- Coinbase intends to add Bitcoin’s Lightning network for payments to expand cryptocurrency payment options globally.
- Binance has successfully integrated the Lightning Network into its exchange, allowing users to scale on the layer 2 scale.
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, has confirmed that the crypto exchange is “looking into” incorporating the Bitcoin Lighting network as part of its efforts to advance crypto payments adoption globally.
On July 28, Armstrong took to Twitter (rebranded to X) to address the crypto community, emphasizing the potential of cryptocurrencies to improve global payment infrastructure. He further stated, “This will take lots of work from all of us, Coinbase included, getting layer 22’sintegrated, better on-ramps, simpler UX/onboarding, etc.”
Long-time Bitcoin supporters, including MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor and Square CEO Jack Dorsey, questioned Armstrong’s vision for global crypto payments, citing that the post lacks mention of Bitcoin, as observed in the tweet.
The Lightning Network aims to make Bitcoin transactions cheaper and faster by enabling users to create off-chain transaction channels.
While Saylor simply advised Coinbase to integrate Bitcoin Lightning, Dorsey inquired, “What ‘crypto’ is a better money transmission protocol (than Bitcoin) and why?” Armstrong responded to Dorsey after five days of silence, saying: “Not sure why you think we’re ignoring Bitcoin – we’ve onboarded more people to Bitcoin than any other company in the world.”
Armstrong confirmed that Coinbase was considering adding support for Bitcoin Lightning and reaffirmed the company’s commitment to Bitcoin payments. Dorsey recognized Coinbase’s role in increasing Bitcoin adoption and agreed to collaborate with Armstrong in investing in Bitcoin and layer-2 technologies, adding:
“We want an open protocol for money transmission for the internet that’s not controlled by a single individual, company, or government.”
The two crypto entrepreneurs’ open discussion concluded with both pledging to be on the same team.
Binance completed the integration of the Bitcoin Lightning Network on July 17, less than a month after announcing its intention to do so. Binance users can now deposit and withdraw Bitcoin using the lightning network.
Binance joins Bitfinex, River Financial, OKX, Kraken, and CoinCorner as notable exchanges that have adopted the Lightning Network.
The Lightning Network has over 18,000 nodes as of June 18, 2023. The network capacity, representing the total Bitcoin capacity across all channels, is 5,465.3 BTC, or about $145 billion.
