🚨ALERT🚨
Lightning Labs, the company behind Bitcoin layer 2 Lightning Network, is using the Taproot Assets protocol to integrate Tether’s USDT stablecoin.
Tether said it’s bringing its namesake stablecoin to Bitcoin through the layer 2 scaling service, the Lightning Network.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino and Lightning Labs CEO Elizabeth Stark announced the partnership on stage at the Bitcoin-focused Plan B conference in San Salvador, El Salvador, on Jan. 30.
Tether said in a blog post that Lightning Labs — the firm behind the Lightning Network — built the solution by leveraging the Taproot Assets protocol, which expanded the Bitcoin network’s functionality to support tokenized assets in 2022.
Tether USDT is the largest stablecoin with a market cap of $139.4 billion, nearly three times more than its closest rival — Circle’s USD Coin USDC$1.00 at $53.1 billion, CoinGecko data shows.
Tether processed $10 trillion worth of transactions in 2024 — closing in on payment giant Visa’s $16 trillion — and manages the token across more than ten blockchains, including Ethereum, Tron, Solana and Avalanche.