{"id":94499,"date":"2026-02-20T14:04:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T11:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=94499"},"modified":"2026-02-20T14:06:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T11:06:24","slug":"voltage-unveils-a-revolving-credit-line-on-the-lightning-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/voltage-unveils-a-revolving-credit-line-on-the-lightning-network\/","title":{"rendered":"Voltage unveils a revolving credit line on the Lightning Network"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Bitcoin infrastructure firm Voltage has launched a programmatic revolving credit line, Voltage Credit.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Today we\u2019re launching Voltage Credit. \ud83d\udc40<\/p>\n<p>The industry\u2019s first programmatic revolving line of credit built on top of Bitcoin payment rails. \u26a1<\/p>\n<p>Send payments with instant finality over BTC\/Lightning.<\/p>\n<p>Repay your credit line in USD from a standard bank account or in Bitcoin.<\/p>\n<p>Pay\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Voltage \u26a1 (@voltage_cloud) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/voltage_cloud\/status\/2024493145451614683?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 19, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The product lets businesses send instant payments over <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/lightning-network-faster-cheaper-bitcoin-transactions\">Lightning Network<\/a> (LN), repaying balances in dollars from a standard bank account.<\/p>\n<p>The tool is aimed at companies that want to use the micropayments network without holding digital assets on their balance sheets. In comments to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theblock.co\/post\/390466\/voltage-expands-bitcoin-infrastructure-with-usd-settled-revolving-credit-line-on-lightning-network?utm_source=telegram1&#038;utm_medium=social\">The Block<\/a>, Voltage representatives said the project is meant to address a longstanding problem in corporate finance.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The killer feature<\/h2>\n<p>Conventional banks typically do not extend credit against income denominated in digital gold. Meanwhile, crypto lending platforms require locking up bitcoin as collateral, creating tax risks and exposing capital to the swings of a volatile asset.<\/p>\n<p>Voltage\u2019s solution relies on assessing a borrower\u2019s revenues. Credit limits are set and adjusted according to the client\u2019s actual transaction volumes within the company\u2019s infrastructure.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;Until now, using bitcoin for payments meant managing cryptocurrency on the balance sheet. Voltage Credit removes that trade-off. Make instant payments over Lightning in dollars or bitcoin depending on business needs and direct capital toward growth. This is what bitcoin infrastructure for enterprises should look like,&#8221; said Voltage CEO Graham Krizek.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The company specified that it charges no fee for opening the credit line. A fixed annual rate applies to the outstanding balance.<\/p>\n<p>News of the new product arrived shortly after a <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/press-release\/pr-newswire\/sdm-completes-1-million-lightning-transaction-in-pilot-to-kraken-powered-by-voltage-f60d3ce897af9681be3bb9bf8815ebec\">$1 million transfer in LN<\/a> between Secure Digital Markets and Kraken using Voltage\u2019s infrastructure. The first seven-figure payment in the network was processed virtually instantly with minimal fees.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Infrastructure and payments on the Lightning Network<\/h2>\n<p>Lightning Network is a second-layer (<a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/what-are-bitcoin-l2-scaling-solutions\">L2<\/a>) protocol for the Bitcoin network that enables transactions off the main blockchain.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A user opens a payment channel with a standard on-chain transfer and can then make numerous instant operations within the network. When it is closed, the final balance is settled on the base layer (L1). This solution significantly reduces fees and speeds up processing.<\/p>\n<p>Analysts at Fidelity <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fidelitydigitalassets.com\/research-and-insights\/lightning-network-expanding-bitcoin-use-cases\">have called<\/a> LN an effective approach to scaling payments on the Bitcoin network. In their view, the protocol\u2019s capabilities already extend beyond simple P2P transfers. In 2024 the number of business integrations grew, confirming demand for the protocol for small-value digital-asset transactions.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years and months, well-known platforms have added Lightning support. In April last year, the crypto exchange Coinbase <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/coinbase-chief-pledges-to-integrate-lightning-network\">integrated micropayments<\/a> and later said the protocol accounted for 15% of the platform\u2019s bitcoin-transaction volume. The fast-food chain Steak \u2018n Shake <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/steaknshake\/status\/2012346855451931045\">bought $10 million in bitcoin<\/a> eight months <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/steak-n-shake-to-accept-bitcoin-payments-across-all-locations\">after launching LN payments<\/a> in all its U.S. restaurants. The new option helped the company <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/burger-chain-reports-revenue-surge-following-bitcoin-strategy-adoption\">increase sales by 15%<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Traditional financial services are increasingly adopting Lightning infrastructure too. In August 2025 the fintech company <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theblock.co\/post\/367506\/sofi-taps-lightspark-as-it-looks-to-use-bitcoin-lightning-for-an-international-money-transfer-service\">SoFi integrated Lightspark\u2019s solutions<\/a> for international money transfers. The real-time system converts dollars into bitcoin, routes funds over LN and immediately exchanges them into the local currency.