Redemption for sats = shitcoin. Why? Cashu is not actually bitcoin. It's a token, redeemable for bitcoin. Maybe I should make my own utility token too and call it bitcoin. Worked for cashu....

It's built on top of Bitcoin though. With this argument one could argue that Lightning isn't bitcoin either.

Lightning - Bitcoin is first locked into a payment channel on the main Bitcoin blockchain. Once the channel is open, users can conduct an unlimited number of transactions off-chain within that channel. Cashu - Utility tokens that are redeemable for Bitcoin. They are an IOU or digital cash equivalent secured by a trusted (or federated) mint, which is a key difference from holding the Bitcoin itself in your non-custodial wallet. This introduces an element of custody and trust in the mint operator that is not present in running a node.