What is a Lightning Address?
A Lightning address is a simple, email-like identifier that makes receiving Bitcoin as easy as sharing your email address. Instead of generating new invoices for each payment, you can share one permanent address.Your Lightning address format:
[email protected]Example: If your username is “alice”, your Lightning address is [email protected]Benefits of Lightning Addresses
- Easy to Remember: Like an email address, much simpler than long invoice strings
- Reusable: One address for all incoming payments
- Flexible Amounts: Senders can specify any amount within your limits
- Always Active: No expiration like traditional invoices
- Professional: Clean, shareable format for business use
Your Lightning Address
When you create a Medusa Wallet account, a Lightning address (called a “paylink”) is automatically created for your default wallet.Address Details
- Format:
[username]@wallet.medusa.bz - Linked to: Your default wallet
- Minimum: 1 sat
- Maximum: 10,000,000 sats (10M sats)
- Comments: Supports messages up to 250 characters
How to Share Your Lightning Address
Find Your Address
Navigate to the Receive screen. If you’re using your default wallet without specifying an amount, your Lightning address will be displayed.
Copy or Share
Your Lightning address can be:
- Copied to clipboard: Tap the copy button
- Shown as QR code: Display the QR code for scanning
- Shared verbally: It’s short enough to read aloud
Receiving with Lightning Address
When someone pays your Lightning address:- They enter your address in their Lightning wallet
- They specify the amount (within your min/max limits)
- They optionally add a comment (up to 250 characters)
- Payment is instant to your default wallet
- You receive notification with amount and any comment
Using Your Lightning Address
For Personal Use
For Business
For Content Creators
Understanding Paylinks
Behind your Lightning address is a “paylink” - a Lightning LNURL pay endpoint that makes Lightning addresses work.Paylink Configuration
- Description: “Medusa default PayLink”
- Min sendable: 1 sat
- Max sendable: 10,000,000 sats
- Comment chars: 250
- Always active: No expiration
Technical Details
Your Lightning address resolves to:- An LNURL pay code
- Metadata including your identifier
- Dynamic invoice generation
- Webhook for payment notifications
The paylink is created automatically during account registration and is tied to your default wallet’s admin key.
Comparing Payment Methods
| Feature | Lightning Address | Bolt11 Invoice | On-chain Address |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reusable | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Fixed Amount | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Expiration | ✅ Never | ⚠️ ~10 min | ✅ Never |
| Speed | ⚡ Instant | ⚡ Instant | 🐌 ~10 min |
| Fees | 💰 Very low | 💰 Very low | 💰💰 Higher |
| Memorable | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ❌ No |
Advanced Usage
Requesting Payments
You can structure payment requests:Payment Verification
To verify a payment was received:- Check your default wallet balance
- Review transaction history
- Look for the comment/description
- Match the amount and timestamp
Multiple Addresses
Currently, Medusa Wallet provides one Lightning address per account, linked to your default wallet. To organize payments:
- Use comments to categorize incoming payments
- Create specific invoices for specific wallets
- Consider the swap feature to move funds between wallets
Best Practices
Troubleshooting
Payments Not Arriving
- Check Default Wallet: Ensure you’re viewing your default wallet
- Amount Limits: Verify payment is between 1 and 10M sats
- Network Issues: Sender may need to retry
- Wrong Address: Confirm sender used correct address
Address Not Working
- Typos: Verify exact username spelling
- Domain: Must be
@wallet.medusa.bz - Sender Wallet: Some older wallets don’t support Lightning addresses
- Fallback: Generate a traditional invoice instead
Comments Not Showing
- Check Transaction: Comment appears in transaction details
- Character Limit: Comments over 250 chars may be truncated
- Sender Support: Verify sender’s wallet supports comments