Welcome to BOLT 12
This is how we bitcoin in the future!
What is BOLT 12?
BOLT 12 is a proposed upgrade to the Lightning network. For users, it can enable things like reusable payment requests, increased receiver privacy, and increased censorship resistance.
Ever wondered what it’s like to live in the futuristic utopia of BOLT 12?
Let’s take a look!
Reusable Payment Requests
Now that I can slap a QR code on our tip jar, my band can seamlessly receive tips in bitcoin! No more creating a new QR code for every virtual fan who wants to tip us after a moon colony gig, and no more losing 75% of potential tippers due to the long wait for BOLT 11 invoices.
See Alice’s BOLT 12 StoryReceiver Privacy
As a shadowy super coder contributing to Bitcoin Core, I needed a way to accept donations that preserves anonymity while compartmentalizing my 784 digital identities. With BOLT 12’s route blinding, I can now accept payments discreetly and securely!
See Brijesh’s BOLT 12 StorySocial Integration
I’m a content creator on Nostr who has always wanted a self-custodial way to accept zaps for my VR artwork. By publishing my bitcoin wallet’s payment code to my Nostr profile, I can receive zaps directly, without custodians or middlemen. Viva la BOLT 12!
See Charlotte’s BOLT 12 StoryAuto-withdrawals
After hearing some cyborgs talk about bitcoin on XNBC Squawk Cube, I decided to buy in. Later, I learned that it's better to self-custody bitcoin rather than trust exchanges. So, I set my exchange account to automatically deposit bitcoin into a self-custodial wallet using BOLT 12 offers.
See Danh’s BOLT 12 StoryCensorship Resistance
As an activist living under an authoritarian robot regime, I needed a way to accept donations without payment services blocking my IP address. With onion messaging, my IP address remains hidden, ensuring I can receive support securely. Smash the autonomous patriarchy!
See Elaheh’s BOLT 12 StoryHow to Integrate BOLT 12
Developer DocsLND
While LND does not yet support BOLT 12, you can run LNDK alongside your LND node to start experimenting with BOLT 12.
Core Lightning
To use BOLT 12 with Core Lightning, run Core LN with the `--enable-experimental-features` or `--enable-experimental-offers` flag.
Eclair
With your Eclair node, you can use the `payoffer` RPC command to pay an offer or the Tip Jar plugin to generate an offer.
Lightning Dev Kit
LDK lets you create and pay offers. You can learn more about these methods in this blog post.
Now let’s see BOLT 12 in action!
Ocean
Ocean Mining announced in April 2024 that miners can submit BOLT 12 offers to receive pool payouts over Lightning. "BOLT 12 lets us know when someone made a payment, the size of the payment, which node received the payment, and that it was paid in the first place."
payto
A Core Lightning (CLN) companion app that can pay to lightning address, LNURL, BIP 353 (DNS Payment Instructions) and BOLT 12 offers