Cryptocurrency was a rapidly evolving field. Here are some potential future trends that were discussed at the time. Keep in mind that the future can be unpredictable, especially in a rapidly changing field like cryptocurrency:

Increased Adoption and Acceptance: More businesses and consumers may start accepting cryptocurrencies as a valid form of payment. Companies like Tesla and Square have already started accepting Bitcoin, and this trend could continue.

Regulation and Legal Frameworks: As cryptocurrencies become more popular, governments around the world will likely develop more comprehensive regulatory frameworks. This could add legitimacy to cryptocurrencies and protect consumers, but it could also limit their growth and potential.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi): #DeFi uses blockchain technology to remove intermediaries like banks from financial transactions. This could make financial services more accessible to people around the world.

Layer 2 solutions and scaling: As the user base of major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum grows, so too does the need for scalability. Layer 2 solutions like Ethereum's Optimism or Bitcoin's #LightningNetwork could become more widespread, making transactions quicker and more affordable.

Advancements in Blockchain Technology: We could see new #blockchain technologies that address some of the current issues with cryptocurrencies, such as energy consumption and transaction speeds.

Integration with AI and IoT: There could be more integration between blockchain (the technology underpinning cryptocurrencies), artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things. This could lead to new applications and use cases for cryptocurrencies.

Privacy coins: There may be more demand for cryptocurrencies that offer enhanced privacy features, such as Monero and ZCash.

Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs): Many central banks, like the People's Bank of China and the European Central Bank, are exploring the possibility of issuing their own digital currencies. This could dramatically change the cryptocurrency landscape.

Remember, the future of cryptocurrency is very much in flux, and many of these predictions could change based on technological advancements, regulatory decisions, and shifts in market demand.

Binance CEO has indicated plans for the exchange to integrate the Lightning Network for saved costs and faster transactions.

The feature will be supported for small amounts at first, with various solutions already in the works.

CZ also advertised the exchange’s mining pool, saying Binance aims for a model that prioritizes low fees.

Binance does not intend to get involved in the hardware of Bitcoin mining.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, alias CZ, has revealed plans for the exchange to integrate the Lightning Network, a Layer-2 (L2) payment protocol layered on top of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and blockchains.

#Binance exchange leverages Dubai’s crypto-friendliness for industry growth

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao spoke during an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session on Twitter Spaces, answering questions from the audience. Among the key highlights of the one-hour long question and answer engagement was CZ’s daily routine, the exchange’s presence in Dubai, investment advice on social media, mining and the Lightning Network.

CZ, who advised against blindly following investment advice from social media advisers, said that Dubai was already an important crypto innovation hub with multiple industry-related events taking place almost every evening. The Binance executive attributes this to the international presence of the country and its business-friendly practices that has led to a booming local economy. With over 700 employees in Dubai within a span of a little under two years, Binance is growing at a rapid pace.

On the question of mining, #CZ articulated that while Binance does not run a mining farm, neither does it plan to, alluding that the company is more focused on software than hardware.  Nevertheless, the exchange runs one of the biggest mining pools with special interest in models that prioritize low fees. Miners use the Binance’s pool, tapping from the exchange’s liquidity to cover their operational costs.

Binance to support Lightning Network

With traders and investors opting for cheaper and faster transactions, the largest exchange by trading volume is looking to integrate the Lightning Network for its Binance Pay and related wallet services. According to CZ, every exchange should adopt the L2 payment protocol as a helpful innovation for the future.

According to Changpeng Zhao, the principle limitation of the lightning network is the inability to pre-generate addresses, which is why the Binance team is working on a way around this challenge. The protocol will however be enabled for small transactions at first and while CZ did not provide a specific date for the roll out, he said efforts were already underway as part of the platform’s commitment deliver benefits like saved costs with faster transactions to users. 

In the meantime, Binance “uses a secure wallet infrastructure where addresses are pre-generated in a separate protected environment, and public keys are then exported to the production environment, which is different from the wallet environment.”

Notably, the Lightning Network theme took center stage around May 7 when Binance exchange temporarily closed Bitcoin withdrawals, citing Bitcoin (BTC) network congestion.

The exchange had suffered a similar issue in June 2022 when stuck transactions caused backlogs. As reported, the downtime played to OKX exchange’s favor, calling users’ attention to the Lightning Network for more affordable rates. The likes of Alex Thorne, the head of Firmwide Research at Galaxy Digital New York advocated for more engineering to bypass expensive blockspace amid a high-fee environment, hence the #LightningNetwork .

The primary #Bitcoin blockchain (also known as “layer 1”) can move more quickly by shifting some transaction “traffic” to the Lightning Network’s “layer 2” blockchain.

In part, the Lightning Network was created to make Bitcoin operate more like digital money. Transactions are processed “off-chain” and far more rapidly and cheaply than on the main Bitcoin blockchain, with fees that are often fractions of a cent or less. Additionally, lightning transactions use less energy than those on the main network.

The Lightning Network (layer 2) has a theoretical capacity of millions of transactions per second, but the main Bitcoin network (layer 1) routinely handles less than ten transactions per second.

How does the lightning network work?

To create off-blockchain payment channels between pairs of users, the Lightning Network uses smart contracts. Funds can be exchanged between them almost immediately after these payment channels have been set up.

It’s clever that the network doesn’t have to couple up every user. Funds can still be easily moved between all parties in a network; for example, if User A and User B have a channel together, and User C has a channel with User B but not User A, the payment method for users is pretty similar. Funds can still be freely transferred between all networked parties.

Users can terminate their payment channels and settle their outstanding balances on the main blockchain at any moment.

Users can terminate their payment channels and settle their outstanding balances on the main blockchain at any moment. The entire Bitcoin network may move more quickly since the opening and closing of payment channels are recorded on the core blockchain. Furthermore, compared to transactions done on the main blockchain, #LightningNetwork transactions may be more private (because layer one transactions all appear on a public and transparent ledger).