Binance starts whipping up Bitcoin Lightning Network nodes

Quick Take

  • Binance confirmed Tuesday it has started the process of integrating the Lightning Network.
  • They would join rivals Kraken and Bitfinex who have already integrated it.

Crypto exchange Binance confirmed on Tuesday that it has started running nodes on the Bitcoin Lightning Network as part of its plan to integrate it for deposits and withdrawals.

"Some eagle-eyed users spotted our new lightning nodes recently," Binance said in a tweet. "Yes - that's us! However, there's still more tech work to be done. We'll update once Lightning is fully integrated."

The exchange first said it was planning to integrate the network in a tweet on May 8. This was in response to congestion it faced on the main Bitcoin network.

The Layer 2 network, which is meant to lower costs and increase throughput of transactions on Bitcoin, has already been integrated by rival exchanges including Kraken and Bitfinex.

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Bitcoin's Lightning Network can support 1 million transactions per second. The network's capacity has been increasing steadily over the last year, according to data from The Block's data dashboard. 

At last check, it stood at $148 million. 


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