Welcome Alby Hub ✨Lightning sovereignty for everyone

For the last few weeks our marketing bees were teasing you about the “upcoming” Alby Hub, and our developer bees were building it.

Now, after iterations of coding and testing, it’s time to reveal it to the public: an open-source, self-custodial wallet, with an integrated lightning node, with your own keys, and a NWC app-store to power bitcoin apps directly from your own node, all managed in one intuitive interface.

👋 Please, welcome our newest product: Alby Hub.

Naturally, we believe in the transformative power of Bitcoin and the Lightning Network. Alby’s mission has always been to make scalable Bitcoin accessible for everyone, by providing building blocks for bitcoin on the web. We have been fulfilling that mission with many tools released: the Alby Extension, Alby Account (lightning wallet), WebLN, Bitcoin-Connect, Nostr Wallet Connect…

The development in the Lightning Network never stopped to amaze us - especially at the software layer, every week providing new creative and useful apps that perform magic with Bitcoin. The fact that they are only getting better is a result of a growing number of developers and results in a growing number of users. However unique and convenient the solutions on the Lightning Network would be, we shouldn’t forget about the principles that ensure the long-term resilience and success of the whole ecosystem - openness and decentralization.

Truly sovereign Bitcoin tools, apps and wallets, that can drive adoption years into the future should be: easy to use - so more people could be able to comfortably use them, open-source - so their code is verified and replicable and self-custodial - so no third-party is involved with your money.

But, since the conception of Lightning Network, there has been a difficult challenge: self-custody is not easy! Running and maintaining your own node costs time, energy, effort - that’s why many of us have given up and outsourced those worries to so-called custodians - trusting other companies with our funds and data, in exchange for convenience. Alby’s response to this challenge: releasing a tool designed to put the power back into the hands of individual users. We can’t take a decentralized network for granted - we must become it.

What exactly is Alby Hub?

Alby Hub is a Lightning Network node app that lets you take full control of your bitcoin. With a one-click setup, an intuitive interface, and the seamless integrations of dozens of Bitcoin apps, Alby Hub makes Lightning Network self-custody accessible to everyone.

At its core, Alby Hub is a full fledged lightning node (LDK by default, supporting other backends), with a friendly web platform to manage it. Moreover, it’s open-source and fully self-custodial - only its owner knows the keys. The Hub comes also with a Nostr Wallet Connect service, which enables remote, easy and secure use of funds by various apps, whether Nostr social media clients or wallet interfaces. The Hub actually has embedded marketplace of suggested applications, that can be linked directly to your node.

Its software can be run by you on a desktop or a server or even on a Raspberry Pi for free, or in the Alby Cloud for 21,000 sats per month. This approach combines the security of self-custody with the convenience of a self-custodial Lightning wallet ready to be adopted by masses.

A node to be run anywhere, accessed from everywhere.

Lightning self-custody is now within the reach of a few clicks. The paid Alby Cloud comes with additional features, like a customizable Lightning Address, a Nostr Identifier, Podcasting 2.0 credentials, access to the Alby Buzz community, and live support to help you with setup and channel management and few others. Alby provides guidance throughout this process, ensuring users achieve full control and sovereignty over their funds.

Self-custody in Lightning has never been easier

To have full ownership of their bitcoin and to not rely with trust on centralized nodes, users should become more self-aware and take exclusive custody over their keys. But, full sovereignty in the Lightning Network requires some effort - and it’s up to users to assess whether it’s worth it. Channel management, staying online, Lightning Address and support of various features is not something that everyone can handle. Or… is it?

With Alby Cloud you don’t even need to buy any hardware or code anything - for a fair monthly price you can install Hub with one click, and Alby hosts your Hub for you. You don’t need to worry about routing and being well-connected - you can easily open channels with recommended Lightning Service Providers, and they ensure there is a payment route to your node. The Cloud plan ensures your node is always online, has a clearnet IP for efficient payments, and allows you to open private channels when needed. Nostr Wallet Connect is already implemented - and it’s only the first days of Hub’s great powers. Channel openings and understanding all these liquidities? Well, this is the Lightning Network, and we must learn that some effort is necessary to stay in full control 😉. 

With great power comes great sovereignty. But it has never been that easy! 

We also take your autonomy and privacy seriously. You should as well. Alby Hub is designed with strong encryption and doesn't require KYC. It's accessible through VPNs, giving you an additional layer of privacy. Remember, with Alby Hub, you hold your own keys - we never have access to your funds.

Alby Hub is not just a wallet; it's a comprehensive, fully self-custodial Bitcoin payment engine designed to seamlessly integrate with a growing ecosystem of apps.

The future of the Lightning Network is bright

Watching the tempo of development within Bitcoin community makes us optimistic about the future. The more sovereign users participate in the network, the more they understand the importance of self-custody and decentralization, the more they are willing to overcome challenges - the more resilient the network will be.

While Alby Hub is already a powerful tool, we're not stopping here. Our roadmap includes:

• Mobile app release
• Subaccounts management
• Enhanced LSP (Lightning Service Provider) integrations
• Advanced and automated channel management tools
• Expanded app marketplace
• Integration with additional protocols
• Plugin hackathons

As an open-source project, we believe in the power of community. We welcome feedback, feature requests, and contributions from users and developers alike. Join the discussion on our Feedback Board or at Alby Discord server.

"We're committed to building tools that step up user’s participation in the network. If we truly want the Lightning Network to be decentralised, running a node must be both convenient and clearly beneficial to individuals"

Roland, one of the main contributors to the Alby Hub

We're excited to see how the community will use and build upon Alby Hub. Together, we can create a more open, accessible, and sovereign financial future. Thank you for your support, and we look forward to your feedback as we continue to develop and improve Alby Hub.

Alby going fully self-custodial and releasing such an app represents a significant step forward in making Lightning Network technology accessible to a broader audience without compromising on the principles and decentralization. By putting control back in the hands of users while maintaining ease of use, we believe Alby Hub can play a crucial role in the broader adoption of Bitcoin.

Join us in this revolution. Become a sovereign part of the Lightning Network.

Run your own node. Be your own bank.

Read more about Alby Hub:

The 6 different Lightning backends for Alby Hub

Alby Hub runs on top of several lightning implementations: LDK, LND, Greenlight, Phoenixd, Breez SDK and Cashu Mint.

Alby BuzzAlby