A $1 million Bitcoin payment sent over the Lightning Network has set a new public benchmark for large-scale, institutional use of Bitcoin’s leading scaling solution. The transfer, executed between Secure Digital Markets (SDM) and crypto exchange Kraken, was completed in under half a second, demonstrating Lightning’s potential for high-value, enterprise-grade payments.
The transaction took place on Jan. 28 and was routed through Voltage’s managed Lightning infrastructure, which provides node management, liquidity provisioning, and uptime guarantees designed specifically for exchanges and trading desks. According to SDM, this is the largest publicly reported Lightning payment to date and serves as a proof-of-concept for seven-figure transfers between regulated counterparties.
The payment cleared in just 0.43 seconds, a stark contrast to traditional settlement rails and even standard onchain Bitcoin transactions. Previous widely cited Lightning “record” payments were closer to 1.24 BTC—roughly $140,000 at the time—highlighting how rare six-figure Lightning payments have been, let alone a single, clean transaction worth $1 million.
Voltage CEO Graham Krizek described the transfer as a milestone for both Lightning and institutional Bitcoin adoption, noting that it demonstrated Lightning’s ability to meet enterprise-level requirements around speed, reliability, and scale.
Lightning Network Growth and Institutional Adoption
While the transaction marks a major milestone, it comes amid mixed but improving Lightning Network metrics. Public Lightning channel capacity declined from more than 5,400 BTC in late 2023 to around 4,200 BTC by mid-2025, before rebounding strongly to a new all-time high of over 5,600 BTC by December.
Despite this growth, Lightning capacity remains small relative to Bitcoin’s overall market capitalization, and most real-world usage has historically focused on smaller payments. Exchanges have reflected this caution. Bitfinex, for instance, long limited Lightning deposits to 0.04 BTC, only recently increasing the limit to 0.5 BTC per payment and 2 BTC per channel.
Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether and CTO of Bitfinex, said the Lightning Network has matured beyond its early role as a retail payments experiment. He noted that Bitfinex has seen Lightning handle higher volumes with predictable settlement, lower fees, and reduced onchain congestion—factors that are increasingly important for institutional users.
Enterprise Interest From Fidelity and Blockstream
Major financial and infrastructure firms are also signaling growing confidence in Lightning’s institutional potential. Fidelity Digital Assets, in a 2025 report using data from Voltage, argued that the Lightning Network not only enhances Bitcoin’s utility but also strengthens its long-term investment case.
Fidelity highlighted that average Lightning capacity has increased by more than 380% since 2020, calling the network a transformative opportunity for both new and existing financial institutions looking to build Bitcoin-based services.
Blockstream echoed this sentiment in its Q4 2025 update, pointing to ongoing improvements in Core Lightning focused on reducing latency and expanding Lightning Service Provider support. The company also promoted its Greenlight platform, which allows apps, exchanges, and financial services to offer trust-minimized Lightning functionality without heavy infrastructure overhead, with a roadmap explicitly targeting enterprise deployments.
