At first, holding Bitcoin on your balance sheet seemed like the boldest move you could make as a business. Companies gain exposure to a rare and valued asset with the belief that it is the best form of money. But today, a new paradigm is emerging: using Bitcoin as a currency, and not just as a long-term reserve of assets. Through the Lightning Network, Bitcoin treasury companies can start earning native, non-custodial yield by supporting the payments infrastructure itself, a comprehensive step forward for businesses looking to implement their BTC treasury strategy.
In the short term, Bitcoin treasury companies gain a new source of yield by deploying idle BTC into Lightning liquidity channels, thereby earning routing fees and trading volume rewards. They also improve cash flow efficiency by keeping capital liquid and income-generating, rather than holding it passively. This transforms their Bitcoin from a dormant store of value into productive digital capital that compounds both financial and strategic returns.
The ability to leverage native Bitcoin payments to grow revenue is important beyond just yield. It aligns the incentives of treasurers, payment companies, and Bitcoin’s broader mission: the more companies route payments and provide liquidity, the better the Lightning Network becomes, encouraging greater usage, adoption, and value. The Bitcoin-as-money payments stack is no longer hypothetical. This week, Square announced that starting November 10, all four million small businesses with Square terminals will be allowed to accept Bitcoin payments via Lightning. Earlier this year, during Bitcoin 2025, Cash App reported that already 25% of its Bitcoin payments were processed via Lightning.
This combination – treasury companies deploying Bitcoin as productive capital, plus increasing payment volume through a Lightning-enabled merchant – represents a powerful inflection point for the Bitcoin economy.
From passive reserve to active utility
What does this look like in practice? A treasury company holding Bitcoin can lend or deploy this liquidity into the Lightning Network. They can sell liquidity to market participants, new entrants, payment issuers, consumer wallets, who need inbound or outbound channel depth, using tools like Amboss. As payments move through the network, treasurers also earn a routing fee: each payment transferred is a small reward, which grows with scale.
Unlike custodial yield products (which often introduce counterparty risk or centralized control), this yield is native to the network. Custody is still maintained by simply placing liquidity in the network and letting market participants pass through the user node. Not only does this respect Bitcoin’s philosophy of sovereignty, but it also improves Bitcoin’s utility.
Consider two pieces of evidence:
- LQWD (a publicly traded company) disclosed an annualized return of 24% in its filings. Their conservative core models illustrate how routing and providing liquidity can produce significant returns.
- Cash application/blocking publicly highlighted a 9.79% return on Lightning: The growth in payments processed by Lightning suggests upward pressure on liquidity demand, which generates a direct increase in revenue for liquidity providers and node operators.
These case studies confirm that bitcoin non-custodial yield is not theoretical, that it is happening now, and that the momentum is real.
The virtuous circle: payments, liquidity and network growth
As more merchants accept Bitcoin via Lightning, the volume of payments increases and with it the need for liquidity that treasury companies are uniquely positioned to provide. This increasing demand for liquidity fuels more routing activity, which in turn improves node performance, channel connectivity, latency, and reliability across the network.
A recent report from Fidelity Digital Assets highlights how Lightning expands Bitcoin’s use cases from a passive store of value to an active, scalable medium of exchange, in which liquidity providers play a central role in improving the payment experience. Better infrastructure attracts more users and smooth transactions, reinforcing a growth flywheel rooted in fixed supply and Bitcoin’s utility as a sound currency.
This flywheel works through alignment: treasury companies deploy capital, merchants adopt Lightning, and users seek instant, low-cost settlement. The recent integration of Cash App and Square could be the most significant catalyst yet, connecting millions of merchants to this network in one radical move.
Why this yield is unlike any other
- Non-depository: Treasury users/companies never give up control. The return comes organically from the public service of the network and not from trust in a third party.
- Native composition of Bitcoin: The asset that users and treasury companies hold is the income-generating asset. There is no exchange or conversion of tokens; Bitcoin does all the work of the network.
- Scarcity leverage: With Bitcoin capped at 21 million, each additional unit of productive capital takes on more meaning in a world where network usage is increasing.
- Network Alignment: Yield via routing directly strengthens the health of Lightning payments infrastructure, leading to less friction, more liquidity, and better UX.
- Benefits of Scalability: Since each payment and route added is additive, the yield opportunity scales as the network scales.
These properties contrast sharply with fixed returns, staking derivatives or interest-bearing deposit accounts, which often introduce centralization, dilution or counterparty risk.
Challenges and safeguards
This model is not without challenges, however.
Operating Lightning Network nodes requires technical expertise to manage channel strategies, manage failed HTLCs (Hash Time Locked Contracts), and rebalance liquidity, although B2B enterprise solutions can simplify these challenges, allowing businesses to avoid having to deal with this complexity.
Misplaced cash risks leaving opportunities unused or missed, exposing capital to inefficiencies. Network congestion and competitive rate undercutting can squeeze routing costs, making a differentiated strategy and strong reputation critical to success. At the same time, volatility in the Bitcoin market, driven by unpredictable macroeconomic changes, presents risks for liquidity providers, even if returns are denominated in Bitcoin.
Nonetheless, these risks represent operational and infrastructure challenges that are well understood in the Lightning community; the benefits are worth navigating.
Shifting from the HODL-only mindset
If you manage a Bitcoin treasury, now is the time to move from passive reserve to active participant. Don’t just HODL, put your Bitcoin to work on the network. Evaluate your node strategy. Collaborate with Lightning infrastructure providers. Explore new routing strategies. Assert your rights in the Bitcoin payment layer.
The convergence we’re seeing, from Cash App’s push toward Lightning payments to the growing native yield opportunity, marks the beginning of the Lightning era for treasuries. Companies that focus now will reap the benefits: efficiency, differentiation and mission alignment in one package.
When treasuries stop treating Bitcoin as a static asset and start using it as a living network, they discover what’s been there forever: a yield engine fueled by real payments, not speculation.
