Unlike Bitcoin, where the standard is defined by a reference implementation in software (Bitcoin Core), in Lightning the standard is defined by a series of standards documents called Basis of Lightning Technology (BOLT), found at the lightning-rfc repository.

There is no reference implementation of the Lightning Network, but there are several competing, BOLT-compliant, and interoperable implementations developed by different teams and organizations. The teams that develop software for the Lightning Network also contribute in the development and evolution of the BOLT standards.

Another major difference between Lightning node software and Bitcoin node software is that Lightning nodes do not need to operate in lockstep with consensus rules and can have extended functionality beyond the baseline of the BOLTs. Therefore, different teams may pursue various experimental features that, if successful and broadly deployed, may become part of the BOLTs later.