capacity exceeds 4500 BTC- The Cryptonomist

Lightning Network (LN) sets a new record, surpassing 4500 BTC in total capacity, the equivalent of $104 million. 

Lightning Network (LN) and capacity exceeding 4500 BTC

New records for Bitcoin’s Layer 2, Lightning Network, which just now records a total capacity of over 4500 BTC, the equivalent of $104 million at the time of writing. 

#LightningNetwork https://t.co/Q0CaYRhLWD observed:
17,775 nodes
87,204 channels
4,521.591 BTC capacity ($104,262,602)

median node capacity: 0.005 BTC ($115.29)

past 24h:
+38 nodes +444 channels +46.543 BTC ($1,073,220)#Lightning #LN #bitcoin $BTC

— Lightning Network statistics ⚡ (@LNstats) August 9, 2022

“Lightning Network. http://1ML.com observed:

• 4,521.591 BTC capacity ($104,262,602)

median node capacity: 0.005 BTC ($115.29)

past 24h: +38 nodes +444 channels +46.543 BTC ($1,073,220)”.

This is the first time more than 4,500 BTC has been locked on LN’s network. This is a major milestone considering that only last month the capacity was 4200 BTC.

Basically, this refers to the total number of Bitcoin that are locked on LN channels and therefore usable within this second layer that allows very fast and cheap transactions. 

Lightning Network: how the second layer of Bitcoin is distributed

Looking further into the record capacity of Lightning Network today, it is possible to see how the second layer of Bitcoin is distributed around the globe. 

In fact, in first place with more than 2,300 BTC of capacity is the United States, followed in second place by Germany with 355 BTC and, in third place, Canada with 151 BTC. 

Italy ranks 17th, with 14.2 BTC locked on the Lightning Network. 

Morgan Stanley: LN is better than Visa

In April, when LN’s capacity was at 3600 BTC, US banking giant Morgan Stanley had already shared its opinion about Lightning Network, calling it superior to Visa. 

The comment referred to a report by Arcane Research stating that LN enables users to transact instantly, registering a staggering 410% growth each year.

Recently, however, it was announced that payments giant Visa would increase the number of its transactions by 16%, compared to the previous year. This is a total of 49.3 billion transactions in the second quarter of 2022.