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

ChainCatcher messages, according to Cointelegraph, that as major cryptocurrency exchanges widely adopt and continuously optimize features, the capacity of the Bitcoin Layer2 network—Lightning Network—has reached an all-time high.

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

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