- Over 80% of participants in an online poll do not consider the Lightning Network to be real Bitcoin (BTC).
- Lightning aims to reduce BTC transaction fees but has shown network stagnation since 2022.
- The number of Lightning payment channels has dropped by nearly 50% since early 2022.
- Supporters highlight Lightning’s role in enabling small BTC payments with low fees, now representing a large portion of BTC transactions.
- Lightning transactions rely on off-chain channels, which require opening and closing on the main BTC blockchain, maintaining link to BTC’s main network.
An online poll conducted on platform X found that more than 80% of respondents believe the Lightning Network is not genuine bitcoin (BTC). The poll sparked debate among users, with some experts defending Lightning’s role in the bitcoin ecosystem while others criticized its effectiveness.
The Lightning Network is a second-layer protocol designed to lower BTC transaction fees by enabling off-chain payments. Traditional on-chain BTC transactions can involve significant fees, sometimes costing hundreds of basis points for small payments. Lightning transactions often cost fractions of a cent. Despite rapid growth between 2019 and 2022, the network’s progress has stalled in recent years.
According to data from mempool.space, the total BTC capacity on the Lightning Network remains around 4,800 BTC, unchanged since September 2022. The number of active Lightning nodes has also flattened since March 2022, while the number of payment channels has fallen from over 80,000 to roughly 45,000 during the same period.
Critic Paul Sztorc described Lightning as a “cult” and labeled it custodial due to reliance on large liquidity providers and watchtowers. He highlighted issues such as the need for nodes to maintain constant internet connections and suggested the network does not work effectively over time, concluding “Lightning seems cool at first — but after year six you realize it doesn’t work.”
In contrast, supporters like Alex Gladstein called Sztorc’s critiques surprising and emphasized Lightning’s capacity to enable BTC transactions as digital cash. Matt Corallo pointed to Lightning’s significant transaction volume for small payments, estimating “well into double-digit percent of BTC transactions are now Lightning.” He called Lightning skeptics “disconnected from reality.”
While Lightning offers a cheaper way to send BTC, it operates by requiring users to open payment channels via on-chain BTC transactions. These channels allow many off-chain payments but must be closed on the blockchain afterward to settle balances. This hybrid system links Lightning BTC firmly to the main bitcoin network, distinguishing it from separate tokens.
Meanwhile, centralized BTC-pegged assets like Coinbase’s cbBTC and wrapped products such as spot ETFs greatly exceed Lightning’s transaction volumes. Crypto investor Udi Wertheimer highlighted the rapid user growth and transaction volumes of apps like Moonshot, Base, and Fomo, which use BTC-pegged assets that surpass on-chain BTC transactions.
The Lightning Network continues to see development efforts aimed at making channel management easier for users, including innovations like splicing, which seeks to reduce the burden of opening and closing channels for everyday users.
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