Lightning Network Median Channel Capacity
- 1M1M
- 3M3M
- 6M6M
- 1Y1Y
- ALLALL
- LinearLinear
- LogLog
About this metric
What it measures
Lightning Network Median Channel Capacity ranks observed public channels by funded BTC capacity and takes the middle value. Each channel has equal weight, so the result in BTC describes a typical channel size rather than where most network funds sit.
How to read it
A higher median means the midpoint of public channel funding has moved up; a falling median means smaller channels have become more prominent around that midpoint. The recorded peak was about 0.02411 BTC on May 4, 2023, while the observation on October 17, 2026 was 0.01 BTC.
The median resists the influence of a few very large channels but can move in steps when many channels cluster at common funding sizes. It excludes private channels and cannot reveal directional balances, channel use or payment success. Compare with the mean to understand the larger-channel tail.
- Frequency
- Daily (UTC 00:00)
- Asset
- BTC
- Category
- Lightning Network
- Type
- Single value
- Unit
- BTC
- Data since
- 2018-01-26
- Latest data
- 2026-10-27
- Data points
- 3,197
FAQ
Why can median channel capacity be far below the mean?
The median ranks channels equally, while large funded channels pull up the mean. On October 17, 2026, the median was 0.01 BTC and the mean about 0.09064 BTC, indicating a substantial larger-channel tail.
Is median channel capacity the capacity of the median node?
No. It ranks channels, not nodes. One node can participate in many channels, so a node-level capacity distribution is a different calculation.
Does a 0.01 BTC median mean half the network’s funds are below that size?
No. It splits channels by count, not BTC capacity by value. A small number of large channels can contain much of the funding even when the median channel is small.
