Not many individuals embody the spirit of innovation and community engagement as Adam from Coinos. His journey into the world of bitcoin and the Lightning Network is not just a personal story; it represents a broader movement towards decentralized finance, driven by ideals of freedom, efficiency, and collaboration.
Table of Contents
First Steps into Bitcoin
- What initially drew you to the world of Bitcoin and the Lightning Network?
I found Bitcoin in 2011 and was already getting interested in open source software, Austrian economics and libertarian philosophy at that time so it was an exciting project for me to stumble across.
Building on Lightning
- What are the most exciting use cases for the Lightning Network that you’ve seen or worked on?
I love nostr zaps. I think the core use case of enabling nearly free global payments with instant settlement is pretty exciting. I’m pretty focused on in-person retail payments – getting mom and pop shops to start accepting bitcoin and stop paying so much in fees to VISA/MC. 
- Can you discuss some of the technical challenges you’ve faced while building on Lightning?
Figuring out how to manage liquidity so that payments don’t fail is an ongoing challenge.
Overcoming Challenges
- What was the most challenging aspect of getting started in this space?
Anti-bitcoin sentiment from the legacy banking system was and is kind of a drag. I had several of my personal accounts closed and am still denied the ability to get a regular business bank account in Canada.
- What are some common misconceptions about the Lightning Network that you encounter?
I don’t hear many misconceptions, more often people just aren’t aware of it at all.
Influences and Community Engagement
- Who or what has been your biggest influence in the bitcoin community?
I try to follow the technical development discussions. Seeing posts and updates from core developers like Satoshi, Pieter Wiulle, Gregory Maxwell, Matt Corallo and many others convinced me that some really smart people were working on bitcoin and it wasn’t just a hair-brained idea.
- How do you approach user experience in your projects?
I try to make the experience one that I enjoy myself.
- How important is community feedback in shaping your projects?
Pretty important! The squeaky wheels get the great as they say. Delivering on features or fixing problems that people have brought up and getting that dopamine hit when I get to tell them that it’s done and they show gratitude is one of my main motivators.
Personal Projects and Recommendations
- Can you walk us through a recent project you’ve completed on the Lightning Network?
I set up Peerswap pretty recently. Peerswap is a plugin for Lightning Nodes that lets them swap or rebalance their liquidity in a trustless way. Strike enabled it recently too. I’m hoping more node operators will discover it and install it soon.
- Are there any emerging technologies or trends that excite you in this space?
I’m really looking forward to seeing how the Ark protocol develops.
Vision for the Future
- Where do you see the Bitcoin Lightning Network in five years?
I’m hoping for total fiat collapse and everyone living on the bitcoin standard by then!
- Are there specific sectors or industries that you believe will benefit most from Lightning solutions?
Machine-to-machine payments between AI agents is pretty wild to think about.
- How do you see collaboration between different builders in the bitcoin space evolving?
The bitcoin community never ceases to amaze me – so many smart and well-intentioned people working together for the betterment of all.
- What advancements do you think are necessary for mainstream adoption of Lightning technology?
I don’t think everyone’s going to be running a lightning node and opening their own channels. We can scale to mainstream adoption through custodians for now but I’m optimistic that we’ll have trustless scaling solutions soon too.
- In one sentence, how would you summarize your vision for the future of money with respect to Bitcoin and Lightning?
Bitcoin will be the money of the world and nothing will compete with it.
A Commitment to Progress
- If you could have dinner with any figure in the bitcoin space, who would it be and why?
Maybe Fiatjaf, I like his sense of humour
- If someone wanted to get started with using the Lightning Network today, what would be your top recommendation for them?
Get a Coinos account and a Nostr app and try zapping someone!
- What advice would you give to newcomers looking to contribute to the Lightning ecosystem?
Do it! Even if you’re not a programmer, just using Lightning and showing other people how it works is helpful, and don’t be shy about reaching out to devs and companies with feedback about what could be better.
- Finally, what’s next for you personally, and how can we support your journey moving forward?
I’m planning to keep improving Coinos and helping people get into bitcoin. You can do the same – talk to your friends and local business owners and ask them to accept lightning payments.
