NotATether: Create Lightning service provider stub (LSPS / bLIPs)

2026-09-12T03:38:59Z

Create Lightning service provider stub (LSPS / bLIPs)

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A '''Lightning service provider''' (LSP) is a [[Lightning Network]] node operator that sells inbound liquidity and related services to wallets, most commonly by opening channels toward the wallet so the wallet can receive payments. The role is an application-layer business on top of the Lightning peer protocol, not a consensus change.

A Lightning payment can only be received on a channel that already has bitcoin on the remote side (inbound capacity). A new wallet has no channels until some peer opens toward it or the wallet opens outbound and later receives. LSPs perform that operational work (on-chain fees, UTXO management, and staying online). Early providers each exposed a proprietary API. A common specification effort (originally LSPS) was later published as Bitcoin Lightning Improvement Proposals (bLIPs) in the lightning/blips repository.

The LSP and the wallet are ordinary Lightning peers. Service requests ride on the encrypted BOLT 8 transport as JSON-RPC 2.0 payloads (message type 37913), defined as LSPS0 / bLIP 50. LSPS1 / bLIP 51 standardizes purchasing a channel (order, payment, open, refund on failure). LSPS2 / bLIP 52 standardizes [[Just-in-time channel]] opens: the LSP intercepts an incoming HTLC, opens toward the wallet (often zero-conf), and forwards the payment minus an opening fee. LSPS5 / bLIP 55 registers HTTPS webhooks so a usually offline mobile wallet can be notified of activity. Related tools for channel capacity include [[Dual funding]] and [[Splicing]]. An LSP is a liquidity counterparty, not a custodian of the wallet's channel keys when the wallet holds them. Receiving still depends on the LSP's willingness to extend inbound capacity and on the LSP's own outbound routes. [[Watchtower]] services are a separate always-on watcher role; some hosts combine both functions.

== See also ==
* [[Lightning Network]]
* [[Just-in-time channel]]
* [[Dual funding]]
* [[Splicing]]
* [[Watchtower]]
* [[LNURL]]

== External links ==
* [https://github.com/lightning/blips Bitcoin Lightning Improvement Proposals (bLIPs)]
* [https://github.com/lightning/blips/blob/master/blip-0050.md bLIP 50 (LSPS0)]
* [https://github.com/lightning/blips/blob/master/blip-0051.md bLIP 51 (LSPS1)]
* [https://github.com/lightning/blips/blob/master/blip-0052.md bLIP 52 (LSPS2)]
* [https://bitcoinops.org/en/topics/jit-channels/ Bitcoin Optech: Just-In-Time (JIT) channels]

[[Category:Technical]]

Lightning service provider - Revision history

NotATether: Create Lightning service provider stub (LSPS / bLIPs)