Get a Lightning address: choose your level

Simple — custodial: the provider holds the keys and runs the wallet. A practical starting point when you want to receive sats with little setup. You depend on that provider to access your funds.

Medium — self-custody with provider services: you hold the recovery material, while a provider handles hosting or payment infrastructure. Keep your own backup and understand the services you still depend on.

Advanced — full non-custodial: you run the wallet and Lightning node yourself. You manage uptime, channels, receiving capacity and backups, plus a public LNURL-pay endpoint.

These levels describe setup effort. Both medium and advanced options can give you control of your keys. Running your own node adds control over the infrastructure.

You do not need your own node or payment channels. The provider manages the keys and receiving infrastructure. Protect your account and understand its withdrawal and recovery rules.

Blink — custodial account

Visit Blink · Create a Lightning address

Create a Blink account in custodial mode, choose a username and copy your username@blink.sv address from the receiving screen or address settings. Blink also offers a separate self-custody mode; check which account type you select.

ZBD

Visit ZBD · Wallet and Lightning address guide

Create an account in the ZBD app and choose your username. Your username@zbd.gg is your Lightning address. Copy the full address from your profile or wallet. Check country availability, account verification and wallet limits before using it for project income.

Strike

Visit Strike · Get and use a Lightning address

Create an account where Strike is available, complete its verification and copy your username@strike.me address from your account. Check Receive currency and choose bitcoin if you want project income to stay in sats rather than be converted to cash. Strike holds the account balance for you.

Speed Wallet

Visit Speed Wallet · Setup and Lightning address guide · Receiving and custody

Create and verify your account, then claim a Lightning address for Bitcoin (BTC). Speed also offers addresses that credit stablecoin balances; choose the BTC address when you want to receive sats. Copy the reusable address rather than a one-time invoice. This is a custodial wallet.

Your responsibility: account security and access. Provider responsibility: holding the funds and running the wallet.

You take responsibility for recovery, while a provider handles part of the infrastructure. Back up the recovery material using the wallet's instructions before receiving project income.

Alby Hub on Alby Cloud

Visit Alby · Getting started · Hosting and custody explained

Choose Alby Cloud for a managed, self-custodial Hub. Complete onboarding, back up your recovery phrase and follow the channel setup. Link the Hub to your Alby Account to activate your username@getalby.com receiving address. Review the subscription and channel costs, and check your receiving capacity. An Alby Account alone does not provide a funded receiving wallet.

Wallet of Satoshi — self-custody mode

Visit Wallet of Satoshi · Find your receiving address · Custody models and dependencies

Check that you are using its self-custody wallet and save your recovery phrase. Open Receive and copy the Lightning address or LNURL displayed. This mode uses Spark and third-party payment infrastructure. You hold your recovery material, but you are relying on those services for normal payments.

Lexe

Visit Lexe · Wallet setup and backups · Lightning address and LNURL-pay

Create a wallet, choose your recovery setup and register a username for username@lexe.app. Lexe runs your node in secure hardware on its infrastructure. Its self-custody model relies on that hardware and its software verification; you do not operate the server yourself. Set up the encrypted personal-cloud backup if you want recovery independent of Lexe. Its seed-only option still needs recovery data from Lexe. Use the LNURL-pay Lightning address, rather than copying a BOLT12 offer from the receive screen.

Your responsibility: keys and recovery. Provider responsibility: the hosting or payment services described above.

Run your own node with keys you control. Keep it online, maintain receiving capacity (inbound liquidity), update the software and follow the node's backup and recovery procedure. A recovery phrase alone may not restore the current state of Lightning channels.

Self-hosted Alby Hub

Visit Alby Hub · Self-hosting options · Activate the receiving address

Run Hub on your own computer, server or supported node platform. Complete channel setup and link your Alby Account for a username@getalby.com address. You control your node and funds; the Alby address still depends on Alby's address service. Keep your Hub running to receive.

Your own LND or Core Lightning node + LNbits

Visit LNbits · Connect your own node · Create an LNURL-pay link or Lightning address

Self-host LNbits and connect it to your own LND or Core Lightning node. Enable the LNURLp extension, create a reusable pay link with a suitable minimum and maximum amount, and copy its LNURL-pay code. For an address such as you@yourdomain.example, configure a username and a public HTTPS domain using the extension's instructions.

LNbits on someone else's server, or backed by someone else's custodial wallet, still depends on that operator for custody. For control over both funds and the receiving endpoint, run the node, LNbits and domain yourself.

BTCPay Server + your own Lightning node

Visit BTCPay Server · Lightning setup · Enable LNURL and a Lightning address · Use your own address domain

Run BTCPay Server with your own Lightning node and a public HTTPS domain. Enable LNURL in the store's Lightning payment settings, then configure a Lightning address in the store's integrations. Copy that reusable address for Noderunners. Check your installed version's menus and keep inbound liquidity available. Using another operator's internal node gives that operator custody of the Lightning funds.

ZEUS Pay + your own node over Nostr Wallet Connect

Visit ZEUS · Address types and setup · NWC receiving addresses

For an existing node, select Nostr Wallet Connect (NWC) as your ZEUS Pay address type. Configure the address service with an invoice-only NWC connection to your own node; it can then generate invoices and settle payments directly on that node. Copy the resulting public Lightning address into Noderunners. Your node stays online, while the address service still depends on ZEUS. Keep the NWC secret in the address-service setup, never in the Noderunners receiving field.

ZEUS also offers Cashu and Zaplocker addresses. Those have different custody or redemption requirements; the option described here specifically uses NWC and your own node.

Your responsibility: keys, channel backups, uptime, liquidity and the receiving service.

1. In your wallet, copy the reusable receiving Lightning address or LNURL-pay code. Avoid generating a request for a single amount.
2. Open Lightning wallet in your workspace. Paste the address into Receiving Lightning address or LNURL-pay.
3. Choose Connect wallet and follow any confirmation requested. Noderunners checks the receiving endpoint without sending a payment.
4. Check that Wallet connected appears and that the saved address belongs to you. A successful validation checks the endpoint; it does not prove ownership or guarantee that every later payment will succeed.
5. Before relying on it for project income, send a small test payment from another wallet if you can, and confirm receipt in your receiving wallet. Check the provider's minimum amount and fees first.

Supported here: LNURL-pay Lightning addresses, LNURL-pay codes and HTTPS LNURL-pay endpoints. A provider's general homepage or payment page is only suitable if the copied URL is the actual LNURL-pay endpoint.

Not payout destinations here: a one-time BOLT11 invoice (lnbc…), an on-chain Bitcoin address (bc1…), an LNURL-withdraw/auth code, a BOLT12 offer (lno1…) or a BIP353-only address. Phoenix can provide BOLT12/BIP353 receiving details, which this connection does not currently support.

Never paste a seed phrase, password, API key or Nostr Wallet Connect secret. If validation fails, check that you copied the receiving address, that the service is online, and that its receiving limits allow the payment. See the connection guide for changing a wallet later.