Bitcoin has been criticized several times for the scalability issues that had and that has been trying to solve. But it is also important to mention when the solutions that developers are implementing are giving good results. The Lightning Network (LN) is one of the major changes that will be implemented to Bitcoin and will allow it to properly scale.
Bitcoin Lightning Network Expands
If Bitcoin wants to become a global currency it will need to scale and allow individuals and enterprises to process more than 6 or 7 transactions per second. It needs to scale, and developers are working day after day to implement as soon as possible the LN. 
With it, users will be able to open direct payment channels between each other on a global scale. It is very important for individuals to get involved and start to support this development if it wants to have a positive impact in the network.
At the beginning of the year, back in January, there were over 90 channels available. Something that was making some individuals worried because the expansion of the network was very slow. But at the moment, there are 1,792 public nodes, and 2,315 total nodes. There are 8,984 channels, and the network is able to handle 24.098 BTC.
There is a genuine interest in the Lightning Network and in the solution that it could mean to the scalability problems of Bitcoin. But this is not yet developed. At the moment the LN is being tested and the official version has not been released yet. Additionally, there is no available date for when it will be implemented.
Developers have also been trying to solve some problems related to the privacy of the transactions and some other minor details which are now being addressed. The LN aims to become a new payment ecosystem that would be capable of handling a surprisingly high number of transactions without congesting the Bitcoin network. In the next weeks and months, the number of nodes is expected to keep growing and we could have some favourable news about when the LN could be released.
