The cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex has added Lightning Network (LN) support in order for users to have instant deposits and withdrawals. The Lightning Network is the ultimate scaling solution for Bitcoin (BTC) and it allows users to make instant transactions without congesting the main Bitcoin blockchain.
Lightning Network Integrated By Bitfinex
Bitfinex is one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in the market and it has been working in order to offer new products to users.
Paolo Ardoino, the platform’s Chief Technology Officer, informed that the exchange is going to be supporting both deposits and withdrawals with the Lightning Network. This solution started to be active on December 3, allowing individuals to reduce the fees paid for depositing or withdrawing funds.
In addition to it, users would now be able to run their own Lightning Node and get connected to Bitfinex’s network.
⚡The Bitfinex Lightning Network integration is officially live!
You can now deposit and withdraw Bitcoin on Bitfinex via the Lightning Network.Read more about this further step into the Crypto revolution and connect to the Bitfinex Lightning Node https://t.co/LqkJz9JpDJ pic.twitter.com/uK8yRKImgQ
— Bitfinex (@bitfinex) December 3, 2019
The official announcement made by Bitfinex reads as follows:
“The Lightning Network creates a secure network of participants that can transact with each other directly, without having to broadcast everything on the Bitcoin blockchain.”
This implementation is expected to improve users’ satisfaction with the exchange and the whole user experience. This is very positive considering that the Lightning Network was not massively adopted by companies in the space.
Back in October 2018, the cryptocurrency exchange Buda decided to integrate the Lightning Network with the second-layer protocol. This platform offers services to clients in Chile, Argentina, Colombia, and Peru.
According to data provided by the Lightning Network data website 1ml, there are 10,662 nodes in running and 35,115 channels. At the same time, the network capacity reached 843.64 BTC, which is equal to $6.01 million at the time of writing.
The Lightning Network wants to solve the scaling issues that were affecting Bitcoin in the last years. When there is a high network usage, the fees miners take are usually higher in order to be able to process all the necessary transactions without having delays.
If the fees are too small during times of high demand, the transaction may not be processed in a long period, which would make the whole network not economically to use.
This is why the Lightning Network was created as a second-layer scaling solution in which transactions are processed outside the main Bitcoin blockchain. The fees are almost zero in the LN and transactions are processed almost instantly.