Encyclopedia Upgrades and scaling · Entry 208
Lightning addresses: an email-like name that requests an invoice
In this article
At a glance
Key facts
A readable name leads to a fresh invoice
The Lightning Address convention maps a name to an LNURL-pay endpoint. The wallet first obtains metadata and permitted amounts, then requests an invoice for the selected amount. It checks that the returned invoice agrees with that request before attempting payment.
The service therefore participates when the invoice is obtained. A memorable name does not remove server availability, domain-control or software-compatibility assumptions.
The wallet still needs to check the amount
Suppose a service permits payments from 1,000 to 100,000 satoshis and you choose 5,000. The protocol represents that chosen amount as 5,000,000 millisatoshis because one satoshi contains 1,000 millisatoshis. The returned invoice should request that amount.
These are illustrative limits, not defaults. The domain example.com is a reserved example domain here, not a payment destination.
A stable name comes with a service relationship
The resolution service receives the requests needed to supply payment metadata and invoices. Its operator may be different from the person whose name you recognize. A valid invoice does not prove that a lookalike domain belongs to the intended recipient.
Confirm changed payment details through a trusted channel. The convention describes how to obtain invoices; it does not itself tell you whether the recipient controls their Lightning keys or uses a custodial account.
Direct answers
Questions people ask
Can I send on-chain BTC to a Lightning Address?
The email-like name is not itself an on-chain Bitcoin destination. A compatible wallet resolves it to a Lightning payment request. Any additional on-chain conversion is a separate wallet or service feature.
Does the address have to receive email?
No. Its email-like syntax identifies a payment-resolution endpoint. The convention does not require an email mailbox at that name.
Inspect the evidence
The answer and key facts have stable claim links. These records retain the scope and qualification when reused.
A Lightning Address is a human-readable name, such as alice@example.com, that a compatible wallet resolves through a service to obtain a Lightning invoice. It is not an ordinary on-chain Bitcoin address, and it need not be an email mailbox. The domain and service are part of the payment path, so check the resolved request and the recipient before paying.
Educational explanation. Product-specific behavior is scoped to the cited documentation, checked 2026-10-02.
Scope: Bitcoin · data through 2026-10-02. Verification: verified · 2026-10-02T19:29:20.637Z.
Link to this claimFormat: A username and domain
Scope: Bitcoin · data through 2026-10-02. Verification: verified · 2026-10-02T19:29:20.637Z.
Link to this claimResolution: The wallet asks a service for payment details
Scope: Bitcoin · data through 2026-10-02. Verification: verified · 2026-10-02T19:29:20.637Z.
Link to this claimPayment: The service returns a Lightning invoice
Scope: Bitcoin · data through 2026-10-02. Verification: verified · 2026-10-02T19:29:20.637Z.
Link to this claimRevision history
- — First publication after primary-source research and separate automated verification.
Source register
Sources and references
Retrieval dates and locators are recorded individually.- Pay to static internet identifiersLNURL contributors
Lightning Address resolution to a domain-hosted LNURL-pay endpoint.
Locator: Paying to internet identifiers: username/domain resolution to LNURL-pay; metadata text/identifier versus text/email · Version / scope: LUD-16 pinned revision · Retrieved: 2026-10-02T18:53:57.523ZOpen source - LNURL-payLNURL contributors
HTTP callback, amount bounds, metadata and invoice verification in LNURL-pay.
Locator: LNURL-pay: metadata and amount response, invoice callback and wallet verification steps · Version / scope: LUD-06 pinned revision · Retrieved: 2026-10-02T18:53:57.478ZOpen source
Research and drafting use AI assistance. A separate automated review checks claims against primary sources; no external expert or named human review is implied. Publication, substantive editing, source retrieval and verification are recorded separately. This version was independently checked by an automated reviewer on 2 October 2026.
Editorial method and correctionsDegrees of Satoshi editorial project. “Lightning addresses: an email-like name that requests an invoice.” Published 2026-10-02; updated 2026-10-02. https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/lightning-addresses/