Moving bitcoin between on-chain wallets and the Lightning Network

By Lightning Pay Team

If you already hold bitcoin in an on-chain wallet (such as a Ledger or Trezor) and want to use it on the Lightning Network — or move Lightning bitcoin back to cold storage — there are a few ways to do this.

Below we outline the easiest and most common options, starting with Lightning Pay Wallet, which offers the lowest fees and simplest experience.

Recommended: Lightning Pay Wallet

Best balance of ease, cost, and control.
Lightning Pay Wallet lets you move bitcoin between on-chain and Lightning directly, without needing third-party swap services.

  • Low fees (typically much lower than custodial wallets)
  • Simple in-app flow
  • Non-custodial Lightning wallet

You can deposit on-chain bitcoin into Lightning Pay Wallet and immediately use it on Lightning — or send Lightning bitcoin back to an on-chain address when you’re ready.

On-chain → Lightning

Using Lightning Pay Wallet (recommended)

  1. Open Lightning Pay Wallet
  2. Tap Receive
  3. Select On-chain Bitcoin
  4. Copy the Bitcoin address or scan the QR code
  5. Send bitcoin to this address from your Ledger, Trezor, or other on-chain wallet
  6. Once confirmed, your bitcoin will be available to use on Lightning

That’s it — no swaps, no extra steps.

Other options

Custodial wallets (higher fees, simplest):
Wallets such as Wallet of Satoshi accept on-chain deposits and make them available on Lightning automatically.

These are very easy to use, but typically charge higher fees (1.95%) and require trusting a third party.

Self-custodial swap services (advanced):
You can also use a service like Boltz.exchange to swap on-chain bitcoin into Lightning while remaining fully self-custodial.

This option has lower fees, but involves more steps and is best suited to experienced users.

Lightning → On-chain (cold storage, Ledger, Trezor)

Using Lightning Pay Wallet (recommended)

  1. Open Lightning Pay Wallet
  2. Tap Send
  3. Select On-chain Bitcoin
  4. Paste your on-chain Bitcoin address (e.g. from Ledger or Trezor)
  5. Choose a fee speed (fast, medium, or slow)
  6. Confirm and send

Your Lightning bitcoin will be sent on-chain directly to your wallet.