Lightning Network capacity hit a new high this week as major exchanges put more Bitcoin into off-chain channels, increasing liquidity across the network and changing the way users move BTC.
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Exchange support drive capacity
According to reports, the Lightning Network’s public capacity has risen to around 5,606 BTC, with some trackers briefly peaking at around 5,637 BTC. This is a clear increase from previous levels and marks the highest total ever recorded.
Exchanges like Binance and OKX have been named as contributors to adding Bitcoin to the Lightning channel, with other platforms like Kraken and Bitfinex expanding their support as well. These deposits are intended to speed up deposits and withdrawals and reduce fees for customers.
Network activity and public nodes
According to the report, that increase in capacity is not commensurate with the significant increase in the number of public nodes and channels. The number of public nodes is close to 14,940 and the public channels are approximately 48,678.
In other words, while more Bitcoins are being made available within the network, the number of people processing the traffic has not surged in the same way. Some of this extra liquidity is concentrated in large custodial channels operated by exchanges, which allow large amounts of money to be moved without creating many new public channels.
This makes reading on-chain metrics a little difficult. Even though the node graph appears stable, the number of transactions and on-chain fee savings show real user benefits.
Another illustration of actual usage is the percentage of exchange traffic routed through Lightning. One exchange routes approximately 15% of its Bitcoin transactions through Lightning rails after implementing Lightning integration, according to the report, pointing to significant operational changes on the major platform.
New use cases and funding
Funding and protocol work continues to expand capacity. Tether led a round that raised nearly $8 million for a startup focused on payments over Lightning, demonstrating interest in stablecoin flows on the network.
Announcing Taproot Assets v0.7, featuring reusable addresses, fully auditable asset supply, and larger, more reliable transactions. ✅
With this release, we are laying the foundation for trillions of dollars to flow into Bitcoin and Lightning. 💸
Please see below for details. Upgrade today!
— Lightning Labs⚡️🌐 (@lightning) December 16, 2025
Protocol upgrades including Taproot-related asset processing workarounds and reliability improvements are also being rolled out to support a greater variety of payment and token types. These developments show that Lightning is being used for more than just small chips. Remittances, merchant payments, and stablecoin transfers are being tested more broadly.
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Market watchers say the combination of the exchange’s liquidity, developer upgrades, and increased usage on the platform could make Lightning a more viable rail for everyday BTC movements.
Some critics warn that increased reliance on administrative channels increases the risk of centralization and reduces the visibility of true peer-to-peer routing. Others point out that the first thing consumers will notice is a better user experience, lower costs, and faster finality.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
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