Bitso Expands Bitcoin Lightning Network Support to 8 Million Users

Bitso, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in Latin America, has announced the rollout of Bitcoin Lightning Network support to 100% of its users, marking a major milestone in the exchange’s growth and adoption of innovative blockchain technology. This development, which was shared on November 12 by the Lightspark team on X (formerly Twitter), enables all Bitso users to access the benefits of the Lightning Network, a Layer-2 solution designed to facilitate faster and cheaper Bitcoin transactions.

This launch comes at a time when Bitcoin’s price is surging, trading near $89,894, up by 28% over the past week. The timing of this announcement underscores the growing interest in Bitcoin, as the cryptocurrency market continues to gain momentum with increasing adoption among both retail and institutional investors.

The addition of Lightning Network support is the result of a partnership between Bitso and Lightspark, which began in June. By leveraging Lightspark’s infrastructure, Bitso has been able to integrate the Lightning Network into its platform, allowing users to make near-instant, low-fee Bitcoin transactions. This upgrade is now accessible to more than 8 million retail users across Latin America, including customers in key markets such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico.

The Lightning Network offers a significant improvement over Bitcoin’s base layer, which can sometimes experience congestion and higher transaction fees during times of high demand. By utilizing the Lightning Network, Bitso users can now send and receive Bitcoin almost instantly and with a fraction of the transaction costs compared to on-chain Bitcoin transactions.

Since its launch in 2014, Bitso has established itself as a pioneer in the Latin American cryptocurrency market. Originally founded as Mexico’s first cryptocurrency exchange, Bitso has expanded its services across the region, surpassing one million customers in 2020 and continuing its growth with expansions into Argentina and Brazil. In 2021, Bitso became Latin America’s first crypto unicorn, a term used for startups valued at over $1 billion. The company continued its trajectory of success by launching its international payments service in 2023, further cementing its position as a leading player in the crypto space.

On the other side of the partnership, Lightspark is a company founded by David Marcus, the former head of Facebook’s payments and crypto projects, including the Libra initiative. Lightspark, which launched in May 2022, is focused on building out the Lightning Network and expanding the capabilities of Bitcoin as a global payment system. With backing from top-tier venture capital firms such as a16z Crypto, Paradigm, Coatue, and Ribbit Capital, Lightspark aims to drive the next phase of Bitcoin’s evolution by improving the scalability, speed, and cost-effectiveness of Bitcoin transactions.

The collaboration between Bitso and Lightspark highlights the growing importance of Layer-2 solutions like the Lightning Network in scaling blockchain networks and making them more practical for everyday use. As more exchanges and wallet providers integrate these technologies, the potential for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to become widely adopted as a means of payment and store of value continues to increase.