+Rust-Lightning is a Bitcoin Lightning library written in Rust. The main crate,
+`lightning`, does not handle networking, persistence, or any other I/O. Thus,
+it is runtime-agnostic, but users must implement basic networking logic, chain
+interactions, and disk storage. More information is available in the `About`
+section.
+
+The `lightning-net-tokio` crate implements Lightning networking using the
+[Tokio](https://github.com/tokio-rs/tokio) async runtime.
+
+The `lightning-persister` crate implements persistence for channel data that
+is crucial to avoiding loss of channel funds. Sample modules for persistence of
+other Rust-Lightning data is coming soon.
+
+Status
+------
+
+The project implements all of the BOLT specifications in the 1.0 spec. The
+implementation has pretty good test coverage that is expected to continue to
+improve. It is also anticipated that as developers begin using the API, the
+lessons from that will result in changes to the API, so any developer using this
+API at this stage should be prepared to embrace that. The current state is
+sufficient for a developer or project to experiment with it. Recent increased
+contribution rate to the project is expected to lead to a high quality, stable,
+production-worthy implementation in 2021.
+
+Communications for Rust-Lightning and Lightning Development Kit happens through our LDK
+[slack](https://join.slack.com/t/lightningdevkit/shared_invite/zt-tte36cb7-r5f41MDn3ObFtDu~N9dCrQ) & [discord](https://discord.gg/5AcknnMfBw) channels.
+
+Crates
+-----------
+1. [lightning](./lightning)
+ The Core of the LDK library, implements the lightning protocol, channel state machine,
+ and on-chain logic. Supports no-std and exposes on relatively low-level interfaces.
+2. [lightning-background-processor](./lightning-background-processor)
+ Utilities to perform required background tasks for Rust Lightning.
+3. [lightning-block-sync](./lightning-block-sync)
+ Utilities to fetch the chain data from a block source and feed them into Rust Lightning.
+4. [lightning-invoice](./lightning-invoice)
+ Data structures to parse and serialize BOLT11 lightning invoices.
+5. [lightning-net-tokio](./lightning-net-tokio)
+ Implementation of the rust-lightning network stack using Tokio.
+ For Rust-Lightning clients which wish to make direct connections to Lightning P2P nodes,
+ this is a simple alternative to implementing the required network stack, especially for those already using Tokio.
+6. [lightning-persister](./lightning-persister)
+ Utilities to manage Rust-Lightning channel data persistence and retrieval.
+7. [lightning-rapid-gossip-sync](./lightning-rapid-gossip-sync)
+ Client for rapid gossip graph syncing, aimed primarily at mobile clients.
+
+About
+-----------
+LDK/Rust-Lightning is a generic library which allows you to build a lightning
+node without needing to worry about getting all of the lightning state machine,
+routing, and on-chain punishment code (and other chain interactions) exactly
+correct. Note that Rust-Lightning isn't, in itself, a node. There are various
+working/in progress demos which could be used as a node today, but if you "just"
+want a generic lightning node, you're almost certainly better off with
+`c-lightning`/`lnd` - if, on the other hand, you want to integrate lightning
+with custom features such as your own chain sync, your own key management, your
+own data storage/backup logic, etc., LDK is likely your only option. Some
+Rust-Lightning utilities such as those in `chan_utils` are also suitable for use
+in non-LN Bitcoin applications such as DLCs and bulletin boards.