3 Months After Network Congestion Plagued Bitcoin Withdrawals, Binance Finally Integrates Lightning Network

Binance on Sunday said that it is integrating the Bitcoin BTC/USD Lightning Network on its platform for BTC withdrawals and deposits.

What Happened: With the new integration, Binance in a post said its users will notice a new option labeled “LIGHTNING” when choosing to withdraw or deposit Bitcoin.

This addition expands the range of available options, which already includes BNB Smart Chain (BEP-20), Bitcoin, BNB Beacon Chain (BEP2), BTC (SegWit), and Ethereum ETH/USD ERC-20. 

The decision to incorporate the Lightning Network came after Binance in May, temporarily halted BTC withdrawals due to an overload of pending transactions caused by the surge in network gas fees.

The rise in transaction fees was attributed, in part, to the introduction of memecoins on the Bitcoin network in the form of BRC-20 tokens. 

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Why It Matters: Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong had previously indicated his intention to integrate the Bitcoin layer 2 network on Coinbase in April. However, no specific timeline for implementation was provided at that time.

The Lightning Network represents a groundbreaking development aimed at enhancing the speed and cost efficiency of Bitcoin transactions. By allowing users to create off-chain transaction channels, the Lightning Network offers the potential for near-instantaneous transactions with significantly lower fees compared to traditional on-chain transactions.

Price Action: At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $30,287, up 0.21 % in the last 24 hours, data from Benzinga Pro shows.

Image Credits – Shutterstock

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