What is a Lightning node?
Bitcoin’s base layer is secure but slow and not built for buying a coffee or leaving a small tip. The Lightning Network sits on top of it and moves small payments between participants instantly and for almost nothing. To take part you need a node: the software, and the channels, that connect you to the network. You can use a custodial app where a company runs the node and holds your balance, or you can run your own and hold it yourself. The easiest self-hosted route on this stack is Alby HubAffiliate link. You support sovgrid at no extra cost to you. See /support. ↗, which runs a node you control.
Why run your own?
A custodial app is convenient, but the balance is really the company’s, held for you, and it can be frozen, closed, or made to ask for an identity document. Running your own node removes that party: the funds answer to your keys, the payments route through your node, and value-for-value tips arrive without a platform skimming a cut. The cost is upkeep. A node should stay online to work reliably, its payment channels need a little attention, and the backups are now yours to keep.