A major cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase is nearing the integration of Bitcoin Lightning on its platform through a new partnership with Lightspark, led by former PayPal president David Marcus.
CEO Brian Armstrong announced the move, stating that the integration will happen “soon,” benefiting Coinbase users with faster and cheaper Bitcoin transactions.
Lightspark, founded in 2022, focuses on simplifying Lightning node management. They developed Lightspark Predict, an AI-based engine optimizing liquidity and routing for transaction success rates.
River, a Bitcoin financial firm, reported a 99.7% Lightning payment success rate from 308,000 transactions last October, with an average transaction size of $11.84. Between 279,000 to 1.1 million active Lightning users were estimated in September.
Coinbase’s competitor Binance integrated Bitcoin Lightning in July, highlighting Lightning’s popularity in Lugano, Switzerland, El Zonte (“Bitcoin Beach”) in El Salvador, and Utiva (“Bitcoin Jungle”) in Costa Rica.
While some, like Bitcoin bull Michael Saylor, prefer Bitcoin as a store of value, Lightning’s expansion signifies a broader adoption of Bitcoin’s utility beyond being solely an investment asset.
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