More than a month after being asked why Coinbase Global Inc COIN was ignoring Bitcoin‘s BTC/USD Lightning Network by Jack Dorsey, the cryptocurrency exchange’s CEO Brian Armstrong on Wednesday confirmed the layer-2 payment protocol was being implemented for faster and cheaper transactions.
What Happened: “The team did a great job digging into this, and we’ve made the decision to integrate Lightning,” Armstrong posted on social media. “Bitcoin is the most important asset in crypto and we’re excited to do our part to enable faster/cheaper Bitcoin transactions. Will take some time to integrate so please be patient.”
Ark Investment Management founder and CEO Cathie Wood cheered the move, saying: “Bitcoin is the world's digital monetary system, and Lightning is Bitcoin's payments layer. Coinbase's integration with Lightning will give its 100 million users an on-ramp to faster and cheaper Bitcoin transactions. Hats off to Coinbase!”
See Also: Is Bitcoin a Good Investment in 2023?
Why It Matters: The Lightning Network is like a super-fast helper for Bitcoin. It makes transactions really quick and stops the Bitcoin road from getting too crowded by using special channels for transactions. It's also very cheap to use, usually costing just a few cents.
The network was integrated by Binance in June, while Dorsey's Block Inc SQ in March said it would be utilizing its own Bitcoin reserves to provide liquidity to the Lightning Network.
Armstrong had previously responded to Dorsey’s query about Lightning, saying it was “non-trivial” but was “worth doing.”
Dorsey then said he would be “happy to partner” Armstrong and Coinbase to prioritize the development of Bitcoin’s Lightning Network.
Dorsey is known as one of the most renowned Bitcoin maximalists and is committed to open-source development of the premier digital currency, having committed millions of dollars to advance the adoption of the industry's largest digital currency.
Wood, meanwhile, is among the big believers that the price of Bitcoin will rise to as much as $1 million. Her Ark Invest is among the companies that have filed to launch a Bitcoin ETF, an issue that awaits SEC approval.
In an exclusive interview with Benzinga CEO Jason Raznick last month, Wood said the SEC’s approval of Bitcoin ETFs could lead to increased demand. As many investors are aware, Bitcoin has a fixed supply of 21 million BTC, with 19 million already mined.
Price Action: Bitcoin’s price was up 0.21% at $26,170.08 at the time of writing, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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