Lightning Labs launches AI agent instrument to help with Bitcoin transactions on Lightning Community
Lightning Labs has launched a brand new open-source toolkit designed to allow AI brokers to function instantly on the Bitcoin Lightning Community, offering autonomous techniques with native entry to funds and providers.
The corporate says these instruments deal with a key hole within the rising AI economic system: enabling brokers to transact with out human intervention.
Michael Levin, Head of Product Progress at Lightning Labs, defined that the toolkit allows AI techniques to run Lightning nodes, pay for providers, and host paid endpoints with out the necessity for id verification, API keys, or conventional registration.
This repository contains seven modular options protecting duties equivalent to node administration, key isolation, scoped credentials, L402-based funds, paid endpoint internet hosting, and querying node standing.
“Inget” — Bitcoin fee agent
The core characteristic of this launch is lget, a command-line HTTP consumer that works with the L402 fee commonplace. L402 relies on the Web’s HTTP 402 “Fee Required” standing code. L402-enabled servers reply to requests with a Lightning invoice as an alternative of requesting a login or API key.
lget robotically reads invoices, pays by means of a linked Lightning backend, and captures encrypted proof of fee. The agent can then entry the requested useful resource, and subsequent requests reuse the cached credentials.
This instrument helps a number of Lightning backends. Customers can join on to a neighborhood lnd node through gRPC, use Lightning Node Join for encrypted tunnel entry, or check out the built-in Neutrino gentle pockets.
This flexibility permits builders to experiment with out working a full Lightning node whereas sustaining compatibility with manufacturing configurations.
Lightning Labs positions this launch as a step towards a “machine-payable net.” Conventional monetary techniques equivalent to bank cards and financial institution accounts don’t work nicely for autonomous brokers that require speedy, programmatic funds of very small quantities.
The mix of lget on the consumer facet and Lightning Labs’ Aperture reverse proxy on the server facet allows an entire commerce loop. That’s, one agent hosts the paid service, one other agent consumes it, and Lightning processes the fee within the background.
Non-public key safety
This toolkit focuses on safety. Lightning Labs recommends utilizing the LND distant signer structure, which separates non-public key storage from node operations. Brokers can work together with nodes with out having direct entry to their non-public keys.
Builders may use scoped credentials referred to as macarons. This grants restricted permissions equivalent to funds solely, invoices solely, and browse solely, decreasing danger and permitting brokers to transact securely.
The discharge of Lightning Labs is available in a broader effort to allow the widespread adoption of AI funds.
Coinbase lately introduced Agentic Pockets, which permits brokers to carry funds, make funds, and commerce tokens utilizing the x402 protocol, and Stripe previewed USDC machine funds.
This text, Lightning Labs unveils an AI agent instrument to energy Bitcoin transactions on the Lightning Community, was first revealed in Bitcoin Journal and was written by Micah Zimmerman.

