Coinbase is Exploring ‘Best’ Way to Integrate Bitcoin Lightning Network, Says CEO

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed that the crypto exchange is exploring the “best” way to integrate the Lightning Network after being called out for not adding support for the layer-2 scaling solution, which enables faster and cheaper BTC transactions than the Bitcoin base network.

The comment comes a month after Binance added LN capability for its users.

Brian Armstrong on BTC Lightning Network

In a tweet on August 2nd, Brian Armstrong, the CEO of the San Francisco-based crypto exchange, reiterated his stance on the integration in response to former Twitter boss Jack Dorsey’s comment wherein he raised a pressing question about Coinbase’s apparent disregard for Lightning Network integration.

In response, Armstrong acknowledged the significance of the scalability solution but highlighted the complexities involved in implementing it, calling the process “non-trivial” but “worth doing.” He assured Dorsey that Coinbase is actively exploring the best approach to incorporate Lightning, recognizing the potential for payments to flourish in Bitcoin.

“We’re looking into how to best add Lightning. It’s non-trivial, but I think worth doing. I’m all for payments taking off in Bitcoin. Not sure why you think we’re ignoring Bitcoin – we’ve onboarded more people to Bitcoin than probably any company in the world.”

This isn’t the first time Armstrong has been poked online for “ignoring” the Lightning Network. Despite being open to the technology, the exec refrained from disclosing specific details regarding the potential integration of LN with Coinbase or offering any estimated timeline for its implementation.

Lightning Network Adoption

Last month, Binance announced the successful integration of Bitcoin on the Lightning Network, enabling users with an additional option of “BTC-Lightning” alongside the standard choices of Bitcoin, BEP20, SegWit, and others when depositing the asset.

Binance’s move was prompted by the explosion in transaction fees due to the creation of memecoins on Bitcoin in the form of a new token standard on the network – BRC-20 tokens – in May, as a result of which the exchange had to temporarily pause BTC withdrawals.

In recent years, several well-known platforms, such as Bitfinex, Kraken, and OKX, integrated the scaling solution.

Meanwhile, the Lightning Network’s capacity briefly surpassed an all-time high of 5,000 BTC earlier this year as it continued to gain momentum in emerging markets such as South America and Africa.