Coinbase has moved closer to adding Bitcoin Lightning into its platform through a new collaboration with Lightspark, a Lightning solution geared towards enterprises. In a new announcement, the Coinbase CEO stated that the integration of the Bitcoin layer-2 network is imminent, potentially allowing its 108 million user base to benefit from faster and more cost-effective Bitcoin transactions.

Lightspark elaborated in an update on 3 April that ‘Lighting up all Coinbase touchpoints with Lightning’ will shift more transaction activity to Bitcoin's second layer, countering the recent surge in fees on Bitcoin's base layer. Coinbase had intentions to integrate Bitcoin Lightning in September 2023 but representatives did not provide further specifics on the implementation timeline at that time. Established in 2022, Lightspark has focused extensively on simplifying the process of setting up and managing a Lightning node for reliable transaction sending and receiving.

The company also developed Lightspark Predict, an AI-powered tool designed to optimise liquidity requirements and routing in real-time, enhancing transaction success rates and finality times. According to Bitcoin financial services firm River, the Lightning payments success rate stands at approximately 99.7%, based on data from 308,000 Lightning transactions processed on its platform in October last year. The primary reason for transaction failures is the inability to find a payment route with sufficient liquidity to facilitate the transfer.

River's findings also indicate that the average Lightning transaction size was around 44,700 satoshis, equivalent to USD 11.84. River estimates that there were between 279,000 and 1.1 million active Lightning users in September. Coinbase's major competitor, Binance, integrated Bitcoin Lightning in July 2023.

Lightning has gained popularity as a payment method in Lugano, Switzerland, El Zonte in El Salvador — known as ‘Bitcoin Beach,’ and Uvita in Costa Rica, referred to as ‘Bitcoin Jungle.’ .