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Lightning Network Bitcoin Deposits Now Live on Binance

Binance joins Kraken and Bitfinex in offering lightning network deposits.

Updated Jul 17, 2023, 3:34 p.m. Published Jul 17, 2023, 3:05 p.m.
Binance sets up lightning network nodes (Leon Contreras/Unsplash)
Binance sets up lightning network nodes (Leon Contreras/Unsplash)

Bitcoin (BTC) holders can now deposit their assets to the crypto exchange Binance using the Lightning Network, according to an announcement.

Binance has completed integration after stating last month that it had set up Lightning Network nodes.

Depositing bitcoin via Lightning is faster and cheaper than on the main blockchain; the base fee on lightning is $0.04, whereas regular bitcoin deposits spiked to as high as $30 in May, according to ycharts. Transactions also settle in under a minute, with regular bitcoin transactions taking roughly 10 minutes per confirmation.

The Lightning Network, which is often called "Bitcoin's second layer," was designed in 2016 to speed up transaction times and assist with network congestion. The network currently has a capacity of $147 million with 69,395 payment channels, according to 1ml data.

Binance join the likes of Bitfinex and Kraken in offering Lightning Network deposits, with Coinbase (COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong recently suggesting that his exchange will also integrate the scaling solution in future.

Oliver Knight

Oliver Knight joined CoinDesk as a news reporter in April 2022. Before joining CoinDesk, Knight was the Chief Reporter at Coin Rivet for three years. Having graduated with a journalism degree from Birmingham City University, Knight went on to work at various sports publications before diving into the world of Bitcoin in 2014. He does not have any crypto holdings.

picture of Oliver Knight