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On 11 February Lightning Labs <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/lightning-network-integrates-tools-for-ai-agents\">released<\/a> an open-source toolkit. It allows <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/what-are-ai-agents-and-how-do-they-make-life-easier-for-web3-users\">AI agents<\/a> to operate LN nodes and make payments without identification and <span data-descr=\"Application Programming Interface\" class=\"old_tooltip\">API<\/span> keys. The release included seven compatible modules: with them autonomous systems can programmatically work with nodes and pay for requests using the <span data-descr=\"a Lightning-based application authentication standard\" class=\"old_tooltip\">L402<\/span> standard.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mixed metrics<\/h2>\n<p>According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SDWouters\/status\/2024507942708351443\">report by River<\/a>, in November the value of Lightning payments crossed the $1 billion mark. However, the number of transactions that month was about 21% below the level of August 2021 (5.22 million versus 6.6 million).<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"467\" src=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-99e2a5a51bca1bc2-6801254444278716-1024x467.png\" alt=\"River1\" class=\"wp-image-275481\" srcset=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-99e2a5a51bca1bc2-6801254444278716-1024x467.png 1024w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-99e2a5a51bca1bc2-6801254444278716-300x137.png 300w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-99e2a5a51bca1bc2-6801254444278716-768x350.png 768w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-99e2a5a51bca1bc2-6801254444278716-1536x700.png 1536w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-99e2a5a51bca1bc2-6801254444278716-2048x933.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Comparison of LN transaction volumes and counts across periods. Source: River.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A possible explanation is the substantial increase in the average transfer size thanks to broad support for the network by major exchanges:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"451\" src=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-5a5175779dbd5dff-6801292701575979-1024x451.jpeg\" alt=\"River2png\" class=\"wp-image-275482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-5a5175779dbd5dff-6801292701575979-1024x451.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-5a5175779dbd5dff-6801292701575979-300x132.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-5a5175779dbd5dff-6801292701575979-768x338.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-5a5175779dbd5dff-6801292701575979-1536x677.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-5a5175779dbd5dff-6801292701575979-2048x902.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dynamics of average LN transaction value and protocol support by trading platforms. Source: River.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;Today, the primary use case for Lightning transactions is exchange deposits and withdrawals. As a rule, these are large-sum operations,&#8221; the researchers explained.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In early January, LN capacity in dollar terms exceeded $500 million, after which it fell to roughly $340 million. In the same month, the figure in bitcoin reached a high above 5700 BTC \u2014 55% more than the trough of 3730 BTC recorded in August last year.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"420\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theblock.co\/data\/on-chain-metrics\/bitcoin\/lightning-networks-capacity-daily\/embed\" title=\"Lightning Network's Capacity\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In the context of DeFi, the micropayments network\u2019s capacity looks rather modest compared with the <span data-descr=\"total value locked\" class=\"old_tooltip\">TVL<\/span> of leading <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/btcfi-stalled-evolution-or-a-temporary-setback\">BTCFi<\/a> protocols such as Babylon or Lombard.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"373\" src=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-1cc37a8143501815-6801590973492084-1024x373.png\" alt=\"DefiLlama\" class=\"wp-image-275483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-1cc37a8143501815-6801590973492084-1024x373.png 1024w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-1cc37a8143501815-6801590973492084-300x109.png 300w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-1cc37a8143501815-6801590973492084-768x280.png 768w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-1cc37a8143501815-6801590973492084-1536x560.png 1536w, https:\/\/forklog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/img-1cc37a8143501815-6801590973492084.png 1596w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Top-5 protocols in the BTCFi segment. Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/defillama.com\/chain\/bitcoin\">DefiLlama<\/a>.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At the time of writing, the Lightning Network has 15,716 payment channels linked by 5,335 nodes, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/1ml.com\/statistics\">1ML<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier, Amboss Technologies <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/amboss-unveils-railsx-dex-based-on-bitcoins-lightning-protocol\">unveiled<\/a> the RailsX LN platform for P2P trading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bitcoin infrastructure firm Voltage has launched a programmatic revolving credit line, Voltage Credit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":94500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"Voltage launches a programmatic revolving credit line over the Lightning Network.","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[325],"class_list":["post-94499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-lightning-network"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"140","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"Voltage launches a programmatic revolving credit line over the Lightning Network.","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94499"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94501,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94499\/revisions\/94501"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}