Lightning Labs announces a new protocol to bring new use cases to Bitcoin

Lightning Labs, the institution down the Lightning Network, has developed a caller protocol that tin assistance present much usage cases to the Bitcoin network, the company’s CTO Olaoluwa Osuntokun announced April 5, noting that helium designed the protocol, dubbed Taro.

According to Osuntokun, Taro’s integration volition alteration the issuance of assets and collectibles connected the Bitcoin network. The protocol volition besides let each Lightning Network participants to bask the payment of Lightning’s astir free, astir instant, planetary transaction capability. All this without having to enactment up with BTC’s existent volatility.

Essentially, the protocol volition present assets similar stablecoins to the Bitcoin network, letting BTC adopters summation oregon dial down their vulnerability to volatility. This diagnostic volition beryllium particularly beneficial for populations that person a debased tolerance for BTC’s volatility, owed to their socioeconomic status.

Leveraging Taproot

To unlock these functionalities, Taro volition usage Taproot — the latest update to the Bitcoin web that became progressive successful November 2021. Taproot enhanced the security, privacy, and transaction throughput of Bitcoin. Additionally, it introduced astute declaration capabilities to Bitcoin’s blockchain.

By leveraging Taproot, Taro tin besides beryllium connected Bitcoin’s Proof-of-Work (PoW) statement exemplary to guarantee the close ordering of transactions and mitigate the hazard of double-spending.

Explaining wherefore Lightning Labs seeks to integrate Taro, the company’s CEO Elizabeth Stark said,

One of our halfway tenets astatine Lightning Labs is solving existent problems for existent people, and we’ve talked to myriad assemblage members successful emerging markets who’ve told america what a large quality stablecoins connected bitcoin and Lightning would marque successful their economies.

Slow but dependable growth

While protocol improvement maintains the Bitcoin fundamentals, blimpish changes make country for what developers tin physique connected Bitcoin and the Lightning Network. Taro’s narration with Taproot demonstrates specified changes.

At the moment, BTC functions arsenic a commodity. However, the operation of Taro and Lightning Network brings the flagship cryptocurrency adjacent person to serving arsenic a means of payment.

Recently, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis said BTC would rapidly go a means of payment. Her content stems from the information that BTC came retired of a whitepaper that didn’t see means of payment.

However, Lightning Network filled this spread by providing a outgo method for BTC. To this end, Lummis believes specified advancements volition yet pb to further innovation successful the outgo space.