Lightning Node

A Lightning node is software that connects to the Lightning Network, manages payment channels, and can forward payments for other users in exchange for routing fees, which are often priced in millisatoshis, thousandths of a satoshi. Public network graphs have typically shown more than 10,000 visible nodes, and unannounced private nodes make the true count larger.

Why it matters

Running a node is what makes Lightning self-sovereign. A user with their own node holds their own keys, chooses their own channel partners, and needs no custodian to send or receive instant payments. Routing nodes, the well-capitalized subset that forwards traffic, form the liquidity backbone of the network, and their fee decisions shape which payment paths succeed.

Node operation involves real work: allocating capital to channels, rebalancing liquidity, and staying online. This has produced a spectrum of options from fully custodial wallets to plug-in node hardware for home users.

How it works

A Lightning node usually sits on top of a bitcoin full node, which it uses to watch the chain and broadcast transactions. It learns the public network through a gossip protocol of channel announcements, then computes payment routes itself, wrapping each payment in onion encryption so intermediate nodes learn only their immediate neighbors, not the origin or final destination.