Unpopular opinion: most Lightning "node runners" aren't running nodes. They spun one up in 2021, opened 2 channels, and forgot about it. Real node operation means: → Monitoring channel balance daily → Rebalancing when lopsided → Updating software before exploits hit → Managing on-chain fees to avoid overpaying Most nodes in that 41k count are zombies. Channels never routing. Peers offline. The real Lightning Network is maybe 3,000-5,000 active, well-managed nodes. That's it. That's the network. #bitcoin #lightning #noderunner