Stephan Livera Podcast $1B monthly volume on lightning with Sam Wouters | SLP725
Feb 23, 2026
Sam Wouters, Bitcoin entrepreneur and researcher at River, gives a concise mini bio and walks through Lightning Network growth and data. He highlights the >$1B monthly Lightning volume, routing efficiency and rising payment sizes. Conversation covers exchange-driven activity, institutional and business adoption, user behavior patterns, and practical strategies for Bitcoin evangelism.
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Exchange Flows Dominate Lightning Transaction Size Growth
- Average Lightning transaction size has risen, partly because exchanges are a major source of volume for withdrawals and transfers.
- Much Lightning volume logically originates from custodial exchange flows as users treat exchanges as wallets.
Self Custody Was Overestimated As First Step
- Early expectations that everyone would run self-custodial Lightning nodes were unrealistic; custodial adoption is a pragmatic first step.
- Bitcoin adoption often follows trajectories: custodial usage first, then gradual movement toward self-sovereignty.
Scalability Fears Are Less Urgent Than Public Perception
- Scalability fears proved premature; on-chain fees remain low and Lightning plus off-chain rails reduce immediate pressure.
- Sam argues Bitcoin's bigger short-term issue is public image, not scalability to billions of users.