Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the exchange is working on integrating the Bitcoin ( BTC ) Lightning Network (LN) as part of efforts to boost global cryptocurrency payments, according to an Aug. 2 tweet.
Armstrong made the statement in response to a tweet from Twitter co-founder Jack, who questioned why Coinbase has neglected the implementation of the Lightning Network as it attempts to further develop crypto payment options.
Armstrong responded:
“We are working on how best to add lightning. It’s not easy, but I think it’s worth doing, and I fully support the development of bitcoin payments.”
LN is a "layer 2" payment protocol built on top of Bitcoin. This scaling solution enables faster and cheaper transactions between nodes and aims to solve BTC scalability issues, thereby improving user experience and potentially driving wider adoption of the flagship digital asset. It is also the most popular BTC L2 solution.
Armstrong did not provide further information on when the Coinbase integration would occur.
In April, Coinbase CEO hinted that the exchange would integrate LN into its platform after several community members questioned the exchange’s lack of scaling solutions.
Meanwhile, Binance joined other top exchanges like Bitfinex, Kraken, and OKX in integrating L2 solutions in July.
BTC Lightning Network adoption continues to grow
Lightning Network adoption has been growing since the beginning of the year, as evidenced by the recent partnership between Bitcoin lightning infrastructure provider Voltage and Google Cloud to increase its global hosting capacity and locations.
Glassnode data further shows that the total value of assets locked on the network peaked at over 5,000 BTC in early July. Considering that the number of Bitcoins on the network was around 4,000 at the beginning of the year, this represents significant growth for the network.
However, TVL has dropped by over 600 BTC in recent weeks to 4,706 BTC at press time.
