Bitcoin's Lightning Network Now Has 10K Active Nodes and $69M in Locked Value

The network has quietly grown by a factor of two over the past year, with everyday users and major exchanges embracing the scaling technology.

AccessTimeIconApr 5, 2021 at 8:40 p.m. UTC
Updated Aug 19, 2021 at 8:34 a.m. UTC

Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto

The number of nodes on Bitcoin’s Lightning network has nearly doubled year over year, according to public data.

The Lightning Network – a layer atop the Bitcoin blockchain that uses its own special rules to facilitate cheaper, faster transactions – had about 5,335 public nodes in April 2020. Now that number sits at 10,348, a roughly 94% increase. This figure only includes nodes with public connections, however, and the real number is likely higher when factoring nodes with private connections.

  • Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
    13:18
    Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
  • Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
    05:10
    Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
  • The first video of the year 2024
    04:07
    The first video of the year 2024
  • The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
    40:07
    The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
  • As Bitcoin’s on-chain fees grow alongside bitcoin’s price, scaling technologies like Lightning offer users a cheaper and faster way to transact. If bitcoin will ever be used as a day-to-day currency, a scaling solution like Lightning is paramount, and avid bitcoiners even use the network today to purchase goods and services. 

    Consider this Iranian Lightning user who used bitcoin to buy a PlayStation Now pass that is otherwise restricted by sanctions:

    With Bitcoin’s Lightning network seeing more activity than ever, the total number of payment channels on the network (the two-way payment avenues that power Lightning’s plumbing) is now over 45,000. The Lightning Network currently holds 1,185 BTC, worth some $69 million. 

    Lightning Network adoption

    Though introduced in 2017, the past two years have been critical for Lightning’s growth.

    At the end of 2020, crypto exchange Kraken announced it would support the feature. Before Kraken, the only prominent exchanges to adopt Lightning were Bitfinex and the bitcoin-only River Financial. Exchange integrations make it cheaper for their customers to deposit and withdraw bitcoin, often paying cents in fees instead of the single or double-digit dollar amounts they may pay Bitcoin’s main network.

    Since Kraken’s announcement, the U.K.’s CoinCorner, Vietnam’s oldest exchange and OKCoin followed suit with their own Lightning integrations.

    In addition, Jack Mallers’ Strike – a Venmo-esque payment app that uses Lightning to settle USD and other fiat balances – came out of beta this year and is forthcoming full rollouts in a number of markets.

    With businesses adding Lightning, the network’s liquidity and routing capabilities are improving. User-friendly apps like Strike are also making it easier to onboard users to what has historically been an even more unwieldy technology for the uninitiated than Bitcoin.

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.