{
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  "schemaVersion": "1.0.0",
  "id": "lightning-addresses",
  "canonical": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/lightning-addresses/",
  "collection": "bitcoin",
  "title": "Lightning addresses: an email-like name that requests an invoice",
  "description": "Understand Lightning Addresses, their email-like syntax and the service that turns them into invoices.",
  "aliases": [
    "lightning address vs bitcoin address",
    "lightning address vs bitcoin address explained"
  ],
  "dates": {
    "published": "2026-10-02",
    "modified": "2026-10-02",
    "verified": "2026-10-02T19:29:20.637Z",
    "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02"
  },
  "authorship": {
    "publisher": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project",
    "process": "AI-assisted research and drafting with a separate automated source-verification pass; no external expert or named human review is implied."
  },
  "quickAnswer": {
    "text": "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.",
    "claimId": "lightning-addresses-quick-answer",
    "sourceIds": [
      "x425-btc-lud16",
      "x425-btc-lud6"
    ]
  },
  "keyFacts": [
    {
      "label": "Format",
      "value": "A username and domain",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-lud16"
      ],
      "id": "format",
      "claimId": "lightning-addresses-fact-format"
    },
    {
      "label": "Resolution",
      "value": "The wallet asks a service for payment details",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-lud16",
        "x425-btc-lud6"
      ],
      "id": "resolution",
      "claimId": "lightning-addresses-fact-resolution"
    },
    {
      "label": "Payment",
      "value": "The service returns a Lightning invoice",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-lud6"
      ],
      "id": "payment",
      "claimId": "lightning-addresses-fact-payment"
    }
  ],
  "prerequisites": [
    "lightning-network-explained",
    "bitcoin-address-types"
  ],
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "flow",
      "heading": "A readable name leads to a fresh invoice",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-lud16",
        "x425-btc-lud6"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "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."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "example",
      "heading": "The wallet still needs to check the amount",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-lud6"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "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."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "privacy",
      "heading": "A stable name comes with a service relationship",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-lud16",
        "x425-btc-lud6"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "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."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "question": "Can I send on-chain BTC to a Lightning Address?",
      "answer": "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.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-lud16",
        "x425-btc-lud6"
      ]
    },
    {
      "question": "Does the address have to receive email?",
      "answer": "No. Its email-like syntax identifies a payment-resolution endpoint. The convention does not require an email mailbox at that name.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-btc-lud16"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "lightning-addresses-quick-answer",
      "articleSlug": "lightning-addresses",
      "statement": "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.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-feee64f340f934a6",
        "source-3dc33608911e84ce"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-feee64f340f934a6",
          "locator": "Paying to internet identifiers: username/domain resolution to LNURL-pay; metadata text/identifier versus text/email"
        },
        {
          "sourceId": "source-3dc33608911e84ce",
          "locator": "LNURL-pay: metadata and amount response, invoice callback and wallet verification steps"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "bitcoin",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "Educational explanation. Product-specific behavior is scoped to the cited documentation, checked 2026-10-02.",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:29:20.637Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification — Codex /root/verify_ethereum_100, separate from the Bitcoin drafting agent",
        "notes": [
          "Read LUD16 resolution and LUD06 metadata/min/max/callback/invoice amount checks.5,000sats=5,000,000msats checked; email-like syntax need not identify an email mailbox or establish recipient custody."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "lightning-addresses-fact-format",
      "articleSlug": "lightning-addresses",
      "statement": "Format: A username and domain",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-feee64f340f934a6"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-feee64f340f934a6",
          "locator": "Paying to internet identifiers: username/domain resolution to LNURL-pay; metadata text/identifier versus text/email"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "bitcoin",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:29:20.637Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification — Codex /root/verify_ethereum_100, separate from the Bitcoin drafting agent",
        "notes": [
          "Read LUD16 resolution and LUD06 metadata/min/max/callback/invoice amount checks.5,000sats=5,000,000msats checked; email-like syntax need not identify an email mailbox or establish recipient custody."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "lightning-addresses-fact-resolution",
      "articleSlug": "lightning-addresses",
      "statement": "Resolution: The wallet asks a service for payment details",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-feee64f340f934a6",
        "source-3dc33608911e84ce"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-feee64f340f934a6",
          "locator": "Paying to internet identifiers: username/domain resolution to LNURL-pay; metadata text/identifier versus text/email"
        },
        {
          "sourceId": "source-3dc33608911e84ce",
          "locator": "LNURL-pay: metadata and amount response, invoice callback and wallet verification steps"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "bitcoin",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:29:20.637Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification — Codex /root/verify_ethereum_100, separate from the Bitcoin drafting agent",
        "notes": [
          "Read LUD16 resolution and LUD06 metadata/min/max/callback/invoice amount checks.5,000sats=5,000,000msats checked; email-like syntax need not identify an email mailbox or establish recipient custody."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "lightning-addresses-fact-payment",
      "articleSlug": "lightning-addresses",
      "statement": "Payment: The service returns a Lightning invoice",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-3dc33608911e84ce"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-3dc33608911e84ce",
          "locator": "LNURL-pay: metadata and amount response, invoice callback and wallet verification steps"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "bitcoin",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
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        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:29:20.637Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification — Codex /root/verify_ethereum_100, separate from the Bitcoin drafting agent",
        "notes": [
          "Read LUD16 resolution and LUD06 metadata/min/max/callback/invoice amount checks.5,000sats=5,000,000msats checked; email-like syntax need not identify an email mailbox or establish recipient custody."
        ]
      }
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "x425-btc-lud16",
      "label": "Pay to static internet identifiers",
      "publisher": "LNURL contributors",
      "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lnurl/luds/913c49e5b65081473eed7889eee5f806dd30f049/16.md",
      "locator": "Paying to internet identifiers: username/domain resolution to LNURL-pay; metadata text/identifier versus text/email",
      "note": "Lightning Address resolution to a domain-hosted LNURL-pay endpoint.",
      "version": "LUD-16 pinned revision",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:53:57.523Z",
      "contentSha256": "abf008cbb492ce04a77ddce32c39269a1c48686b1a51526de7453749bfc18491",
      "recordId": "source-feee64f340f934a6"
    },
    {
      "id": "x425-btc-lud6",
      "label": "LNURL-pay",
      "publisher": "LNURL contributors",
      "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lnurl/luds/913c49e5b65081473eed7889eee5f806dd30f049/06.md",
      "locator": "LNURL-pay: metadata and amount response, invoice callback and wallet verification steps",
      "note": "HTTP callback, amount bounds, metadata and invoice verification in LNURL-pay.",
      "version": "LUD-06 pinned revision",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:53:57.478Z",
      "contentSha256": "96491eddc7c75efedc94f56f53ed8322acd719c35a53e644dc9408347f5980c2",
      "recordId": "source-3dc33608911e84ce"
    }
  ],
  "related": {
    "articles": [
      "lightning-network-explained",
      "bitcoin-address-types",
      "lightning-invoices",
      "lightning-wallet-custody"
    ],
    "dossiers": [],
    "wallets": []
  },
  "revisionHistory": [
    {
      "date": "2026-10-02",
      "kind": "published",
      "summary": "First publication after primary-source research and separate automated verification."
    }
  ],
  "citation": "Degrees 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/"
}