Bitcoin Lightning Network Growth Jumps 1,200% in Two Years Cryptocurrency scrgruppen

Bitcoin’s layer 2 Lightning Network has seen an estimated 1,212% growth in two years, with about 6.6 million routed transactions in August, a big jump from the 503,000 transfers in August 2021, according to data from the Bitcoin (BTC)-only exchange.

On October 10th a reportRiver Research analyst Sam Waters explained that the jump in directed transactions — which use more than two nodes to facilitate transfers — came despite a 44% drop in Bitcoin’s price and a significant decline in online search interest.

“‘No one uses lightning’ should now be a dead meme,” Waters said He said In a follow-up post on October 10 on X (Twitter), he highlights Lightning’s critics.

“No one uses Lightning” should now be a dead meme.

New launch #Bitcoin Report from @river: How the accelerated network grew by 1212% in two years

It’s time to pay attention to the great work done by so many people in the space linked below at pic.twitter.com/FuGLwGHR4R

– Sam Waters (@SDWouters) October 10, 2023

River’s figure of 6.6 million for Lightning-oriented transactions is a lower bound estimate — the smallest possible value that can be evaluated. The company also had its August 2021 number of 503,000 for 2021 Stady By K33, formerly Arcane Research, it added that it cannot evaluate private Lightning transactions or those between just two participants.

$78.2 million in transaction volume was also processed on Lightning in August 2023, representing a 546% increase over the August 2021 figure of $12.1 million received by K33. Waters noted that Lightning now processes at least 47% of on-chain Bitcoin transactions.

“This will be an interesting metric to monitor,” he added. “It is an indication that bitcoin is becoming more than just a medium of exchange.”

In August 2023, the average Lightning transaction size was around 44,700 satoshis or $11.84. River estimates that between 279,000 and 1.1 million Lightning users were active in September.

The company attributed 27% of transaction growth to the gaming, social media and live streaming sectors.

Related: Coinbase to Integrate Bitcoin Lightning Network: CEO Brian Armstrong

River said the success rate for Lightning payments was 99.7% on its platform in August 2023 across 308,000 transactions. The main reason for failure occurs when a payment method with sufficient liquidity cannot be found to facilitate the transfer.

The River dataset consists of 2.5 million transactions. The nodes in the River dataset represent 29% of the total capacity on the network and 10% of the payment channels.

magazine: 6 Questions for Kei Oda: From Goldman Sachs to Cryptocurrency