Setting Up Your Own Bitcoin Lightning Node with Voltage and Opening Your First Channels
May 12, 2023
Introduction
The Bitcoin Lightning Network is a "second layer" payment protocol that operates on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. It allows for faster transactions, reduced fees, and greater scalability than what is possible on the Bitcoin mainnet alone. But to enjoy these benefits, you need to set up a Lightning node and open channels on this network.
In this tutorial, we'll guide you through the process of setting up your own Bitcoin Lightning node using the Voltage platform and opening your first Lightning channels. The process is simpler than you might think and doesn't require any technical expertise. Let's dive in!
Step 1: Sign Up on Voltage
Firstly, visit Voltage and sign up for an account. As a new user, you're eligible for a $10 free credit which you can use to spin up your nodes.
Step 2: Create a New Node
Once you've signed up, navigate to nodes.voltage.cloud, and click on "Create Node". This is where you start the process of creating your Lightning node.
Step 3: Choose Your Node Type
From the menu that asks "What do you want to deploy today?" choose LND (Lightning node). Then select the "Standard Node" type. This option ensures your Lightning node is backed by a Bitcoin full-node, which is crucial for later experiments. After making your selections, hit "Create".
Step 4: Configure Your Node
Next, fill out the form to name your new node and create a password. It's extremely important to write this password down - you'll need it to perform any operation within the node.
Step 5: Launch ThunderHub
Once you've completed the setup and logged into your new node, you'll see your node logs, network configuration, and much more. But for now, we're interested in launching the ThunderHub application. Click on "Launch ThunderHub". ThunderHub is an open-source LND node manager that lets you manage and monitor your node on any device or browser. It boasts a simple and intuitive UX and the most cutting-edge tech stack.
Step 6: Fund Your Node
On the ThunderHub main screen, you'll see a summary of your on-chain and Lightning balance - which will be zero. To open channels, you first need to fund your node's on-chain Bitcoin wallet. Click on "Receive" below the Bitcoin summary and send on-chain Bitcoin to the address or QR code that appears. Remember, Lightning channel sizes typically start at 500,000 satoshis (0.005 BTC), so transfer enough to cover the channel size and fees. Here I sent 2,000,000 sats just to open more channels later.
Step 7: Open Your First Channel
For our first channel, we'll connect to Lightning Conductor, an organization that operates a Return Channels service, meaning if you open a channel to them with a size of 0.005 BTC or more, they will open one back for 0.005 BTC. Make sure to copy their node details directly from their page.
Step 8: Open a Channel via ThunderHub
Back on your ThunderHub dashboard, select "Open" from the quick actions menu. Paste the Lightning Conductor's node details into "New Node" and set up a channel for 500,000 satoshis.
Step 9: Monitor Your Channels
After initiating the process, it typically takes between 10-20 minutes for your first channel to become active. During this period, you can monitor your channels by opening the "Channels" tab on the right side of the screen. Initially, you'll see the first of your channels as active with a capacity of 500,000 satoshis.
Step 10: Check the Return Channel
About 10-20 minutes after your first channel shows as active, you should see a second Lightning channel appear. This is the return channel that Lightning Conductor opens up to your node.
And there you have it! You've set up your very own Lightning node in the cloud with Voltage and used ThunderHub to open your first set of Lightning channels.
By following these steps, you've taken a significant step towards becoming a more active participant in the Bitcoin Lightning Network. Not only can you make Lightning transactions, but you're also contributing to the network's overall strength and decentralization.
Remember, this is just the beginning. As you become more comfortable with managing your node and channels, you can explore more complex operations and strategies to optimize your node's performance and the value it provides to the network.
Congratulations on setting up your first Lightning node and channels, and welcome to the future of Bitcoin transactions!
Osvaldo Rosales 2023
Pacific Standard Time UTC-8