Amidst the increasing adoption of cryptocurrencies, various platforms are embracing the Lightning Network, a layer 2 solution for Bitcoin (BTC). Binance, facing congestion issues during peak trading volumes, has chosen to integrate this technology. Following a similar path, Coinbase is also showing interest in moving in this direction.
Notably, influential advocates of Bitcoin, such as Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Block, and Michael Saylor, the executive chairman of MicroStrategy, have been seen urging Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, to adopt the Lightning Network. Dorsey openly accused Armstrong and Coinbase of neglecting BTC and the Lightning Network recently. However, Armstrong has denied these accusations and clarified Coinbase’s stance on the implementation of this layer 2 payments protocol.
Based on the mentioned tweet, Coinbase is reportedly exploring ways to incorporate the Lightning Network. In response to Jack Dorsey’s comments, Brian Armstrong countered by highlighting that Coinbase has introduced more people to BTC than perhaps any other company globally.
Armstrong has faced previous accusations of neglecting Bitcoin’s layer 2 payments protocol, and in April, he stated that they see the value in Lightning and plan to integrate it. However, since then, there have been no further updates or progress on the integration.
The process of integrating the Bitcoin Lightning Network seems to be quite challenging. David Marcus, CEO of Lightspark, known for his involvement in Facebook’s crypto venture, recently expressed that developing software based on the Lightning Network protocol is extremely difficult and complex. He stated that building on Lightning and Bitcoin is likely at least 5 times harder than building with other protocols.
Unleashing the Power of Bitcoin
At present, the capacity of the Bitcoin Lightning Network is 4.727 BTC. This capacity represents the total combined capacity of all nodes that operate within the Lightning Network, giving an overview of the available capacity within the network as a whole. It’s worth noting that the price of Bitcoin experienced a notable decline after the Lightning Network achieved a new capacity milestone of 5,630 BTC in June 2023. Nevertheless, there is potential for Coinbase to increase this capacity by integrating the Lightning Network into its platform.
