Bitcoin’s Lightning Network: Is the ecosystem living up to expectations?

Bitcoin developers are once again debating whether the Lightning Network’s progress has translated into a payment experience that everyday users actually want. This time, the argument was sparked by Paul Sztorc, who described Lightning’s real-world usability as far worse than many in the Bitcoin community portray. In an October 4 post on X, Sztorc claimed there is “a vast, years long” effort to mislead people about the Lightning Network user experience, arguing that custodial Lightning services handle more than 80% of payments.