Binance has announced that Bitcoin (BTC) holders can now deposit their assets to the crypto exchange using the Lightning Network. This integration comes after Binance stated last month that it had set up Lightning Network nodes.
Depositing Bitcoin via Lightning is faster and cheaper than on the main blockchain. According to YCharts, the base fee on Lightning is $0.04, while regular Bitcoin deposits spiked to as high as $30 in May. Transactions also settle in under a minute, compared to the 10 minutes per confirmation for regular Bitcoin transactions.
The Lightning Network, often referred to as Bitcoin’s second layer, was designed in 2016 to improve transaction times and reduce network congestion. According to 1ML data, the network currently has a capacity of $147 million with 69,395 payment channels.
Binance joins the likes of Bitfinex and Kraken in offering Lightning Network deposits, with Coinbase (COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong recently suggesting that his exchange will also integrate the scaling solution in future.