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Despite the recent downtrend, bitcoin has been experiencing increased adoption on a larger scale. From El Salvador buying the dip to lightning network adoption going up, the digital asset has not been doing too bad. The most recent indication of increased bitcoin adoption has come in the form of bitcoin lightning network nodes. Data shows that these lightning nodes have recorded a significant uptick in the last three months.
Bitcoin Lightning Nodes Increase
Since its launch, the bitcoin lightning network has seen slow but steady adoption. Mostly, the need for a lightning network had not become pertinent until the bull run of 2018 that saw transaction fees spike significantly. It soon became important for there to be a way to lower transaction fees on the bitcoin blockchain even during peak transaction times and as such, the lightning network was adopted.
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The number of lightning nodes has grown since then, recording small upticks at various times in its history. However, none as significant as the increase recorded across the last three months.
From September 3rd to December 3rd, nodes added to the network had continued to climb. In this time period, there were a total of 3,534 nodes added to the network. This three-month period saw the total lightning network nodes break above 18,000, representing a 23% increase in this time frame.
Number of nodes on lightning network grows 23% | Source: bitcoinvisuals.com
This growth has been synonymous with a number of adoption initiatives that have seen more users adopt the bitcoin lightning network as a default way of sending BTC. Most notable has been the adoption of bitcoin as a legal tender in El Salvador and citizens using the lightning network to pay for goods and services using bitcoin.
The lightning network basically enables transactions to be sent off-chain, making it faster and cheaper than on-chain transactions, the main driver behind its recent adoption.
How Does The Increase Affect The Network?
The increase in the number of bitcoin lightning network nodes is a positive one. For starters, this allows the network to accommodate more transactions. It will enable the blockchain to scale and as such, carry out more transactions. It also means faster transaction times and lower fees for users for the network.
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Bitcoin’s growth has attracted a lot of investors but more are expected to come in as the years go by. This influx of new entrants into the blockchain would lead to increased network activity, hence slower transaction times and higher fees. With the lightning network expanding, it will be able to increase the capacity to allow more transactions at low fees.
BTC settles above $51K | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
Besides El Salvador, another popular implementation of the lightning network has been the Twitter Tip Jar. This feature on one of the largest social media platforms allows followers to tip their favorite content creators quickly at low or even zero fees.
Featured image from The Block, chart from TradingView.com
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