BitMex Report: Lightning Network Continues to Grow - Developers Note Majority of Transactions Are Experimental

A recent research report released by BitMex indicates that the transaction volume in the Bitcoin Lightning Network continues to grow, with over 60,000 non-cooperative channels being closed. The transaction volume related to channel closures (for settlement, recorded on the blockchain) has also exceeded 1,000 bitcoins.

According to data, the "non-cooperative channels" within the Bitcoin Lightning Network are currently the main transaction activity. There are currently 36,335 channels with 870 locked bitcoins.

The report points out that the current transaction volume in the Lightning Network may be higher than generally expected, but a closer look at the nature of non-cooperative channel closures reveals different perspectives, especially when BitMex's research did not include private channels in the calculation.

Non-Cooperative Channels

The Lightning Network is in demand due to congestion on the Bitcoin chain. Therefore, parties open payment channels "off-chain," which can last anywhere from 1 minute to 1 year, with unlimited transactions and extremely low fees. The final settlement and recording on the blockchain occur when the channel is closed.

Non-cooperative channel closure refers to when one party in an open channel decides to exit, prompting the closure of the channel for settlement and fund redemption. BitMex's data comes from Lightning Network monitoring platforms 1ML and TXStats, which only show node numbers and publicly available payment channels.

Most Transactions Are Experimental

Following BitMex's report published on the official Bitcoin Reddit, prominent Bitcoin advocate and developer Bash Co responded:

Many of the transaction activities are likely from developers testing the system.

Many users have confirmed that they opened multiple payment channels for this reason. A user named whitslack also mentioned technical issues with the Lightning Network:

I personally have closed dozens of payment channels in total. Most were because my node requested the removal of failed HTLCs from the channel, but the counterparty never followed through. Hence, I was forced to close the channel to reclaim funds before the HTLC expired.

HTLC (Hashed Timelock Contract) is a method of implementing the Lightning Network, ensuring fair trade by locking assets, setting expiration times, and unlocking conditions.

In the above cases, users are still forced to exit the Lightning Network due to technical issues. While BitMex's report focuses on transaction activity and privacy features, the development of Bitcoin's second-layer solution seems to have a long way to go.

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