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Breez

5 min read

Properties

Type
  • Class
Resource
  • urn:ngm:class:breez
Domain
  • blockchain
Status
  • stable
Maturity
  • established
Quality
  • 0.75
Is a
Requires
Enables
Generated
  • by: process:vault-migrate/1.0 · at: 2026-09-22T12:41:39.024503178Z
Bridges to
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Depends on
Implements
Links
Page resource
  • urn:visionflow:page:82f126bfe64012bc1ed8d3be9827fd0aa14687b3640fb112e84563ee5adb9c66
Related to
Uses

Breez is a company and open-source platform providing a non-custodial Lightning Network wallet and a Software Development Kit (SDK) that enables developers to embed Bitcoin Lightning payments into applications without managing node infrastructure. Breez operates as a Lightning Service Provider (LSP), handling inbound liquidity and channel management on behalf of users while users retain sole custody of their private keys. The Breez SDK abstracts away the complexity of Payment Channel lifecycle management, splicing, and Liquidity provisioning, exposing a clean API for instant, low-fee Bitcoin payments. Its architecture is grounded in the LNURL protocol suite and Greenlight node-as-a-service infrastructure from Blockstream.

Overview

  • Breez was founded to solve the principal usability barrier of non-custodial Lightning Network wallets: the requirement for users to open and manage their own Payment Channels, source Inbound Liquidity, and run an always-online node. By interposing as an LSP, Breez abstracts node operation into a managed cloud service (Greenlight via Blockstream) whilst preserving user sovereignty over funds.
  • The platform has two main products:
    • Breez Wallet — a consumer mobile wallet (iOS and Android) for everyday Bitcoin Lightning payments, supporting LNURL, BOLT11 invoices, and point-of-sale mode.
    • Breez SDK — an open-source developer library (Rust, with bindings for Swift, Kotlin, React Native, and Flutter) enabling any application to embed Lightning payments without node infrastructure.
  • Breez’s LSP model provides Just-In-Time Liquidity: when a new user receives their first payment, Breez opens a channel on-the-fly, deducting a small fee rather than requiring the user to pre-fund a channel.
  • The SDK integrates with Greenlight (Blockstream’s cloud node-as-a-service) so that the user’s Lightning node runs in the cloud but the user holds the keys via Self-Custody key management. This means Breez cannot spend user funds.
  • As of its SDK v2 release, Breez supports BOLT12 offers alongside BOLT11, enabling reusable static payment codes and enhanced privacy.

Key Components

Mechanisms

  • Non-Custodial Key Architecture
    • User’s HD Wallet seed is generated on-device and never transmitted to Breez servers
    • Greenlight executes signing operations only when instructed by the key-holding client
    • Breez SDK holds no spend authority; it is architecturally incapable of unilaterally moving funds
  • Inbound Liquidity Provisioning
    • Classical Lightning requires recipients to have pre-existing Inbound Liquidity before receiving payments
    • Breez’s LSP solves this with Just-In-Time Liquidity: an incoming payment triggers the LSP to open a channel, routing the payment through it in a single atomic operation
    • Fee for JIT channel open is taken from the received amount, not charged separately
  • Submarine Swaps
    • Allow users to move value between on-chain Bitcoin and off-chain Lightning Network without a centralised exchange
    • Breez SDK automates swap construction using HTLC (Hash Time-Lock Contract) primitives
    • Used for on-ramp (chain → Lightning) and off-ramp (Lightning → chain) flows
  • LNURL Protocol Integration

Applications and Use Cases

  • Consumer Payments — daily spending of Bitcoin with near-zero fees and sub-second settlement, suitable for coffee, retail, and remittances
  • Developer Integration — embedding Lightning into mobile apps, games, streaming platforms, and e-commerce via the Breez SDK without Lightning expertise
  • Podcast 2.0 / Value4Value — streaming micropayments (sats-per-minute) from listeners to podcasters using the Value4Value protocol; Breez was an early implementer alongside Fountain and Podverse
  • Point-of-Sale — merchants use Breez Wallet’s PoS mode to accept Bitcoin Lightning payments without custodial exchange dependency
  • Remittances — cross-border transfers using Bitcoin as a bearer asset, bypassing correspondent banking and foreign exchange fees
  • Gaming and In-App Micropayments — game developers integrate Breez SDK to enable pay-per-action mechanics and in-app economies denominated in Satoshi
  • Decentralised Exchanges — the Nodeless SDK variant supports swaps via Boltz Exchange, enabling non-custodial on/off ramp without a central counterparty

Standards and Context

  • BOLT Specifications — Breez implements BOLT11 (Lightning invoice format) and BOLT12 (offers protocol) from the Lightning Network Specification (BOLTs — Basis of Lightning Technology)
  • LNURL — an informal but widely-adopted standard defining LNURL-Pay, LNURL-Withdraw, LNURL-Auth, and Lightning Address; Breez is a full implementer
  • LSP Specification — the emerging LSP Specification (lsp-spec) initiative aims to standardise LSP APIs so that wallets can interoperate with any compliant LSP; Breez participates in this working group
  • Liquid Network — Breez SDK Nodeless uses Liquid Network, a Bitcoin Sidechain developed by Blockstream, governed by its own Federation and Two-Way Peg mechanism
  • Open Source — Breez SDK is released under Apache 2.0 Licence; the wallet app is also open source, enabling community audit and forking
  • Regulatory Posture — as a non-custodial service, Breez does not hold user funds and therefore argues it falls outside Money Transmission licensing requirements in many jurisdictions; this interpretation remains subject to regulatory evolution under frameworks such as MiCA (EU) and FinCEN guidance (US)

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