Wavelength Delivers Ark-Based Lightning Without Node Overhead | Roasbeef & Michael Levin SLP764

<p>Lightning Labs built Wavelength to deliver self-custodial Lightning payments without forcing users to run nodes, manage channels, or handle liquidity.</p><p>Olaoluwa Osuntokun, CTO and co-founder of Lightning Labs, and Michael Levin, VP of Product, join me to detail the design choices behind their Ark implementation.</p><p>They explain why Ark was selected, how hop hints let every payment use ordinary Lightning invoices, and why the four-endpoint SDK targets AI agents and vibe coders. The conversation covers sub-dust vouchers, unilateral exits, offline payment delivery, and one-basis-point alpha pricing.</p><p>Wavelength shows that self-custodial Lightning can match the integration ease of custodial services while preserving Bitcoin sovereignty.</p><p>Timestamps</p><p>01:28 — Why Wavelength: Lightning Without Node Pain</p><p>03:00 — Why Ark? </p><p>05:28 — No New Addresses: Just Lightning Invoices</p><p>08:40 — Targeting Vibe Coders &amp; AI Agents</p><p>13:06 — Lightning Beats Credit for LLM APIs</p><p>17:51 — Receive Sub-1k Sat Vouchers Seamlessly</p><p>19:32 — Normal User Spins Up Ark Wallet Fast</p><p>23:02 — Build Wallets with Just 4 Endpoints</p><p>24:46 — Telegram Self-Custodial Wallets Already Live</p><p>26:21 — Offline Payments Still Arrive Automatically</p><p>29:17 — Drop-In SDK for iOS and Android</p><p>31:26 — Can Servers Steal Your Funds?</p><p>33:36 — Wavelength Alpha: Just 1 Bip Fees</p><p>37:57 — AI Attacks Targeting Bitcoin Services?</p><p>44:05 — Bug Bounties Shift to Token Spending</p><p>48:36 — Self-Custody as Easy as Custodial</p><p>Links: </p><ul><li><p>https://x.com/roasbee</p></li><li><p><a href="https://x.com/MichaelLevin"><u>https://x.com/MichaelLevin</u></a></p></li><li><p>Wavelength Announcement: https://x.com/lightning/status/2079620936567779707</p></li></ul><p>Stephan Livera links:</p><ul><li><p>Follow me on X:<a href="https://twitter.com/stephanlivera"> @stephanlivera</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://plinkhq.com/i/1415720320">Subscribe to the podcast</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://stephanlivera.substack.com/">Subscribe to Substack</a></p></li></ul>