Monthly transaction volume on the Bitcoin Lightning Network, a layer-2 scaling solution for BTC, surpassed the $1 billion milestone in November 2025, according to a report from Bitcoin financial services company River. The volume hit an estimated $1.1 billion across 5.2 million transactions that month.
The report, shared by River's director of marketing Sam Wouters, noted that "Lightning adoption happened despite the price declining all of November and generally not doing much in 2025." The growth was largely driven by exchanges and a growing number of businesses accepting Bitcoin payments. However, the total transaction count in 2025 was lower compared to 2023, when monthly Lightning transactions peaked at 6.6 million in August. River attributed the 2023 peak to experiments with micropayments in gaming and messaging apps.
In a significant development for institutional adoption, Voltage, a leading Bitcoin infrastructure provider based in Texas, has launched a USD-settled revolving credit line specifically for the Lightning Network. This product is designed to allow businesses to utilize Bitcoin's fast payment rails without holding the volatile cryptocurrency on their balance sheets.
"Until now, using Bitcoin for payments meant managing cryptocurrency on your balance sheet," said Voltage CEO Graham Krizek. "Voltage Credit eliminates that tradeoff." The credit facility uses revenue-based underwriting, looking at a company's transaction volume to determine credit limits, with no origination fees and a fixed annual percentage rate (APR) on the used balance.
This launch follows a major pilot transaction facilitated by Voltage in February, where institutional trading firm Secure Digital Markets (SDM) sent crypto exchange Kraken $1 million via the Lightning Network, demonstrating the network's capacity for large-scale institutional transfers. By December 2025, the Lightning Network's capacity—the total BTC locked for liquidity—reached 5,606 BTC as more companies and institutions began using it.
The report forecasts a similar surge in Lightning transactions as individuals and businesses experiment with AI payments, further encouraging Bitcoin's use as a medium of exchange rather than just a store of value.
