Lightning Labs has launched the Taproot Assets v0.3 mainnet alpha, a significant update that enables the issuance of real-world assets and stablecoins on the Bitcoin and Lightning Network. This development, announced on Thursday, marks a new era in multi-asset Bitcoin and is seen as a major step towards creating an "internet of money".
The integration of Taproot Assets into the Lightning Network allows developers to issue and manage a variety of digital assets, cryptocurrencies, and stablecoins within Lightning Network wallets. This system streamlines transactions by routing them through the Lightning Network, with Bitcoin ensuring liquidity. The expanded utility of Bitcoin's blockchain technology could potentially narrow the gap between traditional finance and digital currency markets.
During the test phase of this technology, around 2,000 diverse assets were minted, including real-world assets like gold and U.S. Treasuries. This demonstrated the potential for global currencies to become Taproot Assets with instant forex transactions, moving towards "bitcoinizing the dollar".
The mainnet alpha release also paves the way for global currencies to become Taproot Assets, enabling instant forex transactions. By using existing Bitcoin liquidity, this development could potentially lead to a scenario where some issuers hold more U.S. Treasuries than countries like Germany and South Korea.
In addition to Taproot Assets, other advancements such as Bitcoin Drivechains (BIP-300), Botanix Labs’ Spiderchain, BitVM — a forthcoming Bitcoin 'supercomputer', BTC DeFi, and the concept of "Recursive inscriptions" are further expanding Bitcoin's capabilities. These concurrent developments represent a broader expansion of the capabilities of Bitcoin beyond its original function as a digital currency.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.