Why is Relai sunsetting the Lightning wallet?
Relai is removing the Lightning wallet to stay true to our core mission: secure, self-custodial bitcoin savings. After extensive testing in real-world scenarios, we identified several reasons for this decision:
Focus on Self-Custody: Self-custodial Lightning wallets currently lack the reliability and ease of use of custodial solutions. We don’t want to compromise on self-custody, which is at the heart of what we do.
Bitcoin Savings First: Most of our users come to Relai to save in bitcoin, not to make frequent payments. We want to double down on our core mission – helping you stack sats securely.
Future Potential: We still believe in the long-term potential of the Lightning Network, and the current implementation gave us in-depth valuable insights that we will use in the future to provide the best-in-class experience to stack sats.
What does this mean for you?
You can still:
Send and receive on-chain bitcoin.
Auto-invest in bitcoin weekly or monthly.
Stack sats in a self-custodial wallet.
The removal of the Lightning wallet won’t affect these core features. It simply means that Lightning transactions will no longer be available within the Relai app.
What should you do now? (Important: Action Required)
If you have funds in your Relai Lightning wallet, you need to act before the feature is removed. Here are your options:
Option 1: Move your funds to a different Lightning app
For the smoothest experience, we recommend sending your remaining Lightning BTC to a different Lightning application like:
Muun, Blink, Phoenix, Wallet of Satoshi or Bitkit
Option 2: Close your Lightning channels in the Relai app
If you prefer to keep your bitcoin within the Relai app, you can simply close your Lightning channels directly in the app:
Open the Relai app.
Tap the button on the yellow banner labeled “Close Lightning channels” on the landing page.
Confirm the channel closure.
⚠ Important: Make sure to do this before June 30th, or you risk losing access to these funds via the Relai app.
How the channel closure works
Once you confirm the channel closure, the process runs in the background and typically takes 1–2 days, depending on Bitcoin network congestion. Once the channel is fully closed, your bitcoin will be received as on-chain bitcoin in your main on-chain wallet.
Refunds: We will send a 1000 satoshi refund per closed channel via a batch transaction once a week to cover the Bitcoin network fees.
When is the Deadline?
Please move your Lightning funds or close your open channels before June 30th to avoid losing access to your funds via the Relai app.
Will Lightning Come Back to Relai in the Future?
Possibly. We believe in the long-term potential of the Lightning Network, and we may revisit it in the future once the technology has matured.
Need More Help?
If you have any questions or encounter any issues while trying to send your funds or close remaining open channels, please contact the Relai Support Team directly via:
The in-app support chat
Email: [email protected]
Thank You for Being Part of Our Journey
We appreciate your trust in Relai as the easiest way to save in bitcoin. We’re excited about what’s coming next, and we can’t wait to share it with you.