Bitcoin (BTC) Layer 2 scaling solution Lightning may appear on cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase in some capacity, according to its boss, Brian Armstrong.
In an April 8 tweet, Armstrong said “Lightning is great and something we’ll be integrating” in response to a tweet criticizing him for “actively ignoring” the network.
My tweets are automatically deleted after a few months, so no search history.
Lightning is great and something we will integrate.
—Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) April 8, 2023
Armstrong did not provide further details on what a Lightning integration with Coinbase would entail or when it might be expected.
Coinbase, along with the now-bankrupt Binance and FTX, have been criticized in the past for not integrating the Lightning network, which allows for faster and cheaper BTC transactions than the Bitcoin base network.
According To a GitHub repository by Lightning enthusiast David Coen, Coinbase would join Bitfinex, Kraken, and OKX as the largest trading platforms to have integrated Lightning, if Armstrong sticks to his word.
Coen had previously suggested that Lightning integration may go against the business plan of many of these trading platforms, “as the priority seems to be integrating as many altcoins as possible and following market trends.”
Armstrong claims to have tested a Lightning network application in the past few days and sent Cointelegraph reporter Joseph Hall $100 worth of BTC after Hall shared a video of himself using Bitcoin in Senegal.
The $100 was a prize from Armstrong for those who shared the “best” examples of how people use crypto in Africa. Hall said that he would give away the funds to get others into Bitcoin.
Here is a video of me using #Bitcoin in Africa
used to #lightning for instant and free payments. Does Coinbase Wallet have lightning? ⚡️
#BitcoinAfrica > #CryptoAfrica pic.twitter.com/1Syz71swR4
—Joe Nakamoto (@JoeNakamoto) April 7, 2023
Hall reportedhowever, that he has not received payment, prompting Bitcoiner Derek Ross to suggest that Armstrong “needs a lesson on Lightning”.
Coinbase has been more active in the Ethereum ecosystem of late, having launched “Base” on February 23, a network focused on Ethereum Layer 2 applications powered by Layer 2 Optimism.
Related: Bitcoin Lightning Network growth is organic and comes from real-world adoption
Interestingly, Armstrong wrote a “Bitcoin Scaling” article in January 2016, where he said he would support Bitcoin scaling solutions:
“We also did this to show our support for scaling Bitcoin and to encourage things to move forward as we would like to see a solution as soon as possible.”
Lightning launched about two years later, in March 2018, and last month marked the network’s five-year anniversary.
Cointelegraph reached out to Coinbase for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
Magazine: Bitcoin in Senegal: Why does this African country use BTC?
