Bitcoin 
LightningOn-chain payments
Bitcoin transactions broadcast to the network and confirmed in blocks. Suited to larger transfers and settlement.
How Phoenix works
Bitcoin underneath.
Lightning when you need it.
Phoenix brings Bitcoin and Lightning into one desktop experience, with channel management handled in the background.
One wallet, two layers
Bitcoin and Lightning are part of the same experience.
Bitcoin is the settlement layer: transactions recorded in blocks. Lightning is a payment layer built on top of it, using channels anchored by Bitcoin transactions.
One asset, two connected layers. Phoenix brings both into your wallet.
Bitcoin Lightning
Lightning payments
Balance updates across payment channels, typically settling in seconds.
Channels
Shared balances between Lightning participants, opened and adjusted with Bitcoin transactions.
Liquidity
Where funds sit inside those channels, which determines how much can be sent and received.
Self-custody
Your keys. Your control.
Your wallet stays on your computer. Keep your recovery backup private.
Recovery backup
Stored privately, offline.
Local wallet
Your keys, on your computer.
Local signing
Approve payments on your device.
Bitcoin + Lightning
Signed payments reach the network.
Never share your recovery phrase. This website will never ask for it. Wallet creation and restoration happen inside the desktop application.
Lightning channels
Channels without the manual setup.
Lightning relies on payment channels: a shared balance between two participants, backed by a Bitcoin transaction. Paying over Lightning shifts that balance rather than writing a new transaction to the blockchain each time.
Phoenix abstracts much of the channel-management complexity from normal wallet usage. Channels are arranged as your usage requires instead of being configured by hand, but channel operations still touch the Bitcoin blockchain and can carry a cost, which the application shows before you confirm.
- A channel is opened and anchored by a Bitcoin transaction.
- Payments move value inside the channel, off-chain.
- Adjusting or closing a channel returns to the Bitcoin layer.
- Fees apply where the Bitcoin network or a service is involved.
Liquidity
Liquidity handled behind the scenes.
Liquidity simply describes where bitcoin sits inside your channels. Funds on your side can be spent — that is outbound liquidity. Room on the other side determines how much you can be paid — that is inbound liquidity.
Planning both directions is normally node-operator work. Wallet infrastructure can arrange liquidity in the background so everyday users do not need to think like Lightning node operators before accepting a payment. Arranging receive capacity can involve a fee, which is shown before you confirm.
Direction of a channel balance
Outbound — what you can send
Inbound — what you can receive
Sending and receiving use separate capacity: having spendable balance does not by itself guarantee room to receive.
Splicing
Your channel.
Room to grow.
Add or remove funds through a Bitcoin transaction while adjusting your existing channel.
Bitcoin mining fees apply.
Payment flow
One wallet. Both directions.
Send and receive bitcoin through Lightning, from your desktop.
Send from your device
Review the recipient, amount and fee, then confirm the payment.
Route through Lightning
Payments move across channels without a new on-chain transaction for each payment.
Receive into your wallet
Share a Lightning invoice. Your balance updates when the payment arrives.
On-chain payments. Bitcoin transactions are confirmed in blocks and incur mining fees. Lightning routing fees are separate.