Bitcoin Lightning Network growth capacity plateaus at 3,400 BTC
Following an exponential climb in capacity over 2022, the Bitcoin (BTC) Lightning Network made a lackluster start to the new year. According to a report by Arcane Research, growth in the Lightning Network capacity, or the number of BTC locked up in channels, has stuttered.
The Lightning Network surged from 1,000 to 3,000 BTC in just 8 months in 2021, striking the 3,000 BTC mark in mid-October.
While the network continues to strike all-time highs, growth grinds down. The total BTC locked in the network is peaking just shy of the 3,500 BTC mark, sparking debate and discussion on social media.
As a quick refresher, the Lightning Network is one answer to the scalability issue that plagued the Bitcoin protocol. Lightning allows instant and super low-cost off-chain transactions; however, it requires Bitcoin to be locked up in payment channels distributed across lightning nodes.
Lightning Network activity soared in 2021, primarily thanks to El Salvador onboarding a whole country and Twitter integrating Bitcoin Lightning tipping. In an October report, Arcane Research predicted that there would be 700 million Lightning Network users by 2030.
So why has growth slowed in 2022? Bitcoin Lightning Network+ Twitter account stated that platforms such as Umbrel (an easy to set up node and lightning node service), sent initial growth to the moon. Naturally, due to S curve growth, it would have to plateau.
Danny Scott, CEO and Co-Founder at CoinCorner, the UK’s leading lightning exchange, told Cointelegraph:
S-curve adoption plateaus to one side, he notes that “December is a holiday period for many around the world and often when the Bitcoin industry slows down.”
Rene Pickhardt, co-author of the “Mastering the Lightning Network” book,
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