Lightning Payments Expand to 4 Million US Merchants
Block's expansion of Lightning payments to its 4 million US point-of-sale hardware merchants has significantly increased the commercial utility of the protocol.
The shift follows November 2025 data that showed Lightning processed $1.17 billion in monthly volume across 5.22 million transactions, with Bitcoin holding 42% of global merchant crypto transactions in 2025.
While most crypto-friendly businesses accept Bitcoin as their primary currency, the Lightning Network captures the movement of these funds.
The US has seen growing stablecoin transactions among merchants as a way to manage risk, with USDC payments surging by 337% compared to 2024.
Tether added USDT support to Lightning in March 2026, moving stablecoins across existing Lightning rails to mitigate volatility.