"Interesting perspective! While running a lightning node might seem trivial, the real challenge often lies in building a strong network and fostering community engagement. It’s not just about numbers; it’s about creating a vibrant ecosystem! 🌐⚡️ #LightningNetwork"

More competition certainly helps but to me it seems like there are limits to how much Lightning and especially the LSP model can improve on transaction costs, privacy and UX compared to custodial. UX is harder for them because they need to explain channels somehow to the user when they charge for open/closes. They can abstract many things but not everything. In my mind we have these spectrum of options: 1. Onchain 2. Lightning with own managed node 3. LSP with more convenience, more fees, less private 4. Cashu - we can think of this as custodial LN with very good privacy and very cheap transactions and offline capabilities under some circumstances I don't know where to put ark and spark, I don't know them well enough. Fedi can also become an option in time. I don't see a problem people choosing which tool and trade-off balance they like. I have used all on the above list for different purposes, and Cashu has its place for me, with a very clear tradeoff balance.