Lightning in VOUT
VOUT Lightning is a Lightning service that VOUT builds and runs itself: its own node, its own account ledger, and its own work on channels that carry RGB assets. It connects to the public Lightning Network for BTC payments to other wallets.
VOUT has two places to hold funds: your on-chain wallet and your Lightning balance. Your device controls the keys to the on-chain wallet. VOUT holds the assets behind the Lightning balance and records what your account owns.
Moving funds between them changes who can spend those funds. A deposit transfers assets from your wallet to VOUT. A withdrawal transfers them back to an on-chain address or RGB receive request. The app keeps the two balances separate so you can see that boundary.
Lightning requires a VOUT account. It uses the same account identity as the app’s social features; your local wallet keys do not give you direct control of the service’s channels. VOUT Lightning is live on Bitcoin Mainnet.
What you can do
The implemented flow supports adding BTC and supported RGB assets, paying another VOUT account, creating a payment request, and withdrawing to an on-chain wallet. BTC payments can also use BOLT11 invoices from other Lightning wallets, subject to the node’s connectivity and available channel liquidity.
| Action | Where the funds move |
|---|---|
| Add BTC or an RGB asset | From an on-chain wallet into VOUT custody |
| Send to a VOUT username | Between two accounts in VOUT’s ledger |
| Pay a request issued to another VOUT account | Between two accounts in the same ledger |
| Pay an outside BTC Lightning invoice | Through the Lightning node’s channels |
| Withdraw | From VOUT custody to an on-chain wallet |
A payment between VOUT accounts does not open a channel or publish a Bitcoin transaction. The service debits the sender and credits the recipient together. This applies to supported RGB balances as well as BTC.
BTC payments and RGB balances
BTC Lightning uses BOLT11, the invoice format supported by other Lightning wallets. The sender can pay an invoice that specifies an amount or enter the amount when the invoice leaves it open. A route still needs sufficient liquidity in the right direction. Having a positive balance does not guarantee that a particular outside payment can be routed.
An RGB payment request in VOUT uses VOUT’s own format. The app presents it as payable from a VOUT Lightning balance. Do not send it to an ordinary BTC Lightning wallet or assume that another RGB wallet will recognize it.
The distinction matters on Mainnet. The current implementation restricts Mainnet channels to BTC. An RGB asset can still be deposited into VOUT’s separate RGB custody wallet, transferred between VOUT accounts, and withdrawn on chain when the service supports that asset. Those operations do not establish an RGB Lightning channel.
VOUT also develops native RGB channels: channels whose commitments carry RGB state as well as BTC. Their implementation and test evidence are described in RGB channels. Successful tests between VOUT nodes do not establish compatibility with another implementation or availability on Mainnet.
What you trust
For an on-chain balance, you rely on the wallet’s keys, validation and recovery data. For a Lightning balance, you also rely on VOUT to maintain its ledger, safeguard the node, keep sufficient reserves and process withdrawals. A seed phrase from your mobile wallet cannot spend the service’s funds independently.
The ledger prevents specific accounting mistakes, including duplicate credits and spending a balance twice. Those protections do not remove custody risk. The service must remain available, its reserves must cover its liabilities, and its backups must preserve both the ledger and channel state.
Read Add funds and withdraw before moving funds in. Pay and receive covers invoices, usernames, fees and pending payments.