Top crypto exchange Kraken has removed the Lightning Network feature for customers in Germany, citing “technical changes”.
Earlier on Friday, crypto news outlet Protos reported that a support agent at Kraken had been removed due to “regulatory issues.”
But a spokesperson for the San Francisco company told Decrypt that Kraken “erroneously cited regulatory changes” as the suspension of support for the service.
“The change in service for German customers who want to use Lightning is the result of technical changes,” Kraken said.
“While we always strive to provide our customers with the best and most innovative services, unfortunately we sometimes have to make tough decisions so that we can provide as many customers in Germany as possible with a safe and reliable platform,” the company added.
Lightning Network is one of many “second layer” applications for Bitcoin applications. Cryptocurrency works to speed up transactions to make smaller purchases.
There is no need to use the main network because transactions are transmitted through side channels, and then they are stored in groups. The idea is that people can use Bitcoin to make smaller payments at a cheaper rate.
Other major crypto exchanges also have Lightning integration. Coinbase, America's largest digital asset exchange, made the service available in April. The idea is that customers can choose an alternative network for Bitcoin transactions and save significantly.
Since Bitcoin transaction fees can increase when the network is busy, Lightning aims to solve that.
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