The Lightning Network (LN), Bitcoin’s second-layer solution, reached a remarkable capacity of 5,606 BTC on Monday, surpassing its previous record from March 2023, according to Bitcoin Visuals. The capacity even peaked at 5,637 BTC on Tuesday, which translates to nearly $490 million, as reported by the analytics platform Amboss.

This significant growth in capacity occurred after a series of declines over the previous year, driven by the addition of more Bitcoin to the network which facilitates quicker and cheaper transactions. Currently, the number of Lightning nodes stands at 14,940, below the March 2022 high of 20,700, and channels amongst these nodes total 48,678, also declining from previous highs.

Amboss noted that more exchanges, including prominent ones like Binance and OKX, have contributed more Bitcoin to the network this month, which explains the recent increase in capacity.

On another note, the stablecoin issuer Tether revealed it has led an $8 million investment into Bitcoin startup Speed to enable seamless stablecoin payments through the Lightning Network. Furthermore, the popular crypto wallet MetaMask introduced Bitcoin support this week, yet clarified that transactions will employ the Native SegWit derivation path rather than the Lightning Network.

In related updates, Lightning Labs announced an upgrade of Taproot Assets to v0.7, enhancing features like reusable addresses and an auditable asset supply, inviting more diversified assets such as stablecoins to utilize Bitcoin’s security. This step is envisioned to pave the way for extensive adoption and transaction volume over the Bitcoin and Lightning Network.

“With this release, we are laying the foundation for trillions of dollars to flow on Bitcoin and Lightning.”

This statement reflects the ambitions of Lightning Labs regarding the future trajectory of the network.