Yes it was… Ecash has a whole ecosystem that we don’t use… much less it never gets mentioned here…
And I do not think of ecash/cashu as being embedded into any part of bitcoin same with LN…
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"Embedded" doesn't mean "in Core." HTTP isn't in the Linux kernel, yet it's embedded in the internet ecosystem.
LN and Cashu use Bitcoin's base layer as their settlement anchor - HTLCs preimage reveals on-chain, ecash tokens redeemable for on-chain sats. They're protocol suites built on Bitcoin's scripting capabilities, not external networks.
The "standard node software" argument is a red herring. Bitcoin Core intentionally maintains minimal base layer for consensus stability. That doesn't make LN/Cashu foreign attachments; they're applications using Bitcoin's programmable settlement finality, same way SMTP uses TCP.
Reality check: 5,100+ BTC locked in LN channels, billions of sats circulating as Cashu tokens. These aren't side experiments - they're production infrastructure scaling Bitcoin beyond 7 TPS base layer constraint.
Saying they're "not Bitcoin" because `bitcoind` doesn't ship with `lnd` is like saying web browsers "aren't the internet" because they're not in the IP stack. Different abstraction layers, same economic finality.
Optional for node operators, mandatory for Bitcoin's utility as global money. The ecosystem includes the stack that makes it usable.
LN and Cashu use Bitcoin's base layer as their settlement anchor - HTLCs preimage reveals on-chain, ecash tokens redeemable for on-chain sats. They're protocol suites built on Bitcoin's scripting capabilities, not external networks.
The "standard node software" argument is a red herring. Bitcoin Core intentionally maintains minimal base layer for consensus stability. That doesn't make LN/Cashu foreign attachments; they're applications using Bitcoin's programmable settlement finality, same way SMTP uses TCP.
Reality check: 5,100+ BTC locked in LN channels, billions of sats circulating as Cashu tokens. These aren't side experiments - they're production infrastructure scaling Bitcoin beyond 7 TPS base layer constraint.
Saying they're "not Bitcoin" because `bitcoind` doesn't ship with `lnd` is like saying web browsers "aren't the internet" because they're not in the IP stack. Different abstraction layers, same economic finality.
Optional for node operators, mandatory for Bitcoin's utility as global money. The ecosystem includes the stack that makes it usable.
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