• BlueWallet will end 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 Bitcoin wallets and self-custody Lightning wallets are not impacted by this change.
BlueWallet To End Custodial Lightning Wallet Service
BlueWallet, a 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 explained that Lndhub.io, where BlueWallet provides Lightning wallets to its users is sunsetting and creating new or refilling existing Lightning wallets on LndHub node will no longer be possible.
Request for Funds Removal
Users are requested to remove funds from their BlueWallet custodial Lightning wallets as soon as possible so that they can access these funds before the closure of the service. It is also made clear that regular Bitcoin wallets and self-custody Lightning wallets –– where users connect to their own Lndhub –– are not impacted by this change.
History of Lndhub
The blog explains that „Lndhub started as a weekend experiment on a new fringe technology barely used at the time called the Lightning Network.“ With more mainstream services offering scalable solutions now available, Lndhub has fulfilled its purpose in its current form and users will still be able to access it as a software and self-hosted solution.
Self-Custody Solutions Only
With this announcement comes an optimistic note from BlueWallet that going forward it will only support self-custody solutions which is good news for Bitcoin and BlueWallet users alike.
Conclusion
In conclusion, BlueWallet will be ending its custodial Lightening wallet service by April 30th 2023 but regular Bitcoin Wallets and Self-Custody Lightening Wallets are not impacted by this change. This may sound like bad news but it ultimately means better security for all bitcoin users who use BlueWallets services going forward due to increased focus on only supporting self-custody solutions.