Биржи задают темп для Lightning Network: новые рекорды и рост ликвидности Exchanges Set the Pace for Lightning Network: New Records and Liquidity Surge

The capacity of the Lightning Network (LN) has reached an all-time high, driven by the adoption of the solution by major exchanges and technical improvements.

On December 15, the metric hit 5606 BTC, surpassing the previous record set in March 2023.

The analytical platform Amboss noted on December 16 a peak value of 5637 BTC (approximately $490 million). According to 1ML, the current figure stands at 5287 BTC (~$457.7 million).

The significant increase in capacity in November and December followed a year of stagnation. The rise in the amount of Bitcoin on the network indicates a demand for faster and cheaper transactions.

As per Bitcoin Visuals, the number of active nodes is at 14,940, which is significantly lower than the peak of March 2022 (20,700).

The number of payment channels has also decreased compared to the peaks of three years ago, now totaling 48,678.

These figures suggest a liquidity influx into the LN that is not matched by a corresponding infrastructure expansion, reflected in the number of nodes and channels.

Amboss emphasized that the influx of funds into the Lightning Network has become a widespread trend rather than actions taken by individual participants.

Experts believe that the surge in metrics is attributed to the activity of major exchanges. Specifically, Binance and OKX have significantly increased their liquidity in the micropayment network this month.

The issuer of stablecoins, Tether, led an $8 million funding round for the startup Speed. The project team will utilize the funds to launch payments in stablecoins via LN.

Meanwhile, the popular Web3 wallet MetaMask has added support for Bitcoin. Transactions will be conducted using SegWit address format.

The Lightning Labs team has released an update for the Taproot Assets protocol. Key changes in version 0.7 include support for reusable addresses, tools for a complete audit of issued assets, and enhanced transaction stability.

This solution enables the issuance and management of financial assets like stablecoins on the blockchain of the original cryptocurrency. Taproot Assets combines the reliability of Bitcoin with the efficiency of the Lightning Network, offering an alternative to stablecoins on centralized platforms and providing users with instant transfers and low fees within a secure environment.

The new functionality allows users to independently verify the volume of issued assets, eliminating the need to trust third parties.

Lightning Labs believes that with this upgrade, the combination of Bitcoin and the LN is gradually transforming into a global network that supports multiple assets.

“With this release, we are laying the groundwork for a trillion-dollar turnover,” the developers stated.

It is worth noting that in May, the fintech company Revolut launched LN payments.