Top global crypto exchange Binance is now officially working on integrating Bitcoin (BTC) deposits and withdrawals via the Lightning Network.
The Lightning Network is a layer-2 scaling solution built on top of Bitcoin that aims to enable instant and cost-effective transactions for BTC.
Binance first revealed plans to integrate Lightning Network in May after inconveniencing users and temporarily closing BTC withdrawals due to network congestion issue. After about 90 minutes, withdrawals resumed but were halted again later that day for several hours.
Changpeng Zhao, the exchange’s chief executive, attributed the temporary halt in withdrawals to the massive fluctuation in Bitcoin network fees, which were skyrocketing at the time due to a surge in demand for BRC-20 tokens.
Binance said in May that Lightning withdrawals would aid in such situations.
The exchange confirmed this week that it’s now operating Lightning nodes but says “there’s still more tech work to be done” before fully integrating the network.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Binance and Zhao for allegedly violating securities laws and operating what SEC Chair Gary Gensler described as “an extensive web of deception, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure, and calculated evasion of the law.”
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