Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange by trading volume, is rolling out support for the Lightning Network from today, enabling a faster and cheaper way for its users to send, receive or pay with bitcoin directly from their account. 

Previously, bitcoin transfers on Coinbase were processed on-chain, meaning transactions could take between 10 minutes and two hours, incurring high fees during periods of network congestion. 

Launched in 2017, the Lightning Network is a Layer 2 protocol built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain, designed to address scalability issues via bi-directional payment channels that enable near-instant, low-fee transactions off-chain without immediate settlement on the base layer.

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