CryptoPotato
CryptoPotato
  • Crypto News
  • Margin Trading
  • Guides
    • Bitcoin & Crypto Guides 101
    • Bitcoin For Beginners
    • Editorials
  • DeFi & NFT
  • Buy
  • Language
    • Español
  • Crypto News
  • Bitcoin For Beginners
  • Cryptocurrency Guides 101
  • Editorials
  • Bitcoin & Crypto Margin Trading
  • DeFi & NFT News
  • Bitcoin Price Analysis
  • CryptoPotato Crypto Fund
  • Ethereum (ETH) Price Analysis
  • Ripple (XRP) Price Analysis
  • Market Updates
  • Interviews
  • Buy Bitcoin with Card
  • Español
  • bitcoin
    BTC$27,100.00
  • ethereum
    ETH$1,895.49
    • Market Updates
    • BTC Analysis
    • ETH Analysis
    • XRP Analysis
    • Interviews
    • Opinions
    CryptoPotato
    CryptoPotato
    • Crypto News
    • Margin Trading
    • Guides
      • Bitcoin & Crypto Guides 101
      • Bitcoin For Beginners
      • Editorials
    • DeFi & NFT
    • Buy
    • Language
      • Español
    • Crypto News
    • Bitcoin For Beginners
    • Cryptocurrency Guides 101
    • Editorials
    • Bitcoin & Crypto Margin Trading
    • DeFi & NFT News
    • Bitcoin Price Analysis
    • CryptoPotato Crypto Fund
    • Ethereum (ETH) Price Analysis
    • Ripple (XRP) Price Analysis
    • Market Updates
    • Interviews
    • Buy Bitcoin with Card
    • Español
    Home » Crypto News » North America and Europe Control 88% of All Lightning Network Nodes, Research Finds

    North America and Europe Control 88% of All Lightning Network Nodes, Research Finds

    Author: Felix Mollen

    Last Updated Feb 24, 2023 @ 21:57

    North America and Europe control almost 88% of all the Bitcoin Lightning Network Nodes. Most of it is on large urban centers.

    As Bitcoin adoption grows more and more, concerns about the need for scalability solutions increase. Lightning Network is the most important layer-two development currently available on the Bitcoin blockchain, and it seems that North Americans are the favorite demographic for this efficiency-focused micropayment solution.

    The Lightning Network is a layer-two solution currently under development. It focuses on the creation of channels between peers that allow for almost instant and extremely cheap transactions without the need to record it on the blokchain. The money is locked on a wallet in order for it to be available on the Lightning Network, and once a user needs to have its tokens on the Bitcoin blockchain, the channel is closed and the blockchain registers one transaction from the original wallet to the final one without registering what happened in between.

    Graphic representation of how the Lightning Network works. Image: TheBlockPro
    Graphic representation of how the Lightning Network works. Image: TheBlockPro

    North America and Europe Rule the Lightning Network

    According to a report from the University of Vienna, 45% of all Lightning Network nodes run in North America, with a large majority in the United States. Lightning Labs, the leading developer of this scaling solution, is registered in that country. Blockstream, Bitcoin’s largest development company, is registered in Canada.

    Europe is the second region on the list, with 43.1% of the world’s nodes. The rest of the nodes are distributed among Asia (6.2%), Oceania (2.2%), with South America and Africa sharing a small fraction of 0.8% and 0.6%, respectively.

    The contrast between the number of nodes and the adoption of Bitcoin is remarkable. Latin America has a high adoption rate of Bitcoin, according to data compiled by Chainalysis. However, it has just under 1% of Lightning Network nodes. Africa is also showing a similar picture, with a high volume of trading and adoption, but with little interest in the micro-payment system.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Channels Share Cultural Ties

    Another important finding is that Lightning Network has become very popular in large urban centers. Researchers believe that this is mainly due to the better infrastructure and connectivity, which facilitates the operation of the nodes:

    We could observe that LND is popular in almost all countries and also showed that within a country nodes form clusters around cities and expand into their metropolitan areas. Also infrastructure plays a significant role in the distribution of nodes within a continent or country.

    They also realized that many of the nodes open channels with peers who speak the same language or have similar cultures. For example, 80% of Argentina’s payment channels are shared with Uruguay, 10% with Peru, and about 4% with Chile and Venezuela.

