The number of Lightning Network nodes on the Bitcoin network has increased by 160% over the past year. The Lightning Network is Bitcoin’s layer-two solution aimed at enhancing the efficiency of Bitcoin’s network.
Despite the significant growth over the past year, the number of Lightning Network nodes has only grown by 170% since the beginning of 2021.
Increased Adoption
One of the factors attributed to the increased node count is the increasing adoption of the Lightning network. The recent on-chain metrics report from Glassnode shows that the node count for Bitcoin’s Network has increased by around 160% over the past month.
The number of Lightning Network nodes reached a peak of 15,600 in September, significantly higher than the 6,000 live nodes recorded towards the end of August.
Node count is not the only metric in the network depicting significant gains. The number of channels between different nodes on the network has reached a record high of 73,000. This figure is equivalent to 4.6 channels per node.
Another report published by Bitcoinvisuals on September 26 stated that the Lightning Network was recording around 9.3 channels per node. The report also noted that the rising node count levels on the network started in May 2021.
Increased Capacity
The Glassnode report also referred to the increasing capacity of the Lightning network in 2021. The capacity of this network is used to measure the number of Bitcoins that can be transferred using the network.
The Network capacity has hit a peak of 2,904 BTC, equivalent to $123 million. The current capacity is a 170% gain since January 2021. In September alone, this capacity has increased by 514 BTC.
Another record high for the network is the average channel capacity, which is the amount of Bitcoin sent via each channel. This capacity currently stands at 0.04 Bitcoin, equivalent to $1670. This is a 43% increase from the $0.028 capacity between 2019 and 2020.
The growth of the Network can be attributed to increased social media buzz. The network has been at the centre of various discussions on Twitter because of its integration across different platforms. El Salvador recently selected the Lightning Network to aid the Central American country in its push for using Bitcoin as legal tender.
The Network was developed by two renowned researchers, Thaddeus Dryja and Joseph Poon. The layer two solutions was created in 2015 to bring Bitcoin transactions off the chain, lower costs, and increase speeds.
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