Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has seemingly confirmed the leading US cryptocurrency trading platform is set to add support for Bitcoin’s layer-2 scaling solution Lightning Network, which allows for near-instant transactions with negligible transaction fees.
According to a recent tweet from Armstrong replying to a user saying he was “actively ignoring the Bitcoin Lightning Network,” the CEO of Coinbase noted that “Lightning is great and something we’ll integrate.”
Armstrong didn’t provide any further details on Coinbase’s integration of the Lightning Network, and as a result it isn’t clear when it could be expected by the community. Coinbase, Binance, and a few other major exchanges have been called out numerous times for not integrating support for the layer-2 scaling solution.
Kraken, Bitfinex, OKX, and an umber of other major crypto trading platforms have added support for the Lightning Network over time. BitMEX, for example, added support in August 2018, while Bitstamp did so in July 2019. Kraken was seemingly the latest major exchange to add support, in April 2022.
BitMEX and Bitstamp, it’s worth noting, signal support for the Lightning Network in some way, but currently do not support deposits and withdrawals. It isn’t clear whether Coinbase will do the same or completely support Lightning Network deposits and withdrawals.
The announcement comes shortly after Coinbase announced the launch of Base, an Ethereum Layer 2 network that offers a secure, low-cost, developer-friendly way for anyone to build decentralized apps onchain. Base is powered by Optimism’s OP Stack and aims to bring in billions of users to the cryptoeconomy.
The Lightning Network was launched in March 2018. Coinbase has meanwhile been fast in support a number of altcoins, including Arbitrum’s recently launched ARB token. The exchanges has last month received a Wells notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement.
A Wells Notice is a notice financial regulators send to entities and that indicates a potential enforcement action in the future. In this case, the notice reportedly pertains to an unspecified portion of Coinbase’s listed digital assets, as well as its staking service Coinbase Earn, Coinbase Prime, and Coinbase Wallet.
Coinbase’s response to the Wells Notice was posted on their blog, stating that they are “confident in the legality of our assets and services” and that they “welcome a legal process to provide the clarity we have been advocating for.”
