- Bitcoin Ordinals led to significant congestion on the Bitcoin network in May.
- This congestion led Binance to halt Bitcoin withdrawals twice in quick succession.
- The firm has sparked excitement by launching Lightning nodes to prevent future occurrences.
The rise of Bitcoin Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens in May heated things up on the Bitcoin network as the entire crypto ecosystem was caught up in a meme coin fever.
Despite unlocking new potential use cases for the network, these viral sensations significantly strain Bitcoin’s system. With the greater volume, transactions took hours to process at high costs.
At the height of this hysteria, Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, was forced to halt Bitcoin withdrawals twice, raising questions about its health. Following the debacle, the firm promised to integrate Bitcoin’s Lightning Network to prevent future flare-ups. The exchange recently confirmed that it was making good on this promise sparking excitement within the crypto community.
Binance Lightning Nodes Appear
In a tweet on Tuesday, June 30, Binance confirmed that it has already launched Lightning nodes as it moves towards integrating the network for Bitcoin withdrawals and deposits.
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"However, there's still more tech work to be done. We'll update once Lightning is fully integrated," the crypto exchange added.
As acknowledged by Binance, some members of the crypto community had caught on before the announcement.
Binance’s announcement has sparked significant excitement amongst Bitcoin and Lightning supporters. Many asserted they were pleased with the move, with one user suggesting it was a long time coming.
At the same time, others used the opportunity to call on other crypto exchanges like Coinbase to follow suit.
Exchanges like Kraken, OKX, and Bitfinex have already integrated the Lightning Network. The latter commented on Binance’s efforts.
The Lightning Network is a Layer-2 solution built to solve the scalability woes of the Bitcoin network with off-chain payment channels. The solution allows users to carry out high-speed transactions for significantly lower costs.
On the Flipside
- It is not clear when Binance will launch the feature.
- The crypto exchange faces lawsuits from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Why This Matters
Binance’s integration of the Lightning Network will make it significantly faster and cheaper for customers to deposit and withdraw Bitcoin.
Read this to learn more about why Binance is integrating Bitcoin‘s Lightning Network:
Here’s Why Binance Is Integrating the Bitcoin Lightning Network
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