A zap is a tip paid in Bitcoin over the Lightning network and attached to a Nostr note or profile. It is value-for-value: a reader pays the author directly for something they found worth it, with no platform taking a cut or asking permission.
At a glance
What it is
A small Lightning (Bitcoin) tip sent on Nostr
The idea
Value-for-value: pay directly for what you found worth it
What you need
A Lightning wallet and a Nostr client that supports zaps
Who is in the middle
No platform; value goes straight from reader to author
Flow
How a zap travels
A reader taps zap on a note, their wallet pays over Lightning, and the value lands with the author. No platform sits in the path to take a cut or approve it.
1
Reader likes a Nostr notetaps the zap button
2
Lightning paymenta small Bitcoin amount moves directly
3
Author receives itvalue-for-value, no platform in between
What is a zap?
A zap is a tip. You read a note on Nostr, decide it was worth something, and send
the author a small amount of Bitcoin over the Lightning network. It is fast and
final: the payment moves directly from your wallet to theirs and settles in
seconds. The word covers both the act and the payment, so “I zapped that post”
and “that post got a few zaps” both make sense.
Why do zaps matter?
The point of a zap is what is missing from it. There is no platform in the path
taking a cut, no advertiser to please, no subscription to cancel. The reader pays
the author directly, for a specific thing, because it was worth it. That is the
value-for-value idea: support flows from the value you actually got, not from a
monthly charge you forgot you signed up for.
To send one you need a Lightning wallet and a Nostr client that supports zaps. To
receive them you need an address that can accept Lightning payments wired to your
Nostr profile. Once both ends are set up, a zap is a single tap, and the value
lands with no permission asked and no middle layer to satisfy.
A zap is
A direct Lightning tip from reader to author
Value-for-value: paid because the content was worth it