%LightningLabs has launched a new protocol designed to support %Stablecoins across the Bitcoin Lightening Network.
Elizabeth Stark, Lightning Labs’ Chief Executive Officer (CEO), unveiled a new product called the Taproot Asset Representation Overlay (Taro) that will broaden the number of assets available to transact on the Lightning Network to include stablecoins.
Taro is built on Lightning Network, a Layer 2 protocol that enables high-speed transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain by opening payment channels between addresses.
Once a channel is opened, users can freely transact with one another until the channel is closed, at which point the transactions are ultimately settled on the Bitcoin %Blockchain.
Lightning Labs has released the technical specifications for Taro as a %Bitcoin ($BTC) Improvement Proposal (BIP) to source community input as the protocol is developed.
Stark explained that Taro is only possible due to last year’s Taproot upgrade, which introduced several significant improvements to the Bitcoin protocol. The changes introduced in Taproot have allowed developers to build more complex, smart contract-driven applications on top of the Bitcoin blockchain.
Taro’s launch was accompanied by an announcement that Lightning Labs had raised $70 million U.S. in a Series B funding round. Stark said the funds will be used to develop the Lightning Network and grow the company.