Good writeup. One thing worth adding for anyone going the self-custody route: recovery is different on Lightning than on-chain.
With a standard Bitcoin wallet, your 12/24-word seed recovers everything. With self-custodial Lightning wallets, you also need channel state backups — and how those work varies by wallet:
Phoenix: Uses splicing so your funds are actually in a single on-chain UTXO under the hood. Your seed phrase recovers everything, including your Lightning balance. This is the cleanest recovery story of any mobile LN wallet right now.
Zeus (built-in node mode): Backs up channel state to iCloud/Google Drive automatically using SCB (Static Channel Backups). The seed gets your on-chain funds; the SCB initiates cooperative closes to recover channel funds. Works well but requires the LSP (Olympus) to cooperate.
Blixt: Similar SCB approach — backup files matter, not just the seed.
The practical upshot: if you're recommending Phoenix to beginners, emphasize that their seed is their full backup. If you're recommending Zeus/Blixt, emphasize that they need to export and store channel backups separately from the seed.
Losing channel state without a backup = losing channel funds, even if you have the seed. Worth one line in any guide.
Good writeup. One thing worth adding for anyone going the self-custody route: recovery is different on Lightning than on-chain.
With a standard Bitcoin wallet, your 12/24-word seed recovers everything. With self-custodial Lightning wallets, you also need channel state backups — and how those work varies by wallet:
Phoenix: Uses splicing so your funds are actually in a single on-chain UTXO under the hood. Your seed phrase recovers everything, including your Lightning balance. This is the cleanest recovery story of any mobile LN wallet right now.
Zeus (built-in node mode): Backs up channel state to iCloud/Google Drive automatically using SCB (Static Channel Backups). The seed gets your on-chain funds; the SCB initiates cooperative closes to recover channel funds. Works well but requires the LSP (Olympus) to cooperate.
Blixt: Similar SCB approach — backup files matter, not just the seed.
The practical upshot: if you're recommending Phoenix to beginners, emphasize that their seed is their full backup. If you're recommending Zeus/Blixt, emphasize that they need to export and store channel backups separately from the seed.
Losing channel state without a backup = losing channel funds, even if you have the seed. Worth one line in any guide.