Binance boosts Bitcoin Lightning Network with promised integration

Binance confirms it will add Bitcoin Lightning Network to its platform, but there’s still some work to be done

article-image

Net Vector/Shutterstock, modified by Blockworks

share

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is working to integrate the Bitcoin Lightning Network to make deposits and withdrawals easier and faster.

The exchange said that keen observers had recently noticed the presence of new lightning nodes.

“Yes — that’s us! However, there’s still more tech work to be done. We’ll update once Lightning is fully integrated,” Binance said in a tweet on Tuesday, without elaborating further on a potential timeline for completion.

Loading Tweet..

A Binance spokesperson didn’t comment beyond the tweet.

The Lightning Network is a layer-2 scalability solution built on the Bitcoin blockchain. It enables users to send and receive bitcoin (BTC) rapidly and with minimal fees.

Binance dropped a hint about integrating the lightning network on May 8 when it paused BTC withdrawals twice within a week, each time for some two hours, due to a flood of pending transactions.

“The Bitcoin network has struggled with processing a large number of transactions, currently managing just seven to ten transactions per second,” Binance said in a blog.

“This limitation has long been known as a drawback of the Bitcoin network and is why projects like the Lightning Network, which can speed up transactions without impacting the main network, have gained popularity,” the exchange said.

Exchanges like Bitfinex, Kraken, River Financial and OKX have already integrated the Lightning Network into their platforms.

Kraken claims that the Lightning Network can handle millions of transactions per second, surpassing Visa’s processing capability of around 65,000 transactions per second.

Twitter also has a feature for users in El Salvador and the US (excluding Hawaii and New York) to tip with bitcoin using the Lightning Network.

Lightning Network capacity has been in a steady uptrend, even as the price of bitcoin has fallen over the past 18 months, and currently stands at about 5,400 BTC ($145 million), data from Glassnode shows.

Bitcoin Lightning Network Capacity (yellow) vs price (black); Source: Glassnode

Although Lightning payment channels can dramatically reduce the cost of BTC transfers, it also introduces some risk of centralization and additional trust assumptions, and has struggled to gain adoption.

Macauley Peterson contributed reporting.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
  • Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research

article-image

The network is at a “pivotal juncture,” Blockworks Research’s Marc-Thomas Arjoon said

article-image

Altcoin trade volume has returned to pre-FTX levels, but with a shrinking pool of market leaders

article-image

Solana Foundation’s former head of strategy proposes increasing the disinflation rate

article-image

With much of the bitcoin mining supply chain based in Asia, US-based operations now face higher equipment prices

article-image

Anticipating an economic downturn, venture firms may be less likely to invest

article-image

Trump’s tariffs may have potentially significant impacts on GDP, household spending and food prices — if they hold