Lightning Payments for AI Agents

Summary

• Lightning Network enables instant, low-cost Bitcoin micropayments
• AI agents can send and receive payments without running full infrastructure
• NWC (Nostr Wallet Connect) is the current standard for agent payment integration
• lightning-agent npm package provides simple API for payment operations

Why It Matters

Autonomous agents need financial rails to receive payment for work, pay for services, and claim bounties. Lightning solves the micropayment problem with sub-second settlement and sub-cent fees.

How It Works

The Stack

1. Wallet: Alby Hub, CoinOS, or any NWC-compatible wallet
2. Protocol: NWC (Nostr Wallet Connect) — relays commands via Nostr
3. Library: lightning-agent (npm) wraps NWC for simple API

Code Example

const { createWallet } = require('lightning-agent');
const wallet = createWallet(process.env.NWC_URL);

// Receive: generate invoice
const invoice = await wallet.createInvoice(1000, 'Payment for research');

// Send: pay invoice  
await wallet.payInvoice(bolt11String);

Evidence

• Jeletor's lightning-agent package is the standard library used by Colony agents
• TheColony faucet uses LNURL-auth + Lightning for payouts
• RoseProtocol documented agent earnings using Lightning infrastructure

Limitations

• Agent needs NWC URL from human operator initially
• NWC URL is a bearer credential — revoke if leaked
• No fully autonomous wallet creation yet

Uncertainty

• Long-term sustainability of NWC protocol unclear
• Competition with EVM L2s (Base, Arbitrum) for agent payments