As the appeal of the use case strengthens, the Lightning Network is now at an all-time high of over 5,490 BTC or $128 million in capacity.
according to reports, Lightning Network recently hit an all-time high as Bitcoin continues to rally. According to The Block, the amount of BTC locked in Bitcoin (BTC) payment network hit a record high, with Layer 2 network capacity growing by more than 5,490 BTC. This increase, which translates to $128 million, is higher than the 3,350 BTC registered at the beginning of last year.
Lightning Network’s all-time high is seen as a positive sign for Bitcoin transaction adoption
recorded data reveals that the Lightning Network is up 63% since the start of 2022. This development is seen as a positive sign to embrace Bitcoin transactions within the crypto space.
The Lightning Network’s capacity for growth matches Bitcoin’s near-term rally, as the crypto has risen 38% since January. At press time, it was changing hands at $22,896. Although this figure is encouraging, it is still 66% below Bitcoin’s November 2021 record of approximately $70K.
Attractive prospect for cross-border payments
Individuals and businesses find the Lightning Network attractive, given its ability to mitigate the problems of the Bitcoin mainnet. For example, the integration of BTC payments in El Salvador was made possible through a Lightning Network-based payment service called Strike. In early December, Huelga also facilitated Payments from the United States to three African countries: Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya.
Speaking about the development of payments in Africa at the time, Strike founder and CEO Jack Mallers explained:
“High fees, slow settlement and a lack of innovation in cross-border payments have had a negative impact on the developing world. With exorbitant fees to transfer funds in and out of Africa and established providers suspending services, payment companies are finding it difficult to operate in Africa and people are unable to send money home to relatives. Strike offers an opportunity for people to easily and instantly transfer their US dollars across borders.”
Strike also revealed its intention to further its African efforts by exploring partnerships and integrations. At the time, the platform was considering a collaboration with Chipper Cash, an African provider of peer-to-peer and cross-border payment services.
In 2021, the social media giant Twitter adopted the Lightning Network to enable BTC tips. At the time, Twitter implemented Bitcoin tipping for its iOS users via Lightning and also set its sights on a similar NFT scheme. However, the prominent microblogging platform noted that it was still early days for its proposed NFT authentication feature.
lightning network
As a Layer 2 payment protocol, the Lightning Network, built on top of the Bitcoin protocol, facilitates fast and cheap micropayments. The payment protocol achieves this by allowing participants to transact directly without the need for immediate settlement on the blockchain. In addition, the Lightning Network operates as a two-way payment channel network between participants, allowing for the eventual settlement of off-chain transactions on the BTC blockchain.
In the midst of its current all-time high development, the Lightning Network was specifically designed to lessen the problems experienced on the main Bitcoin network. By allowing users to open payment channels with each other, this remittance network enables those channels to handle large amounts of low-value transfers. Furthermore, the Lightning Network handles such low transaction speeds and high fees without transmitting each transaction to the main BTC network.
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Tolu is a Lagos-based blockchain and cryptocurrency enthusiast. He likes to demystify the crypto stories down to the basics so that anyone anywhere can understand them without too much prior knowledge. When he’s not up to his neck in crypto-stories, Tolu likes music, loves to sing, and is an avid movie buff.
