The Lightning Network is Bitcoin’s second layer. It was designed to facilitate faster and cheaper transactions. The network has been growing since its launch, and it recently reached a key milestone when it reached and surpassed 4,000 nodes, bringing its capacity to an all-time high.

The latest news has been confirmed by 1ML, Bitcoin’s monitoring resource dedicated to tracking the Lightning Network’s progress.

According to 1ML, the Lightning Network had 4,026 as of November 13. Of these, 2,910 nodes are public. The developers also speculate that there could be many more hidden nodes. Combined, all these nodes give the platform an optimal capacity of 112.5 BTC. However, this figure recently rose to 118 BTC on 13th November. These figures translate to about $743,000.

It is important to note that the largest node on the platform has a capacity of just under 16BTC – this is a testament to the network’s affordability.

The Lightning Network is already active on Litecoin and several other tokens. Many other tokens are also taking note of its progress and planning to integrate it into their platforms. Most recently, Stellar announced that plans are underway to integrate the network into its platform by the end of the year.

The company made this announcement on a recent blog post – it was also keen to mention that it was impressed by the recent milestones and developments on the network.

Interestingly, Stellar has also been making strides – it recently rose to the top five cryptocurrencies based on market capitalization. Its developers are optimistic that this trajectory will hold and expect the Lightning Network to boost the coin’s long-term security and scalability.

The Lightning Network has come a long way in a short time. However, the platform is still in its early stages of development.

Interestingly, Lightning Network’s developers still consider the platform an experimental concept. The developers are still working on the platform’s security and basic infrastructure for robustness. Other factors such as ease-of-use and user experience come second and will only be considered if and when the platform proves successful. However, it seems that it already has been considering the recent milestone.

Lightning Network’s recent development has prompted the development team to consider broader developments. This much was confirmed during a recent interview with Alex Bosworth, the CEO of Yalls.org, a payment gateway, and a corresponding developer for the Lightning Network. Mr. Bosworth mentioned that the team of developers was considering making changes and upgrades to hidden destinations, multi-path payments, and dual-funded channels, among other features.

The list of changes comes to 30 and more changes will be implemented in the near future.

Bitcoin’s Lightning Network is making strides as it forges ahead to become a full-fledged exchange platform. Its most recent milestone, surpassing 4,000 nodes, is proof of its potential and capabilities.

It may still be considered an experimental undertaking by its developers, but this recent milestone may have sealed its fate as a permanent platform – the team of developers is already making plans to implement 30 changes and upgrades.

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