Wavelength Delivers Ark-Based Lightning Without Node Overhead | Roasbeef & Michael Levin SLP764

Lightning Labs built Wavelength to deliver self-custodial Lightning payments without forcing users to run nodes, manage channels, or handle liquidity.

Olaoluwa Osuntokun, CTO and co-founder of Lightning Labs, and Michael Levin, VP of Product, join me to detail the design choices behind their Ark implementation.

They explain why Ark was selected, how hop hints let every payment use ordinary Lightning invoices, and why the four-endpoint SDK targets AI agents and vibe coders. The conversation covers sub-dust vouchers, unilateral exits, offline payment delivery, and one-basis-point alpha pricing.

Wavelength shows that self-custodial Lightning can match the integration ease of custodial services while preserving Bitcoin sovereignty.

Timestamps

01:28 — Why Wavelength: Lightning Without Node Pain

03:00 — Why Ark?

05:28 — No New Addresses: Just Lightning Invoices

08:40 — Targeting Vibe Coders & AI Agents

13:06 — Lightning Beats Credit for LLM APIs

17:51 — Receive Sub-1k Sat Vouchers Seamlessly

19:32 — Normal User Spins Up Ark Wallet Fast

23:02 — Build Wallets with Just 4 Endpoints

24:46 — Telegram Self-Custodial Wallets Already Live

26:21 — Offline Payments Still Arrive Automatically

29:17 — Drop-In SDK for iOS and Android

31:26 — Can Servers Steal Your Funds?

33:36 — Wavelength Alpha: Just 1 Bip Fees

37:57 — AI Attacks Targeting Bitcoin Services?

44:05 — Bug Bounties Shift to Token Spending

48:36 — Self-Custody as Easy as Custodial

Links:

• https://x.com/roasbee

• https://x.com/MichaelLevin

• Wavelength Announcement: https://x.com/lightning/status/2079620936567779707

Stephan Livera links:

• Follow me on X: @stephanlivera

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