• BlueWallet is ending its custodial Lightning wallet service by April 30, 2023.
• Users are requested to remove funds from their BlueWallet custodial Lightning wallets as soon as possible.
• Regular BlueWallet Bitcoin wallets and self-custody Lightning wallets will not be impacted.
BlueWallet Ending Custodial Lightning Wallet Service
BlueWallet, a popular Bitcoin wallet with apps in both the iOS and Android stores, has announced that it will end its custodial Lightning wallet service by April 30, 2023. In a blog post, the company is requesting that users remove funds from their BlueWallet custodial Lightning wallets as soon as possible in order to ensure the security of their funds.
Regular Wallets Not Impacted
It was made clear that regular BlueWallet Bitcoin wallets and self-custody Lightning wallets –– where users connect to their own Lndhub –– will not be impacted by this change. Although creating new or refilling existing Lightening wallets on LndHub node will no longer be possible, users can still access Lndhub as a software and self-hosted solution, able to connect to their own LndHub from BlueWallet or other software that supports the LndHub API specification.
Lndhub Fulfilling Its Purpose
The blog post explains why this decision was made: “Lndhub started as a weekend experiment on a new fringe technology barely used at the time called the Lightning Network,” it reads. “Today, with the availability of more mainstream services offering scalable solutions, Lndhub has fulfilled its purpose in its current form.”
Optimistic Outlook for Future
The post concludes with an optimistic take on the situation: “This may sound like bad news, but this essentially means BlueWallet going forward will only support self-custody solutions,” it states. “This is good for bitcoin and BlueWallet users.”
Conclusion
Overall, while this change may cause inconvenience for some users of BlueWallet’s custodial Lighting wallet service, they can rest assured that regular Bitcoin wallets and self-custody Lighting wallets are still safe and secure within the platform.