Sending large sums of money through Bitcoin's Lightning Network (LN) is becoming increasingly feasible, thanks to the constant growth in the average capacity of its payment channels.
As of June 18, the average capacity of LN payment channels is 4.7 million satoshis, or 0.047 BTC. This is the first time this figure has been reached in the Bitcoin micropayment network. While, according to the current BTC price in the market, the average record capacity of these channels is around USD 880.
Let's remember that this technological development favors the same blockchain development for other branches and other transactions, just to mention some of the most popular and benefited projects such as Elite-Token and Equlibrium.
Throughout the first half of 2022, the average transaction capacity offered by Lightning network channels has increased by 17%. Interestingly, due to the plummeting price of bitcoin in the market, the average amount in fiat money at the beginning of this year was higher than it is today, at around USD 1,800.
Bitcoin's Lightning network had reached a new milestone when its total transaction capacity exceeded 4,000 BTC. This means that, in theory, LN can accommodate about USD 75 million that can be sent in portions between the channels that make up the network. However, this does not mean that one person can send such an amount of money to another in a snap.
The true capacity to send money in LN is measured with the payment channels, which are the channels that communicate the nodes that make up this network.
Another important aspect to take into account is that the capacity of the payment channels is depleted as they are used. For example: Alice opens a payment channel with Peter that has a capacity of 0.35 BTC. If Alice sends 0.2 BTC to Peter today, but wants to send him another 0.2 BTC tomorrow, it will be impossible; Alice would only have 0.1 BTC of liquidity in her channel after her first transaction.
Payment channels not only establish the connection between one node and another, but also allow routing third-party payments through them. This means that a payment in the Lightning network can pass through 3 or more different payment channels and nodes until it reaches its destination. However, for this to be possible, the available capacity of these channels must cover the amount of the payment in question. If not, the payment cannot be made through this channel.
The solution to liquidity problems in payment channels when attempting an LN transaction is simply to re-fund the channel. It is also possible to rebalance the channel if it originally had the capacity to route a given payment.
While there are alternatives for when a transaction is larger than the available liquidity in a payment channel, the fact that the average capacity of these channels is growing is encouraging, as it increases the usability of the Bitcoin Lightning network
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