- A report published by River reveals that the Lightning Network, a scaling layer for Bitcoin, has grown by 1,212% in the last two years.
- The report, using data from River, a company that provides Bitcoin services, presents estimates showing significant growth in the usage of the Lightning Network, a scaling layer for Bitcoin.
- According to River’s findings, much of the growth in the Lightning Network is attributed to use cases associated with gaming, social media tips, and streaming.
According to the current Bitcoin report published by River, the Bitcoin Lightning network has shown a massive increase in the last 2 years: Here are the Lightning network data!
Lightning Network in Bitcoin Is Getting Larger
A recent Bitcoin report published by River, a technology and financial services company, reveals that the Lightning Network for Bitcoin has seen a substantial increase of 1,212% in the last two years. River’s estimate is based on an analysis of node operators, constituting 52% of the public capacity of the network, and concludes that the network has become “more global and has more evenly distributed activities.”
The report utilizes data provided by node operators, who account for 52% of the network’s public capacity, to estimate the 6.6 million routed transactions that make up a “floor” for all network transactions in August 2023.
River notes that there can be no “ceiling” set for these transactions, stating that it could be many times the number when data concerning direct and private transactions between participants is taken into account. This represents a 1,212% increase compared to the 503,000 payments predicted by K33 (formerly known as Arcane Research) for August 2021, despite a significant decrease in Bitcoin’s price and interest.
This means that the Lightning Network processes around 50% of on-chain transactions on an average day. However, some exchanges are still lagging in integrating Lightning Network, the ongoing bear market, and Bitcoin’s still relatively small use as a medium of exchange.
Nevertheless, the report mentions that the upper limit of this metric cannot be precisely determined due to unpredictable direct transactions between two participants and private transactions.
Increasing Transaction Value
The report also estimates that approximately $78.2 million was routed through the Lightning Network in August. This represents a 546% increase when compared to the $12.1 million estimated for August 2021 by K33.
The average Lightning Network transaction size for August is calculated at $11.84, confirming the network’s use case in facilitating low-value payments that cannot be executed on-chain. The report states:
Almost all Lightning payments cannot be settled on the Bitcoin blockchain. Lightning improves Bitcoin’s usability by enabling low-value payments over the internet.
According to River’s findings, most of the growth in the Lightning Network is attributed to use cases associated with gaming, social media tips, and streaming, representing 27% of this growth.
