Developers in the Bitcoin ecosystem are discussing the technology and role of the Lightning Network (LN), a second layer (L2) network that enables faster and cheaper processing of off-chain payments.
The discussion centered around the following points: The future of global protocol adoption It doesn’t depend on that L2.
The debate was sparked after a Bitcoiner known as BTCBreadMan on X issued a controversial statement on November 7th.
Lightning is not real Bitcoin. It cannot be sent over the Bitcoin network, but represents real Bitcoin locked in on-chain channels. Although Lightning Satoshi cannot be sent directly “over the Bitcoin network,” it can be redeemed for BTC on-chain 1:1 at any time by closing the channel. Technically, it’s not real Bitcoin. Backed 1:1 by real Bitcoin.
BTCBreadMan, Bitcoiner.
His approach illustrates important features of LN. Transactions are executed off the main chain Funds remain locked in Bitcoin through on-chain transactions.
The response came from Bitcoin Core contributor Matt Corallo, who emphasized his position on the adoption of LN.
In the real world, a significant (double-digit) percentage of Bitcoin transactions are already Lightning, and nearly all new wallets and many existing wallets support Lightning.
Matt Corallo, Bitcoin Core Contributor.
With these words, he pointed out that the use of LN is already taking place. It’s no longer an experiment This is part of the user’s daily routine, especially at the level of small expenses and frequent payments.
The developer also warned about points related to the health of the ecosystem.
Poking your head in and trying to pretend that Lightning is no longer how people interact with Bitcoin means being disconnected from reality.
Matt Corallo, Bitcoin Core Contributor.
Callebtc, one of the most active Bitcoin developers, also weighed in with a short but telling message: “Lightning is Bitcoin.”
One user replied: “No, it doesn’t. It just adds another layer of complexity without solving the core problem of privacy. Lightning doesn’t make Bitcoin more private. It just makes surveillance faster.”
This statement summarizes the concerns. Lightning lowers costs and speeds payments, but its channel architecture requires that the nodes involved Know some of the payment routeswhich gives users privacy concerns.
In response to Callebtc, Peter Todd, another core client contributor, added a technical explanation:
Every Lightning transaction is literally a Bitcoin transaction. The underlying HTLC is implemented by providing counterparties with signed Bitcoin transactions that can collect funds on-chain if desired.
Peter Todd, Bitcoin developer.
Todd said Lightning is not a separate system, but a structure that allows payments to be made using Bitcoin contracts. off chain.
In this case, an HTLC (hash time lock contract) is a contract that locks funds with one condition: the recipient must prove the secret (the hash of the preimage) within a certain amount of time.
If you do, you’ll reap the rewards. Otherwise, the funds will be returned to the sender. These mechanisms allow Lightning payments to function securely without the need to record each transaction on chain. Maintaining final settlement ability On-chain.
Therefore, for Todd, Lightning is based on Bitcoin transactions, which would strengthen its legitimacy as a natural extension of the protocol.
What does the Lightning Network data show?
In this context, historical Lightning metrics are long-term fluctuation processhave different nodes, channels, and capacities.
For nodes, LN will register up to over 20,000 nodes in mid-2022. Since then, the numbers have declined and stabilized in a more or less constant range. 15,000 to 16,500 public nodes.
However, fewer nodes doesn’t necessarily mean less usage of Lightning.
This could mean that a particular operator (the person or company running the node) has decided to close the channel. There was no traffic or you turned off the “secondary” node It added no value.
Lightning allows you to operate nodes that are not publicized or that concentrate their liquidity into fewer, better-optimized channels. In other words, the infrastructure will be reorganized.
Second, a channel (a connection between two Lightning nodes where liquidity is locked into Bitcoin so you can send and receive instant payments off-chain) In 2022, it reached close to 85,000.
Similar to what has happened with Node since then, the data reflects the following: sustained declinethe current level is around 46,000-50,000.
This reduction may be related to Toward closing low capacity channelsa shift to more efficient connectivity and the concentration of liquidity to larger operators.
Finally, total capacity (the total amount of Bitcoin locked within the Lightning Channel to facilitate payment routing) is A more subtle curve.
After a period of constant growth from 2021 to 2023, the indicator exceeded 5 billion satoshis (over 500 BTC). It fell in 2024. In recent months, LN capacity has been Reflects partial recoverydriven by greater channel opening.
Overall, the graph reflects LN, which currently does not seem to have recovered its adoption statistics after a period that showed a slowdown in Bitcoin L2 usage.