    Most of the nodes are from large cities in Europe and North America. Image: University of Vienna
    Most of the nodes are from large cities in Europe and North America. Image: University of Vienna

    A similar cultural phenomenon happens in other latitudes: Kenya, for example, shares more than 70% of its channels with South Africa, while China has to share channels with Taiwan and Hong Kong, Croatia with Czechia and Bulgaria and Mexico with Colombia, Chile, Puerto Rico and Argentina.

    Ethereum Grows Faster Than The Lightning Newtork

    Despite being overshadowed by the DeFi hype, Lightning Network continues to grow steadily. According to data from the Lightning Network tracking site 1ML, there are currently over 14200 Lightning Network nodes in operation. The network has a capacity of over 1039 BTC.

    Some of the Real-Time statistics of Bitcoin's Lightning Network. Image: 1ML
    Some of the Real-Time statistics of Bitcoin’s Lightning Network. Image: 1ML

    However, these statistics were recently exceeded by a somewhat heterodox solution: The number of synthetic Bitcoin tokens running on the Ethereum network already exceeded the total value of tokens moving on the Lightning Network.

    The article was first published on: Oct 27, 2020

    SPECIAL OFFER (Sponsored)
    Binance Free $100 (Exclusive): Use this link to register and receive $100 free and 10% off fees on Binance Futures first month (terms).

    PrimeXBT Special Offer: Use this link to register & enter CRYPTOPOTATO50 code to receive up to $7,000 on your deposits.

    You Might Also Like:

    • internal_revenue_service
      The IRS Will Pay $625,000 to Crack Monero and Bitcoin's Lightning Network
    • algorand2-min
      Algorand To Facilitate DeFi App Creation With Major Network Upgrade
    • BlockchainEV
      Honda and GM Push an Electric Vehicle Charging Network Standard Using Blockchain
    Tags: Bitcoin Bitcoin Adoption European Union Lightning Network United States
    Enjoy reading? Share with your friends
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram

    About The Author

    Felix Mollen
    More posts by this author

    Felix got into Bitcoin back in 2014, but his interest quickly expanded to everything blockchain-related. He's particularly excited about real-world applications of blockchain technology. Having worked as a professional content writer for three years before that, Felix transitioned to working on blockchain-centered projects and hasn't looked back ever since.

  • bitcoin
    BTC$27,100.00
  • ethereum
    ETH$1,895.49
  • Join Our Community

    FacebookTwitter YouTubeTelegram


    Editorials
    The Weaknesses of Ethereum VS Modern Blockchains: Interview With Radix

    The Weaknesses of Ethereum VS Modern Blockchains: Interview With Radix

    Institutions Intend to Buy Bitcoin in Late 2023: Interview With CryptoQuant

    Institutions Intend to Buy Bitcoin in Late 2023: Interview With CryptoQuant

    Why Didn’t ETH Dump After Shanghai? Interview With Nansen

    Why Didn’t ETH Dump After Shanghai? Interview With Nansen

    What is PEPE Coin? Is This the Next Huge Memecoin?

    What is PEPE Coin? Is This the Next Huge Memecoin?

    What is the Ethereum Shanghai (Shapella) Upgrade? Everything You Need to Know

    What is the Ethereum Shanghai (Shapella) Upgrade? Everything You Need to Know

    15 Months Later, What Changed Since November 2021? Interview With Phantom Wallet CEO

    15 Months Later, What Changed Since November 2021? Interview With Phantom Wallet CEO

    Artificial Intelligence & Crypto Guide: Here Are the Top 5 AI Coins

    Artificial Intelligence & Crypto Guide: Here Are the Top 5 AI Coins

    Join Our Newsletter
    Become a CryptoPotato VIP
    One Weekly Email Can Change Your Crypto Life.
    Sign-up FREE to receive our extended weekly market update and coin analysis report
    We NEVER send spam. You can unsubscribe at any time.
    Invalid email address
    Thanks for subscribing!
    Footer Logo
    About
    Advertise on CryptoPotato
    About Us | Contact Us | Careers
    Editorial Policy
    Terms of service | Privacy Policy | GDPR
    More Sections
    IEO List | Evaluations
    Airdrops
    Scholarship
    Disclaimer
    Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. Full disclaimer
    © Copyright CryptoPotato 2016 - 2021
    Scroll to top
    One Weekly Email Can Change Your Crypto Life.

    Sign-up FREE to receive our extended weekly market update and coin analysis report

    We never send SPAM. You can unsubscribe at any moment
    Invalid email address
    Thanks for subscribing!