By Mark Hunter
21 hours agoMon Apr 10 2023 10:19:18
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Coinbase will integrate the Bitcoin Lightning Network, according to CEO Brian Armstrong
Armstrong replied to a poster on Twitter that the exchange will utilize the technology, but didn’t specify a timeframe
Coinbase would be the biggest exchange yet to adopt the layer 2 solution
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has said that Bitcoin’s Lightning Network is “great” and that the exchange will implement it but didn’t say when. The Lightning Network has been integrated into several crypto exchanges as a quicker and cheaper way of sending and receiving BTC, and if Coinbase does indeed implement Lightning deposits and withdrawals it will be a major feather in the cap for the layer 2 solution and a real boon for users.
Armstrong Talks Up Lightning Network
The Twitter user in question, Wicked, who doesn’t seem to be a fan of Coinbase, pondered why Armstrong was “actively ignoring the Bitcoin Lightning Network” having never tweeted about it. Armstrong replied positively, adding that Coinbase would be one of the next names to adopt the high-speed, low-cost solution:
My tweets auto-delete after some number of months, so there is no search history.
Lightning is great and something we’ll integrate.
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) April 8, 2023
Were it to do so, Coinbase would be the biggest exchange yet to integrate the Lightning Network, following uptake by Bitfinex, Kraken, OKX, and more in recent years. Doing so would allow Coinbase users to send and receive BTC quicker and at a vastly reduced cost than the regular Bitcoin blockchain, something that all users would find beneficial.
LN Has Come of Age in Recent Years
The Lightning Network is older than most people realize, having been first theorized in 2015. However, the technology has taken a long time to match the demands placed upon it, but it has risen to prominence in the past couple of years, most notably as the infrastructure of the entire El Salvador public Bitcoin network.
The Lightning Network operates by taking smaller transactions offline in ‘channels’ between two entities, with all transactions settled on-chain in one go at a quieter time. This reduces congestion on the main chain and brings transaction fees down.