The New Phoenix Lightning Wallet Beta Reimagines The Self-Custodial Experience By BtcCasey Acinq's Lightning wallet, Phoenix, has introduced splicing technology, leading to significant enhancements in efficiency and user experience. Unlike previous versions, which created multiple channels with unpredictable fees, the new Phoenix operates with a single dynamic channel, eliminating liquidity scattering and splitting issues. Splicing enables users to resize channels without adding future risk, replacing the previous 1% fee on inbound liquidity with the mining fee for the underlying on-chain transaction. Acinq expressed confidence that splicing's efficiency gains would encourage other wallets to implement this technology. Phoenix's updated version addresses user concerns about unexpected channel creation fees by providing advance notifications for incoming Lightning payments incurring channel management fees. Additionally, the fee for sending Lightning payments is now a fixed 0.4%, offering transparency and aligning incentives between users and the wallet provider. Trustless swaps are another noteworthy feature, enabling users to conduct on-chain transactions directly from their channels and set their own feerate for greater flexibility. While splicing provides numerous benefits, external swap services remain advantageous for specific transactions as they maintain channel size and add inbound liquidity. The new Phoenix wallet represents a significant milestone in self-custodial wallet development, featuring splicing, improved predictability, and trustless swaps. Acinq also hinted at upcoming advancements, including blinded paths for enhanced privacy, BOLT 12/Offers for static Lightning invoices, and Taproot for more cost-effective channel management and improved on-chain privacy. The beta version of the new Phoenix is currently accessible to Android users, with an iOS release expected in the following weeks. Interested individuals can apply for the beta by contacting phoenix@acinq.co. |