Layer 2 scaling solution for Bitcoin $28,307 According to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Lightning may appear in some capacity on the cryptocurrency exchange.
In response to a tweet criticizing him for “actively ignoring” the network, Armstrong said on April 8: “Lightning is great and something we’ll integrate.”
Armstrong didn’t elaborate on what a Lightning integration with Coinbase would entail or when it could be expected. Coinbase, along with Binance and the now-defunct FTX, have previously been chastised for failing to integrate the Lightning network, which enables faster and cheaper BTC transactions than the Bitcoin base network.
If Armstrong keeps his word, Coinbase will join Bitfinex, Kraken, and OKX as the largest trading platforms to have integrated Lightning, according to a GitHub repository maintained by Lightning enthusiast David Coen.
Coen previously suggested that Lightning integration may go against many of these trading platforms’ business plans, “because the priority appears to be to integrate as many altcoins as possible and follow market trends.”
Armstrong claims to have recently tested a Lightning network application and sent Cointelegraph reporter Joseph Hall $100 in Bitcoin after Hall shared a video of himself using Bitcoin in Senegal.
Armstrong offered a $100 prize to those who shared the “best” examples of how people use cryptocurrency in Africa. Hall stated that he would donate the funds in order to introduce others to Bitcoin.
However, Hall reported that he had not received the payment, prompting Bitcoiner Derek Ross to suggest that Armstrong “needs a Lightning lesson.” Coinbase has recently increased its involvement in the Ethereum ecosystem, launching “Base” on February 23 — an Ethereum layer 2 application-focused network powered by fellow layer 2 Optimism.
Interestingly, Armstrong stated in a January 2016 article titled “Scaling Bitcoin” that he would support Bitcoin scaling solutions: “We also did it to show our support for scaling Bitcoin, and encourage things to move forward, because we’d like to see a solution sooner rather than later.”
Lightning was launched about two years later in March 2018, and the network celebrated its fifth anniversary last month. Cointelegraph reached out to Coinbase for comment, but did not receive a response right away.
