Bitcoin Lightning Network statistics for 2026: 4,900 BTC capacity, 17,400 nodes, 41,000 channels and $1.17 billion in monthly payment volume.
Bitcoin’s Lightning Network is handling more payment value than ever. Some of its best-known infrastructure numbers, such as node and channel counts, are below earlier peaks.
Public capacity reached a record 5,637 BTC in December 2025. It has since fallen to about 4,900 BTC. Mempool.space data shows around 17,400 nodes and 41,000 public channels.
Usage tells a different story. River estimates Lightning processed about $1.17 billion in payments in November 2025, more than four times the $286.5 million estimated a year earlier.
This article covers the main Lightning Network statistics for 2026. It looks at capacity, nodes, channels, payment volume, fees and new moves from Square and Lightning Labs.
Table of Contents
- Lightning Network Statistics at a Glance
- What Is the Bitcoin Lightning Network?
- How Much Bitcoin Is on the Lightning Network?
- How Many Lightning Nodes Are There?
- Why Different Sites Show Different Lightning Numbers
- How Many Lightning Channels Are There, and How Big Are They?
- Lightning Payment Volume Passed $1 Billion a Month
- Monthly Lightning Transactions Top Five Million
- The Average Lightning Payment Reached $223
- How Lightning Stretches Bitcoin’s Capacity
- Square Brings Lightning to Merchants
- Taproot Assets Take Lightning Beyond Bitcoin
- Lightning Fees Remain Low
- The Bottom Line
- Sources
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