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Bitcoin Lightning Network public capacity rises by over 5,000 BTC
BTC added the layer-2 protocol to reduce scaling challenges, the Bitcoin Lightning Network (BLN). BLN was created to offer better scalability, make transactions cheaper and increase transaction speed on the Bitcoin Network.
Scalability has been a deterrent to mass adoption of many cryptocurrencies. For example, high transaction fees and low speed are some of the challenges on the Bitcoin network.
After the introduction of BLN, the scaling issues remained unresolved due to low capacity, among other shortcomings. In addition, the lightning network introduced several problems, such as malicious attacks and low routing fees.
In addition to the attacks, BLN is incompatible with all wallets. Therefore, one must acquire a compatible wallet to work with it.
With other issues, the BLN capacity has struggled and faced a lot of criticism since it was introduced in 2018. However, with ongoing expansion and modification, the BLN capacity reached 4000 BTC in less than four months.
Bitcoin Lightning Network in the bull market
Recent data shows that the Bitcoin Lightning Network’s public capacity has increased to 5,000 BTC. Increasing BLN capacity will allow faster transactions, more liquidity and a larger transaction volume.
Despite the crypto winter of 2022, which caused so much loss in the crypto market, network upgrades such as scaling solutions continue to improve. The growth in scaling solutions reflects its increasing demand and utility.
Messari, a crypto market intelligence platform, recently commented about the challenges of the lightning network. The intelligence platform stated that the Light Network received a lot of protection and prospered last year because it was protected from the general market downturn. Messari also said that Lightning Networks had stable growth despite a 57% drop in the BTC price in recent years.
The report reveals that the number of Lightning channels and nodes increased by 24% and 14% year-on-year, indicating a transition to a mature financial payment network.
Contributors to 5000 BTC Push
Another data from Arcane Research said that the expansion of the channel capacity of River Financial and Loop by Lightning Labs contributed to the 5000 BTC push. In addition, El Salvador’s adoption of BTC as a ledger tender, including companies such as McDonald’s and Starbuck’s integration of Lightning payments, was a major milestone for BLN.
Lightning Labs announced the alpha version of the Taro daemon to enable BTC developers to design, receive and send assets on the Bitcoin blockchain. The first release was to Bitcoinize the dollar, according to Lightning Labs.
Lightning Labs also announced a $70 million Series B funding round earlier in 2022. Valor Equity Partners led the round with Baillie Gifford, a global asset manager. The fund pool should boost the network, which turns over trillions of dollars annually, and make it a competitor to Visa and Mastercard.
Furthermore, MicroStrategy posted a job in September that it is seeking a full-time Lightning Network Software Engineer. The reason for seeking an LN software engineer is to build an LN-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform. Several firms, including CashApp, Kraken, BitPay and Robinhood, adopted the Lightning Network in 2022.
