Coinbase Rolls Out Lightning Network Support in Collaboration with Lightspark

Coinbase COIN, the largest U.S. crypto exchange by trading volume, is rolling out support for the Lightning Network from today, enabling a faster and cheaper way for its users to send, receive or pay with Bitcoin BTC/USD directly from their account. Previously, bitcoin transfers on Coinbase were processed on-chain, meaning transactions could take between 10 minutes and two hours, incurring high fees during periods of network congestion. Launched in 2017, the Lightning Network is a Layer 2 protocol built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain, designed to address scalability issues via bi-directional payment channels that enable near-instant, low-fee transactions off-chain without immediate settlement on the base layer. “Growing Bitcoin adoption increases economic freedom in the world. I’m thrilled that our Lightning integration is live to make Bitcoin more useful and accessible worldwide” Coinbase’s protocol specialist and Lightning integration lead Viktor Bunin told The Block. “Offering faster and cheaper BTC payments through our partnership with Lightspark is another huge milestone for the ecosystem.” Fees on the Lightning Network are broken down into a flat rate base fee as low as one satoshi — the smallest unit of bitcoin and equivalent to less than $0.01 — and a liquidity provider fee or fee rate as a percentage charged on the value of the payment. ​​Node operators on the network can set their fees at varying levels to compensate for locking up liquidity.

Read the full story at The Block.