Amboss Technologies, a Bitcoin Lightning Network payment solutions provider has launched Ghost Addresses that allow users to directly receive payment.
This takes the control of crypto payments from the dominant custodial wallets on the Lightning network and gives control to individual users.
Lightning network was invented as a Layer 2 solution to help Bitcoin scale and process more transactions faster. The Lightning network settles transactions off the Bitcoin blockchain, making them near instant and then eventually adds the transactions to the blockchain.
Unlike on the Bitcoin blockchain where payment is done using conventional alphanumeric wallet addresses, the Lightning network uses special addresses which are formatted like emails, e.g “[email protected].”
These simplify the process of receiving payments by providing a static and reusable address, eliminating the need for users to create individual Lightning invoices for each transaction.
While receiving payment into self-custody wallets has been possible since, the process of setting up and managing one is so complicated that most Lightning network users would rather just use the services of custodial wallet providers.
“Contrary to the trustless spirit of Bitcoin, many applications using Lightning Network for payments rely heavily on centralized, custodial Lightning wallet providers,” Amboss CEO and co-founder Jesse Shrader said in a statement.
“This is why we’re very excited to announce the release of Ghost Addresses, which solve this problem by enabling anyone to receive payments directly to their self-custodied wallet using what looks like an email address, bypassing these centralized third parties.”
Ghost Addresses change this, making it possible for anyone to easily receive payments directly.
How it Works
Ghost Addresses allow users to receive funds directly to their own self-custodial Lightning node via a personalized Ghost Address ([email protected]), without running a separate Lightning Address server.
This is made possible using Phantom Payments, which don’t require any additional node permissions. Users of the new addresses will enjoy both the convenience of existing Lightning Address formats and more advanced features of the Lightning Network to enhance security and privacy without requiring additional infrastructure.
The addresses are also designed to offer a more private solution than custodial Lightning Addresses, which reveal payment sizes and subsequent transactions. They are compatible with any Lightning Network implementation through integration with its API.
While randomly generated Ghost Addresses are free via an Amboss account, customized addresses require a subscription, the firm said.
Ghost Addresses are Better
Commenting on the alternatives to Ghost Addresses, Shrader said users can create their own Lightning Address server and give it invoice permissions (macaroons), but the cost of doing so leaves only few users doing it.
“[Node infrastructure provider] Voltage offers a third-party Lightning Address solution for their users, but this uses an invoice macaroon from the user” he said.a
“[Self-custodial wallet] Zeus also offers a HODL invoice solution, which makes payments stay in a pending state for a long time and has been the cause of expensive force closes [of payment channels] in the network,” he added.
“Custodial wallets are great until they’re not. At no point is someone else holding your funds with a Ghost Address, removing the loss of funds risk,” he said.
With this new innovation, more people may be encouraged to participate in the use of Lightning Network. However, Sharder still maintains that not everyone would like to run their own Lightning node, which limits the market for the technology.
