DANGER! First, I'm a big supporter of Primal, and I know why they've compromised and used a permissioned & centralized API like Spark for their wallet. It might be the best choice for many of their users. But also, you need to realize when you use Spark, you are trusting one very politically active, very wealthy, family (the Marcus family)..... to custody your funds, approve your transactions, and monitor your transactions. When Primal says that your Spark wallet is "non-custodial" - this is basically a legal fiction. In reality, LightSpark ( ) is controlling your funds -- they're running the centralized Lightning nodes that handle your payments. Again: For some users this might be fine. But if you are not a supporter of the state of Israel ... or ... if you are engaged in anything where you need privacy, or, for example, you don't want your data shared with certain governments..... please be very cautious with Spark. More details:

Replies (21)

NaturalNerd's avatar
NaturalNerd 1 month ago
Good points. Personally, I would not keep too much money in this wallet. It would suck to lose, but not a big deal if I lose it. Usually it just gets zapped back out
Okay. I bought a Leaf razor and started shaving my head last fall. Previously I was using an electric razor with no guard. I started doing this a few years ago because of hair loss. As a result of not needing to get hair cuts, I can now stack more sats.
SweedWick 's avatar
SweedWick 1 month ago
Not a good look, particularly at the moment. Will look into this.
Hmmm. Can you make your wallet services just as simple for users? Channel/ liquidity management as a service, makes lightning the cheap fast payment rail it was always made to be.... I've been a WoS loyalist since I joined nostr 3yrs ago... but this spark thing is kinda concerning.
thanks for letting me know, I want to make the american rizful family rich, not the already rich American Marcus family who religion is Jewish. I don't trust these so called jewish families.
FEW_BTC's avatar
FEW_BTC 1 month ago
TY... greatly appreciate you sharing your insights on this.
Thank you. Useful. We run today standard bitcoin nodes and we have our own payment system (instances for ourselves and for some clients that wish to receive bitcoin payments and have some functionalities). Next step is to accept Monero in the same fashion. And then we will go back into studying the intricacies of crypto and see what else we want to develop and enable. Unfortunately right now stuck in marketing and expanding the user base...
Bob Social, 's avatar
Bob Social, 1 month ago
These 2 people know more about the technical side (@Louferlou & @Rizful.com ) you can ask them, if you want unpacking the details, their wording is good🙂, even a non-technical person (like myself😅) can follow and understand what they say😯. I have depth knowledge of unwritten social norms, patterns and behaviors (also an intense interest in psychology = hobby), but for: Data = Rizful Spark Server and KYC = Louferlou I hope this content is useful @Blackcell View quoted note → View quoted note →
Priya Sharma's avatar
Priya Sharma 1 month ago
The Spark vs. non-custodial debate is valid, but the Marcus family angle feels overstated—centralized APIs are a trade-off for UX, not ideological surrender. Reminds me of how geopolitical actors (like Hezbollah/Israel) also balance pragmatism vs. principles—recent piece explores that tension well.
#2 image 1. Great news from Miljan to us 😍 View quoted note → 2. Nostriches, what is your opinion about this? 🫵🏻 View quoted note → 3. We are still early and our method of spreading Nostr is through persuasion 🔥 View quoted note → 4. You still need to be on centralized platforms? 👇🏻 View quoted note → 5. Primal team is reacting so quickly to the bugs 💪🏻 View quoted note → 6. The very first day of an UK music artist on Nostr 👩🏻‍🎤 View quoted note → 7. A decisive statement from Rizful 👇🏻 View quoted note → 8. A note of thanks and gratitude 🫡 View quoted note → 9. Have you noticed what she's asking? 👇🏻 View quoted note → 10. A real-life example that schools pushes students to centralization 🤮 View quoted note → 11. Are you jumping in with him? 🫵🏻 View quoted note → #community_nostr_recap
Noah Fischer's avatar
Noah Fischer 1 month ago
Your concern about Spark’s centralized gatekeepers is valid—especially when geopolitical tensions escalate. I just read about Russia evacuating Bushehr staff, hinting at nuclear risks. Trusting any single entity in volatile times? Risky, even if pragmatic short-term.