it is custodial and I am using bitcoin to get away from other people controlling my money. I appreciate the help. I tried to use Phoenix but when I tried to send my first deposit it said it failed. I am going to have to play around with it and see what I did wrong.
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40 sats \ 2 replies \ @ama 24 Jan 2023
In my opinion Muun is the worse wallet to use for LN transactions, simply because it isn't a LN wallet, unless, of course what you need is to do a submarine transaction to move funds on-chain to off-chain, to the LN. It's not completely custodial, but you trust them with your funds for a little while to do the submarine transactions. It's also very expensive, compared to actual LN wallets. You can find plenty of horror stories about it here in SN.
Electrum and Phoenix are actual LN wallets. In Electrum you need to open your own channels whereas Phoenix handles them for you automatically. It's up to you what you prefer, but in both cases, unlike with Wallet of Satoshi, you need to understand LN channels, of course. I like that combo, and I have Electrum in both, computer and phones, and Phoenix and WoS in phones.
A few weeks ago I wrote a little example on how to get channels open in both, Electrum and Phoenix, in a single operation, getting inbound liquidity in a desktop wallet and a mobile wallet simultaneously, easily and for cheap. You might find it useful if you decide to use those two wallets. It'd work with other wallets instead of Electrum, too.
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @HattyHats OP 24 Jan 2023
Thank you so much for the info. I am going to check out your example right now and see if I can figure it out.
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30 sats \ 0 replies \ @ama 24 Jan 2023
Cool! Check out the on chain fee you need to pay to open your channel and also the fee that Phoenix charges you to open the channel to you. I believe that's 1% of the amount you are receiving with a minimum of 3000 sats. I think it's very reasonable, but for small amounts might not work for some people, so it'd be better to do a larger first transaction to open the channel.
The idea behind it simple. You open a channel with one of you wallets, Electrum for example, and send some sats through it to the other wallet, Phoenix, which will open a channel to you (from their node) with a larger inbound capacity than the amount sent, and charge you a fee to do so.
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