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

Lightning Labs built Wavelength to deliver self-custodial Lightning payments without forcing users to run nodes, manage channels, or handle liquidity.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.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.Wavelength shows that self-custodial Lightning can match the integration ease of custodial services while preserving Bitcoin sovereignty.Timestamps01:28 — Why Wavelength: Lightning Without Node Pain03:00 — Why Ark? 05:28 — No New Addresses: Just Lightning Invoices08:40 — Targeting Vibe Coders & AI Agents13:06 — Lightning Beats Credit for LLM APIs17:51 — Receive Sub-1k Sat Vouchers Seamlessly19:32 — Normal User Spins Up Ark Wallet Fast23:02 — Build Wallets with Just 4 Endpoints24:46 — Telegram Self-Custodial Wallets Already Live26:21 — Offline Payments Still Arrive Automatically29:17 — Drop-In SDK for iOS and Android31:26 — Can Servers Steal Your Funds?33:36 — Wavelength Alpha: Just 1 Bip Fees37:57 — AI Attacks Targeting Bitcoin Services?44:05 — Bug Bounties Shift to Token Spending48:36 — Self-Custody as Easy as CustodialLinks: https://x.com/roasbeehttps://x.com/MichaelLevinWavelength Announcement: https://x.com/lightning/status/2079620936567779707Stephan Livera links:Follow me on X: @stephanliveraSubscribe to the podcastSubscribe to Substack