Cowrie Research

acinq

3 min read

ACINQ

  • Name: ACINQ
  • URL: https://acinq.co/
  • Category: Bitcoin Lightning infrastructure / self-custodial wallet stack / mobile-and-server Lightning software platform
  • Tags: bitcoin-ecosystem
  • Summary: ACINQ is a Lightning software stack with a wallet on top, not just the company behind Phoenix. The useful split is Eclair for server and routing nodes, lightning-kmp for mobile wallet logic, bitcoin-kmp for Bitcoin primitives, Phoenix for end-user distribution, and phoenixd for API-first payment servers. That makes ACINQ a vertically integrated Lightning software shop, not a generic wallet brand.
  • What it does:
    • Develops Eclair, a long-running Scala implementation of the Lightning Network for routing nodes and server-side deployments, with its own HTTP JSON API and operational documentation
    • Maintains lightning-kmp, a Kotlin Multiplatform Lightning implementation explicitly optimized for mobile wallets rather than routing nodes
    • Maintains bitcoin-kmp, a Kotlin Multiplatform Bitcoin library covering transaction creation, signing, verification, scripts, wallets, PSBT, Taproot, and related Bitcoin primitives
    • Operates Phoenix, a self-custodial Bitcoin wallet built by ACINQ for sending and receiving bitcoin over Lightning on iOS and Android
    • Publishes phoenixd, described as the server equivalent of the Phoenix mobile wallet, extending the same stack into Linux, macOS, and Windows/WSL deployments
    • Uses its open-source repo surface to expose both end-user and operator/developer layers, which suggests ACINQ is building a reusable Lightning software stack, not just a branded wallet app
  • Key claims:
    • The ACINQ homepage metadata describes ACINQ as “a Bitcoin technology company with a focus on the Lightning Network”
    • The Phoenix site metadata describes Phoenix as “The Bitcoin wallet from the future,” while the Phoenix README says it is a self-custodial Bitcoin wallet where users hold the keys and use Lightning for faster, cheaper payments
    • The Eclair README describes Eclair as a Scala implementation of the Lightning Network that follows the Lightning Network Specifications (BOLTs) and exposes a feature-rich HTTP API for application developers
    • The lightning-kmp README says it is a Kotlin Multiplatform implementation of the Lightning Network optimized for mobile wallets and explicitly distinguishes itself from Eclair, which is optimized for servers and routing nodes
    • The phoenixd README describes phoenixd as the server equivalent of Phoenix Wallet and links to its homepage and API documentation
    • The ACINQ GitHub org reinforces the platform reading by prominently surfacing Eclair, Phoenix, lightning-kmp, bitcoin-kmp, phoenixd, and related plugins and libraries instead of only a single wallet client
  • Whitepaper: No canonical standalone ACINQ whitepaper or litepaper surfaced in this pass. The clearest current sources of truth are the official ACINQ and Phoenix sites plus ACINQ’s public repositories and READMEs for Eclair, Phoenix, lightning-kmp, bitcoin-kmp, and phoenixd; see ../whitepapers/acinq-primary-sources-2026-04-30.md.
  • Sources:

Internal linkages

Control surface

  • Bitcoin and Lightning are still the rails. ACINQ matters because it decides how much of that operational mess gets exposed versus packaged away.

  • The leverage sits in stack boundaries and defaults: Eclair for server nodes, lightning-kmp for mobile logic, Phoenix and phoenixd for distribution, plus the liquidity, backend, and API choices wrapped around them.

  • Treat ACINQ as a vertically integrated Lightning software shop, not as a generic wallet brand and not as a new protocol.

  • Last reviewed: 2026-06-03 UTC

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