What Bitcoin Lightning L402 requires
L402 (formerly LSAT - Lightning Service Authentication Token) is a protocol standard developed by Lightning Labs that enables HTTP 402 Payment Required responses to be resolved via Bitcoin Lightning Network micropayments, allowing servers to monetize API access at the sub-cent level in a fully programmatic, machine-to-machine flow. The protocol combines Lightning Network invoice payment with macaroon-based access tokens (caveat-bearer tokens derived from macaroon cryptography), enabling pay-per-request, pay-per-session, and capability-scoped access models. L402 is foundational to AI agent commerce because it enables agents to autonomously purchase data, compute, or services without requiring pre-registered accounts or OAuth flows. Misconfigured L402 implementations can result in replay attacks (if preimage verification is skipped), privilege escalation (if macaroon caveats are not enforced server-side), or budget drain (if payment is accepted without corresponding service delivery).
Pillar: Crypto & Sovereign Finance · Authority: Lightning Labs / Bitcoin Standard · Version: 1.1.1 · Last updated:
Primary source: https://lightning.engineering/api-docs/api/lnd/lightning/add-invoice
SHA-256 integrity: 36a730e27a4bf702c7a70dfceae455eeb860964a7d26b4b1af6163d4fbe16fa0
Primary Citations — 6 traced to source
- Lightning Labs L402 Specification: Protocol standard for Lightning Service Authentication Tokens (LSAT), defining HTTP 402 monetization.
- Google Research 'Macaroons: Cookies with Contextual Caveats for Decentralized Authorization in the Cloud' (2014): Foundational cryptography for L402 caveat-bearer tokens.
+ 4 more citations (full bibliography, deterministic workflow, actionable schema and crosswalks) included in the vault unlock — $0.01 via Skyfire / L402 / Direct Base USDC.
Access
- Discovery (free): /api/v1/nodes/bitcoin-lightning-l402.json — 6-field metadata
- Vault (full node): /api/v1/vault/nodes/bitcoin-lightning-l402.json — full 13-key payload, $0.01 USDC (L402/Skyfire/Direct Base)
- Canonical URL: https://bidda.com/intelligence/bitcoin-lightning-l402
- Back to registry: Browse all 10,085 compliance nodes