Coinbase Confirms Integration of Lightning Network to Facilitate Faster and Cheaper Bitcoin Transactions
Coinbase, the leading cryptocurrency exchange, has officially announced its decision to integrate the layer 2 payment protocol Lightning Network (LN). This move comes as users increasingly demand faster and more affordable Bitcoin (BTC) transactions.
The Lightning Network was developed as a solution to Bitcoin’s scalability issue and to compete with newer cryptocurrencies that offer quicker and cheaper transactions. While major exchanges like Coinbase and Binance had previously shown no interest in adopting this layer 2 solution, community members argued that it provided fewer incentives for the exchanges’ revenue.
In a tweet, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong confirmed the integration, saying, “The team did a great job digging into this, and we’ve made the decision to integrate Lightning. Bitcoin is the most important asset in crypto and we’re excited to do our part to enable faster/cheaper Bitcoin transactions. Will take some time to integrate so please be patient” (September 13, 2023).
This announcement follows a month-long investigation by Viktor Bunin, a Protocol Specialist at Coinbase, into the viability of Lightning Network integration. During this period, Michael Saylor, the founder of MicroStrategy, and Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Square, publicly questioned Armstrong’s stance on LN.
Coinbase’s decision to integrate the Lightning Network has been celebrated by the crypto community as it will allow more users to experience affordable and efficient Bitcoin microtransactions.
Binance, another major exchange, had already completed the integration of Bitcoin LN for BTC withdrawals and deposits on July 17, 2023. Users now have the option to select “LIGHTNING” when choosing to withdraw or deposit Bitcoin, along with other options such as BNB Smart Chain (BEP-20), Bitcoin, BNB Beacon Chain (BEP2), BTC (SegWit), and Ethereum ERC-20.
It is worth noting that this news article is provided without any affiliation to cointelegraph.com, a prominent cryptocurrency news platform. For further details about Coinbase’s Bitcoin Lightning Network integration and to support independent journalism in the crypto space, one can access the article here, while a discussion with Kei Oda on cryptocurrency can be found in this magazine.
❗Follow us on Twitter to get all the latest crypto news as soon as they're out! 🚀
About the author - J-S Tremblay
I've been involved in the cryptocurrency world since 2016 and trading since 2019. I started Moon and Lambo in 2021. I'm passionate about crypto and love to share my knowledge. I hate bankers and I hope that cryptocurrency will change the financial world for the better. View full profile...
View J-S Tremblay website
