According to @TO, the X post asks what a Zap is and references an X thread by Ninjalerts discussing the topic, highlighting community interest in the term (source: @TO on X; Ninjalerts on X). In the Nostr ecosystem, a Zap is a Lightning Network tip attached to a note or profile that transfers satoshis over Bitcoin’s Lightning rails via LN invoices or Lightning addresses (source: Nostr protocol documentation; Lightning Labs documentation). Zap counts and sat volumes are tracked by Nostr analytics to measure engagement and usage, which traders monitor as a real-time signal of Lightning activity around Bitcoin social apps (source: nostr.band analytics; Nostr ecosystem analytics). For trading context, Lightning-based tipping primarily reflects BTC Layer-2 payments usage rather than on-chain demand, influencing Lightning channel liquidity and routing economics more directly than spot flows (source: River Financial Lightning reports; Lightning Labs network analysis).