The capacity of the Bitcoin Lightning Network has reached a historic high

According to Cointelegraph, as major cryptocurrency exchanges widely adopt and continuously optimize their functions, the capacity of the Bitcoin Layer 2 network—Lightning Network—has reached an all-time high.

Data from Bitcoin Visuals shows that the Lightning Network capacity has reached 5,606 bitcoins, breaking the record set in March 2023. The analytics platform Amboss also reported that the Lightning Network capacity peaked at 5,637 bitcoins, worth approximately $490 million. The data indicates that after a year of declining capacity, the Lightning Network saw a surge in November and December, as more bitcoins were added to the network, resulting in faster transactions and lower costs.

Currently, the number of Lightning Network nodes is 14,940, down from a peak of 20,700 in March 2022; while the number of channels between nodes is 48,678, also below the peak in 2022. The data suggests that while the amount of bitcoins added to the Lightning Network is increasing, the usage measured by the number of nodes and channels may not be growing correspondingly.