The capacity of the Bitcoin Lightning Network reaches a new all-time high

ChainCatcher reports, citing Cointelegraph, that as major cryptocurrency exchanges have widely adopted and continuously optimized their features, the capacity of the Bitcoin Layer 2 network—Lightning Network—has hit a new all-time high.

Bitcoin Visuals data shows that the Lightning Network’s capacity has reached 5,606 Bitcoins, breaking the record set in March 2023. The analytics platform Amboss also reported that the Lightning Network’s capacity has reached its peak at 5,637 Bitcoins, worth approximately $490 million. The data shows that after a year of capacity decline, in November and December the Lightning Network’s capacity surged, due to more Bitcoins being added to the network, resulting in faster transaction speeds and lower costs.

At present, the number of Lightning Network nodes is 14,940, below the peak of 20,700 in March 2022; while the number of channels between nodes is 48,678, also below the 2022 peak. The data indicates that although the amount of Bitcoin added to the Lightning Network is increasing, usage measured by the number of nodes and channels does not necessarily grow correspondingly.