Less than a year after Coinbase integrated Lightning Network - a Lightspark infrastructure built on top of Bitcoin that enables instant off-chain Bitcoin transfers at a fraction of the cost - 15% of its total Bitcoin transactions now runs through the network. That represents nearly 1 in 6 transactions flowing through Lightspark’s infrastructure on one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges.

The milestone marks a tangible step forward in making Bitcoin faster, more efficient and more usable for everyday transactions and expanding its use case beyond just a store of value. Behind the scenes, Lightspark’s enterprise-grade infrastructure is helping Coinbase move Bitcoin at scale, with the speed, reliability and cost needed to support real-world adoption.

Scaling Bitcoin

When Coinbase announced its Lightning Network integration in April 2024, the move reflected a growing recognition across the industry: Bitcoin’s long-term relevance would depend on its ability to scale beyond traditional on-chain settlement. Lightning offered a path forward, enabling near-instant, low-cost transactions without sacrificing the core security guarantees of the Bitcoin network.

Coinbase integrated Lightning into its Bitcoin transfer workflows in a way that minimized friction for users. No special setup or opt-in required. Lightspark’s infrastructure handled the complexity behind the scenes, delivering the performance, reliability and scale needed to make Lightning a native part of the Coinbase experience.

Since then, adoption has grown steadily. In less than a year, Lightning has moved from a promising add-on to a meaningful part of how Bitcoin moves on one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges.

“Integrating the Lightning Network was a key milestone in supporting the Bitcoin ecosystem and making payments faster, cheaper, and more useful for everyone” shares Michael Rihani, Product Director at Coinbase. “Within a year, 15% of our Bitcoin transactions utilizing Lightning demonstrates its real-world utility. We're quickly proving that Bitcoin is a powerful tool for global payments with Lightspark.” 

Why it matters

The growing share of Bitcoin volume moving over Lightning reflects broader trends across the digital asset space. As crypto matures, user expectations are shifting from speculative trading toward faster, more efficient utility.

By enabling low-cost, real-time Bitcoin transactions at scale, Coinbase is helping close the gap between crypto’s early promise and its mainstream potential. For institutional players, infrastructure like Lightspark’s offers a template for how Bitcoin can operate within larger financial systems without the limitations of high fees or slow settlement.

Building the next century of money

Lightspark’s partnership with Coinbase is a key part of its broader vision for the Money Grid: an open, programmable financial network built on fast, interoperable rails. Beyond Bitcoin payments, Lightspark is driving innovation in financial experiences worldwide, from seamless cross-border payouts in the US, Mexico, Latin America, Asia and Europe, to real-time settlement for exchanges, wallets and digital banks, as well as stablecoin issuance on Bitcoin through Spark. As Lightning infrastructure matures and user demand for faster, cheaper financial transactions grows, its role in the Bitcoin economy is set to deepen.

“This milestone marks a pivotal moment not just for Lightspark and Coinbase, but for the broader Bitcoin ecosystem” shares David Marcus, CEO and co-founder of Lightspark. “Seeing 15% of Bitcoin transactions on Coinbase now run through the Lightning Network is a clear signal that the Money Grid is becoming a reality. We're proud to power this transformation to bring fast, affordable, and global payments to billions. This is just the beginning.”

For Coinbase, this is a continuation of its ongoing mission: investing in foundational technologies that make crypto more accessible, practical and aligned with the future of global finance.