Boltz is a non-custodial exchange founded by Kilian and Michael in 2019 with a mainnet launch in April 2019. It facilitates swaps between the Bitcoin base chain, the Lightning Network, and the Liquid Network. The idea for Boltz originated when Kilian was working on a Lightning-based decentralized exchange and realized the challenges of keeping Lightning channels balanced. The core principle of Boltz is to be a trustless bridge between Bitcoin layers, providing users with a seamless experience without the need to trust intermediaries.
The launch of Liquid Swaps in May 2023 marked a significant milestone for Boltz, targeting professional users in a fee-sensitive environment. The introduction of Ordinals caused Bitcoin transaction fees to skyrocket, leading to operational challenges for Boltz. However, Liquid Swaps provided a solution for users to obtain inbound liquidity on Lightning, tackling the issues caused by high transaction fees. In addition to Liquid Swaps, Boltz’s swap service supports the Aqua Wallet, enabling Liquid to Lightning swaps, and is integrated into the Breez Wallet for on-chain swaps.
Boltz utilizes Atomic Swaps, specifically Submarine Swaps, which employ hash time-locked contracts (HTLC) to ensure simultaneous and trustless transactions across Bitcoin layers. A major enhancement called Taproot Swaps introduced in January 2023 made refunds on failed Lightning transactions more efficient and enhanced privacy by obfuscating information on-chain. Despite concerns about privacy, Boltz emphasizes being a “privacy-respecting” solution that minimizes information collection to what is necessary for the swap process.
Looking ahead, Boltz aims to be the bridge between Bitcoin layers, connecting various layer 2 sidechains and different layers within the Bitcoin ecosystem. Lightning remains a primary focus for Boltz, serving as the connecting tissue between Bitcoin layers. The platform recently launched a new client to automate the rebalancing of Lightning nodes, emphasizing ease of use and user experience. Kilian reiterated Boltz’s commitment to being the simplest and most user-friendly platform for non-custodial Bitcoin swaps across layers in the evolving Bitcoin ecosystem.
