100%.
Product lens: adoption happens in stages.
People may start on custodial rails for convenience, then graduate to self-custody for savings.
The key is preserving the exit: make Bitcoin withdrawal simple, cheap, and verifiable.
Anant Tapadia
anant@bithyve.com
npub18wzt...enfd
Bitcoin Keeper and Bitcoin Tribe
Every payments story has two layers:
1) The UI (tap, scan, pay)
2) The trust model (who can freeze, censor, reverse)
If you can't explain layer 2, you're not using a payment system. You're using a permission system.
Composite founder lesson:
Most early products fail because the story is 5 paragraphs.
If you can't sell it in 1 sentence, you can't debug it.
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Anant Tapadia (@anant_tap) on X
If you can't explain your product in 1 sentence, you don't have a product yet.
If you can't explain your product in 1 sentence, you don't have a product yet.
One feature. One workflow. One paying user. Repeat.
If you're optimizing for speed to first paid user: Lovable/Replit for the first clickable version + Stripe, then graduate to Claude Code/Codex once you need real integrations + tests. The best platform is the one that gets you to shipping + feedback fastest. Start with 1 workflow, 1 payment, 1 metric.
Every payments story has two layers:
1) The UI (tap, scan, pay)
2) The trust model (who can freeze, censor, reverse)
If you can't explain layer 2, you're not using a payment system. You're using a permission system.
Yep.
Founder heuristic: if you cannot withdraw to a wallet you control, it is not savings - it is counterparty risk.
Withdraw, then do one tiny restore drill so self-custody is real, not vibes.
Yes. Self-custodial Lightning needs fewer moving parts for normal users.
If an upgrade makes Lightning less of a hobby (liquidity/channels/always-on) while keeping keys in user hands, that is real freedom tech.
+1 to shipping something simple people can reason about.
Regulation didn't kill Lightning. Custody did.
If a wallet holds keys, it will eventually be forced to geofence / KYC / freeze. That's just the business model.
Heuristic: keep spending balances custodial, keep savings self-custody (with a tested recovery path).
I think this is right for most people: custody is a spectrum, not a religion.
But Bitcoin's superpower is the exit hatch: you can move from trust -> verify over time. Start by self-custodying a small amount, write a 1-page recovery runbook, and do one tiny restore test.
Then choose how much counterparty risk you're actually comfortable carrying.
Founder reality:
Most strategy decks are just delayed decisions.
Pick one customer, one painful workflow, one metric that can embarrass you every week.
Momentum is not motivation. It's a calendar with consequences.
Yep.
Founder heuristic: if you cannot withdraw to a wallet you control, it is not savings - it is counterparty risk.
Withdraw, then do one tiny restore drill so self-custody is real, not vibes.
Self-custody is not a religion, it is an option. Custody is a tool vs trust tradeoff.
Heuristic: if the platform can freeze you, it is not savings. Keep an exit hatch: hold a small amount in self-custody and do one restore drill while calm.
Regulation didn't kill Lightning. Custody did.
If a wallet holds keys, it will eventually be forced to geofence / KYC / freeze. That's just the business model.
Heuristic: keep spending balances custodial, keep savings self-custody (with a tested recovery path).
X: 
X (formerly Twitter)
Anant Tapadia (@anant_tap) on X
@Hey_rabbit_here Regulation didn't kill Lightning. Custody did.
If a wallet holds keys, it will eventually be forced to geofence / KYC / freeze. T...
Getting paid direct to your own wallet is underrated.
Heuristic: if your paycheck lands with a custodian, it's not savings - it's an IOU.
Small hot buffer for spending, periodic sweep to cold + do a tiny restore test once. Your keys, your runway.
I think this is right for most people: custody is a spectrum, not a religion.
But Bitcoin's superpower is the exit hatch: you can move from trust -> verify over time. Start by self-custodying a small amount, write a 1-page recovery runbook, and do one tiny restore test.
Then choose how much counterparty risk you're actually comfortable carrying.
100%. A seed is a backup, not a recovery plan. Keep a separate runbook: which wallet, derivation path, passphrase hint, and a verification step (address on the signer). And do a small test restore before you need it. Bitcoin self-custody is operational.
100%. A simple recovery runbook helps too: where the backup is, what to verify (address, network), and one small test restore before it matters. Bitcoin self-custody is 90% ops.
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Anant Tapadia (@anant_tap) on X
@bitcoinKeeper_ 100%. A simple recovery runbook helps too: where the backup is, what to verify (address, network), and one small test restore befor...
In markets, your biggest risk isn't volatility, it's custody. If someone else can freeze, rehypothecate, or 'review' your funds, you're holding an IOU. Bitcoin lets you hold the asset directly - but only if you actually self-custody and practice recovery.