The Bear market is designed to increase the capacity of the Lightning Network layer 2. Despite macroeconomic headwinds and slow price action, the Lightning Network, a Layer 2 payment solution for Bitcoin (BTC), continues to thrive.
Bitcoin Lightning Network has reached 5000 BTC ($96 million). Basically, more and more bitcoins are being implemented into Lightning Network’s payment channels around the world as bitcoins continue to support the growth of the network.
Bitcoin Lightning Network Capability. Source: Look at Bitcoin
The Lightning Network allows users to send bitcoins (or satoshis, the smallest amount of bitcoins) to send or receive money faster and with lower fees. The more bandwidth on the network, the more liquidity is available. As a result, users can enjoy faster payment speeds and higher transaction volumes.
The lighting network, which was first set up in 2018, has recently been exposed to fire. Bitcoin influencers such as Udi Wertheimer have discussed the “failure” of the network, claiming that no one is using the network. However, in June the network capacity reached 4,000 bitcoins, and over the past four years it has become a reliable and popular payment network in El Salvador, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar:
Bitcoin Senegal’s Nuru explains why LN is so important. He told Cointelegraph: “In Senegal, our economy is at 50 CFA francs. That is, the working class and proletarian Senegalese, who make up the majority of the population, buy 50 CFA francs (0.07 euros) of milk, sugar, coffee, water and many other basic products for breakfast.”
“Microtransactions are our economic reality. For bitcoin to become the standard in the coming years and in our economy, the Lightning Network must have enough power to support these microtransactions.”
Nicholas Berti, CEO of Galoy, was one of the first to celebrate reaching 5,000 bitcoins. Bertie told Cointelegraph that the use of Bitcoin in El Salvador was a game changer for the Lightning Network. This is where all the indicators really started to grow.” He joked: “Probably the bill should have been called the Lightning Act!”
Bertie went on to explain that while 5,000 BTC is important, “the speed of payments per channel is growing faster. It’s a much more meaningful metric, but only contract operators can see it, so it’s not visible in the media.”
The Lightning Network, once a favorite among bitcoin enthusiasts, is now a magnet for large companies. MicroStrategy is now hiring a Software Engineer for Bitcoin Lightning. MicroStrategy is the largest bitcoin holder among public companies with 130,000 BTC.
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Elsewhere, Strike, the Bitcoin Lightning company led by Jack Mullers, has raised $80 million to “make revolutionary payments” to merchants. Muellers and Strike have led the plans to adopt Bitcoin for 2021 in El Salvador.
For Nuru, who is hosting the Dakar Bitcoin Days, the first major Bitcoin conference in Senegal in December, this 5,000 Bitcoin milestone is colossal: “The increase in the number of BTC locked to the network and the number of channels open in parallel is another step towards democratizing Bitcoin transactions in the world. .
