This is a guest post by Andrew Lonero.
Bitcoin’s Lightning Network is more than just an improvement to Bitcoin’s scalability—it is a tool for financial sovereignty, global coordination, and rapid economic response. By enabling fast, low-cost transactions, Lightning expands Bitcoin’s utility beyond simple payments. It creates an opportunity for individuals to not only manage their own funds, but also contribute to a decentralized financial infrastructure that can be used to dynamically respond to crises.
When discussing financial sovereignty, much of the conversation revolves around individual control and censorship resistance. Yet, another powerful aspect of the Lightning Network is its ability to rapidly facilitate payments in times of need—whether for personal transactions, grassroots fundraising, or disaster response. Unlike traditional banking systems, which can be slow, costly, and exclusionary, the Bitcoin Lightning Network allows for direct, instant, and borderless transactions, making it a uniquely effective tool in emergency situations.
Deploying Liquidity as an Act of Support
When the LA fires broke out on January 7th, 2025, I found myself in a familiar position: I wanted to help, but I really can’t donate a bunch of money right now. However, shifting around liquidity to ensure another person (or node) was in a position to receive a lot of incoming payments? That’s totally something I could do.
To use a fiat example, imagine you have $10,000 in a bank account and that represents most of your life savings. A disaster strikes the town next to you and people you know, but maybe don’t know well, are suddenly struggling and suffering. You want to help. How do you help? How much do you help? Of course, you could send a $10 or a $100 donation to the cause, and you probably should do that if you can provide that relief without material injury to yourself or those dependent upon you; however, what if you could do more with what you have? Although you probably shouldn’t donate $1,000 or $5,000, what if you could put that amount of money or liquidity to work in order to help the cause while retaining full custodial control of those funds? This is how opening channels on the Bitcoin Lightning Network can work to provide outsized help and relief far beyond what one might be comfortable directly donating to a cause. Particularly, this mechanism represents a way that people who have limited liquid funds and savings can suddenly have a stronger and faster impact on providing help to emergencies including natural and political disasters.
By opening a Lightning channel with someone coordinating donations on the ground, I didn’t just send a small contribution; rather, I created a bridge for countless other donations to flow through, thus enabling those transactions. My channel allowed money to move quickly and efficiently to those who needed it most. Moreover, I decided to set the fees on my side of the channel to zero, meaning that I was not profiting through this, more donations arrived with less slippage, and more transactions took the route through my node than through more expensive channels. As of this writing, this particular channel has had 242.42% activity through it, meaning that the channel itself has routed more funds through it than the channel holds. By deploying directed liquidity in this way, my funds facilitated the transfer of many times their own value, multiplying the impact of my contribution in a way that traditional banking simply cannot match. This is the power of the Lightning Network: it enables decentralized, rapid responses to crises. Instead of relying solely on large organizations to distribute aid, individuals can take direct action by creating liquidity pathways that allow funds to move efficiently and at low cost in a time of need.
A Future Model for Disaster Relief
Current fundraising platforms, while effective in reaching large audiences, come with inherent limitations. Platforms like GoFundMe and PayPal often take substantial fees, impose restrictions on payouts, and rely on centralized banking rails that can delay fund distribution. In some cases, accounts collecting donations for disaster victims have even been frozen or delayed due to compliance concerns. Meanwhile, large NGOs and international aid organizations operate with many layers of bureaucracy, meaning donations may take days or weeks to reach those in crisis. The Lightning Network presents an alternative. Imagine a world where, at the onset of a disaster, individuals could immediately deploy liquidity and channels to nodes in affected areas, creating financial bridges that allow money to move fluidly. These decentralized response networks would enable near-instant distribution of funds to relief coordinators, small businesses, and individuals impacted by the crisis. This model doesn’t replace traditional fundraising—it enhances it. Organizations could still fundraise globally, but instead of waiting for centralized disbursement, they could direct Bitcoin and Lightning payments to trusted coordinators in real-time. This approach would complement existing aid models while reducing friction, eliminating unnecessary fees, and ensuring a more equitable distribution of funds.
Beyond Disasters: Broader Implications for Financial Resilience
Disaster relief is just one use case. The same principles apply to financial crises, political upheaval, and humanitarian efforts worldwide. In places where banking systems fail or governments impose capital controls, the ability to move money quickly and permissionlessly can be life-changing. Lightning liquidity is an under-explored, but critical resource. By keeping funds active in public channels, individuals not only preserve their own financial sovereignty, but also contribute to a more robust and resilient payment network. This is a paradigm shift in how we think about savings—not just as personal reserves, but as an active contribution to a decentralized financial system that actively benefits others. This is a much more useful way of storing wealth and monetary potential energy than idly in a bank account. The Lightning Network isn’t just about payments; it’s about empowerment, connection, and resilience. By rethinking how we deploy and utilize financial resources, we can build a more responsive and equitable system for addressing crises as they happen throughout the world.
Whether through small, fast payments or decentralized disaster relief, the Lightning Network is a powerful tool for creating meaningful change in our world.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Progressive Bitcoiner, Inc.
