Lightning Loop vs Maya Protocol
It is a trade-off. Lightning Loop has the higher Safety grade (8.0 against 7.0), while Maya Protocol has the higher Privacy grade (8.5 against 7.8).
Lightning Loop
Lightning Labs' non-custodial submarine swap service for moving sats between Lightning and on-chain
Privacy
7.8/ 10
Strong
Safety
8.0/ 10
Strong
No ID mentioned KYC 1 Docs reviewed Full review →
Maya Protocol
THORChain-style cross-chain liquidity protocol with native BTC, ZEC and DASH pools
Privacy
8.5/ 10
Excellent
Safety
7.0/ 10
Strong
ID never required KYC 0 Docs reviewed Full review →
Side by side
| Lightning Loop | Maya Protocol | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Instant Swaps | Instant Swaps |
| KYC policy | No ID mentioned | ID never required |
| Custody | Non Custodial | Non Custodial |
| Sign-up | No account needed | No account needed |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Tor onion address | No | No |
| Coins | BTC | BTC, ETH, ZEC, DASH, ADA, RUNE, CACAO, ARB |
| Pay with | Crypto, Lightning | Crypto |
| Fees | Loop service fee varying with on-chain conditions, plus on-chain and routing fees; 30,000-sat no-show prepayment on Loop Out | Fixed outbound fee plus a dynamic liquidity (slip-based) fee, per the docs |
| Founded | 2019 | Not published |
| Incidents on record | 0 | 0 |
| Published tests (180 days) | 0 | 0 |
Only Lightning Loop
Accepts Lightning5+ years operating
Both
No registrationNo email neededNo phone neededNon-custodialOpen source
Only Maya Protocol
Nothing distinct
Where they sit among instant swaps
Questions
Is Lightning Loop or Maya Protocol safer?
Lightning Loop has the higher Safety grade: Lightning Loop 8.0, Maya Protocol 7.0, out of 10.
Does Lightning Loop or Maya Protocol require KYC?
Lightning Loop is KYC level 1 (no ID mentioned). Maya Protocol is KYC level 0 (ID never required).
Which has more incidents on record?
Lightning Loop has 0 and Maya Protocol has 0 documented incidents in the registry.